Butler Area Senior High School
Class Of 1966

Article on the Saul Brothers

 

Ron Cook: 'Nobody messed with the Sauls' — Remembering football's underrated siblings

 

You have heard of the Watts, J.J., T.J. and Derek, right? This is about another amazing set of NFL brothers, the Saul boys from Butler. Bill, Rich and Ron Saul spent a combined 33 years in the league.

“You could write a book about ’em, but nobody would believe it,” Butler High School teammate Terry Hanratty was saying this week.

Ron Saul was the last of the three brothers to die, passing away June 15 at 73. He played for 12 seasons with Houston and Washington. Twin brother Rich was the best of the bunch, making six Pro Bowls with the Los Angeles Rams. He died in 2012 at 64. Older brother Bill spent nine years in the NFL, including five from 1964-68 on some very bad Steelers teams. He passed away in 2006 at 65.
 

“High school, college or pros, it didn’t matter. The Sauls were the toughest guys in the locker room,” Butler teammate Ed Codi said. “Nobody messed with the Sauls. Nobody.”
 

Legend has it that Ron Saul had shoulder replacement surgery a handful of years ago. The doctor wanted him to stay at the hospital overnight, but he refused. “People die in hospitals. I’m getting out of here,” he said. The doc offered pain pills, but Saul said no. “People get addicted to them.”

“So Ron left and went home,” Hanratty said, fairly giggling, as he retold the story. “The best part? It snowed six inches that day. Ron had to shovel the walk that night.”

Rich Saul tore up a knee during his junior season at Michigan State in 1968 and was told he wouldn’t play football again. “That doctor didn’t know the Sauls,” Codi said. Saul lasted 12 years in the NFL.
 

“They had to move him to center because he lost his mobility,” Hanratty said. “That was back in the days when all they could do was meatball surgery. If he had stayed healthy, I have no doubt in my mind that he would have been the best middle linebacker of all time. I’ll argue that with anybody. He was the fastest I ever saw. He could fly and knock your block off and smile while doing it.”

You might remember Hanratty played with Jack Lambert on the Steelers. Hanratty was with the Steelers from 1969-75 and was their quarterback before Terry Bradshaw came along in 1970.

Hanratty’s time with Ron and Rich Saul in Butler goes back to their midget league days with the Institute Hill Mustangs. Hanratty, a year older, was the quarterback. Ron was the fullback. Rich was the halfback.

“Three guys from the same backfield in the midgets each spent at least eight years in the NFL,” Hanratty said. “Is that a story for Ripley’s or what?”

So is this:

“We didn’t win the championship,” Hanratty said. “Penn Street beat us.”

Butler High also failed to win a WPIAL title with Hanratty and the Saul twins despite the twins’ teams going 26-1 during the regular season. It lost to West Mifflin North in the 1963 championship game at Forbes Field and to Uniontown in the 1965 title game at Pitt Stadium. It failed to qualify in 1964 in Hanratty’s senior season because of that one loss to Aliquippa. “That one was my fault,” Hanratty said. “I threw the ball more to them than I did to my team.”

Hanratty went on to become a star at Notre Dame. The Hanratty-to-Jim Seymour connection is legendary in Notre Dame lore. The two played in the famous 10-10 tie against Michigan State in 1966, still regarded by many as the greatest college game of all time.

Ron Saul played at Michigan State with Rich. They were freshmen in 1966 and were ineligible for that game against Notre Dame. Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty used to say the only way he could tell the identical twins apart was when Rich smiled because he had a chipped tooth. Both brothers were All-Big Ten and academic All-Americans.

Bill Saul played at Penn State from 1958-61 under Rip Engle, before Joe Paterno took over as head coach in 1966. Saul was such a good athlete that he also played on the Penn State basketball team.

“Bill wouldn’t allow Ron and Rich to follow him to Penn State because he hated Paterno,” Codi said.

“Joe was Rip’s assistant when Bill was there and he caught Bill smoking in a bathroom stall at halftime of a game. He went to Rip and told him he had to throw Bill off the team. Rip said, ‘No, not Saul. Anybody but Saul.’ ”

Codi and Hanratty can’t believe the Sauls are gone now, all three gone.

“I’m telling you, there’s a best-selling book there about them,” Hanratty said. “What lives they lived. What football players they were.”

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com