Simply a Star.

First you notice his size. At six feet, seven inches and weighing 330 pounds, Jon Runyan is hard to miss. Add to that his highly visible position as a mainstay of the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line, and one might think he’s just another attention-seeking jock. Not at all. Indeed, Runyan would rather use his fame to give fans a unique point of view of the game of football, and to support the charities he so passionately supports. And while many fans know him for his menacing on-field persona, off the field he’s a laid back guy whose straightforward, simplistic sensibility keeps him centered on what matters to him most: his family, his teammates and the people he tirelessly works for every day, the indefatigable Eagles fans. 

Runyan comes by this attitude naturally.

Jon Daniel Runyan was born in 1973 in Flint, Michigan, one of three sons from a working-class family. He began his athletic career in basketball and track and field. Then, during his junior year in high school, Runyan took up football.

He was recruited out of Carman-Ainsworth High School in Flint to play for the University of Michigan, where he let his play do the talking, and his size and willingness to work clearly intrigued his coaches.

“My coaches saw things in me that I didn’t see in myself,” Runyan said. “I guess I was blessed with athletic talent, but not overly blessed, given my height and weight. But I learned from my father that having a strong work ethic was very important. My dad worked his butt off as a plant mechanic for General Motors for 30 years. I watched him go to work every day, even when he was sick, and that’s one of the big things I took away from him.  He was also passionate about his home and family. That’s probably why I have the work ethic I have. When I played many of my 167 consecutive games, I often thought about my dad, who never missed a day of work in his life.”

Runyan began his NFL career in 1996, selected in the NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers (currently, the Tennessee Titans), and played with the team from 1996 through 1999. He was signed as a free agent by the Eagles in 2000, and in 2006 the Eagles re-signed Runyan, who holds the record as one of the only offensive linemen to start 167 consecutive regular season games, and all 18 playoff games in their careers.

“I guess you could say I play the old school kind of way,” Runyan said, as he leaned back in his chair, trying to find a comfortable position after injuring his tailbone in a fall in a cold tub following practice. “I’m not sure where my aggression comes from, because I’m a more laid back kind of person, but when I’m on the field, I play a very physical game. Once you get going, you don’t tend to feel any pain.” That take-no-prisoners attitude earned him the reputation as one of the “dirtiest” players in the NFL.

The Reluctant Hero 

“Everyone has something to contribute in life, whether they make things or run corporations-- I just happen to play football,” Runyan said. “I don’t consider myself someone special in society. Someday, I know I’ll need help too, and that’s one of the reasons I’m very involved in charity work. My grandmother just died from Alzheimer’s, and my wife’s grandmother has it, so that’s one of the reasons I’m involved in the Alzheimer’s Association. Also, when I was in college, I visited children who were in the hospital suffering from cancer, and just seeing them smile for two minutes was a feeling you just can’t duplicate or ever forget.”

Runyan, like many of his teammates, has devoted many hours of his free time working with local charities. In 2006, he was awarded a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Variety Club, and supports the Alzheimer’s Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the Leukemia Lymphoma Society of Houston, among others.

Runyan doesn’t consider himself a “hero,” but does have a few of his own.

“You know, when you see 80-year-old men taking care of their wives who have Alzheimer’s; well, they are the real heroes in my book. In terms of my career, I guess you could say that Mike Munchek, my coach at Tennessee, and Bruce Matthews, who was a Hall of Fame Offensive Lineman for Tennessee, were my heroes in the early stages of my career,” Runyan said.

And he doesn’t have to look too far away from home for his heroes on the football
field in Philadelphia. Donovan McNabb, Coach Andy Reid and the rest of his teammates inspire him to be “the best I can be everyday.”

The other heroes are the Philadelphia fans, because without them, he mused, “we would all be out of business.

“The fact is that ultimately what we do on the football field is entertainment, and without the fans, who watch us every week, the sport wouldn’t be the same,” said Runyan. “People here in Philadelphia have a different attitude about the game than they have in other cities, and that’s good. In Philadelphia, people take it upon themselves to let you know what they think, and I always listen to their opinions. Believe it or not, the fans get us going and you have to take the good with the bad.”

The Family Man and House Husband

Jon Runyan loves his kids—Jon Daniel, Jr., 11; Alyssa, 8; and Isabella, 6; and his wife, Loretta, and lives with his family on a 23-acre estate in Mt. Laurel, NJ. His son is the athlete in the family “My son loves sports and is very athletic,” Runyan said. “He’s a great baseball player, and I really enjoy coaching and watching him play. My middle daughter is into the creative areas like drawing and writing, and my youngest is the performer. I’ve learned you can never push kids to be what they don’t want to be. If you give them the support to pursue their own interests, then they will be confident and secure.”

Runyan says he is a “simple guy,” who has only been on vacation three times during the past six years, preferring instead to spend time with his wife and kids in his dream home, which he helped design.

“My house is my never ending project,” he said. “It’s taken more than 25 months to build, but it’s almost finished, thank goodness. My favorite room in the house is my 2,000-square-foot bar and chill out room. I designed the bar in the shape of a football, with a leather border, and granite and steel throughout. The floor below is decorated in a stamped concrete with a giant football in the pattern. We also put in lockers in our mud room to resemble our lockers at the stadium, and our kids just love them.”

So, what does the big guy do in that room, when he’s not flattening the opposing team on? “Absolutely nothing!” Runyan’s passions off the field are pretty simple. He enjoys taking his motorcycles down to Daytona, FL, for Bike Week, tinkering with his 1970 Chevy Chevelle, coaching his son, and spending time with his wife and kids as much as he can. “I’m actually a very boring person,” Runyan said. “Seriously, a lot of people make life more complicated than it is. I believe that if you keep yourself grounded and do what’s right, your life will be more fulfilled.”

According to Chris Eni, one of the owners of Dietz & Watson, and a close friend and neighbor of Runyan’s, the big guy is anything but boring. “John is actually a shy person, but he is very active and a lot of fun, and most of all he’s a great husband, father and friend,” Eni said. “If I need help with something, he’s there. No questions asked. That same generosity applies to his fans, too. Everyone wants his autograph, and even when he probably would just want to kick back and relax, he still takes the time to sign. Jon is simply a great person.”  

Life after Football

“I love playing football, and I’ll play the game until the money doesn’t equal the pain I’m in,” Runyan said lightheartedly. He has also worked broadcasting for the past four years, first on Y100, then on WXTU, CN8, Comcast SportsNet, Fox29, and now on WIP. “I enjoy doing all that stuff, and talking to people about football,” he said. “I believe I can give them a unique insight into the game, and how we as players deal with the many ups and downs that are part of being in professional football.”

Runyan plans to stay involved in his charity work and continue his dialog with the fans through his on-going broadcasting pursuits. He will also lend his name to consumer organizations, serving as a spokesperson, and recently shot commercials for Ford and McDonald’s. In fact, he got the job with the Golden Arches, not from a big time New York advertising agency, but rather, from meeting a McDonald’s owner/operator at one of his charity golf outings. With a handshake between Runyan and the businessman, his career as fast food spokesperson was conceived.

“Really,” Runyan said facetiously, “my whole goal in life is to do absolutely nothing! But I know if I did that, I would drive my wife and family crazy. So, after I retire from the game, I will continue my involvement with charities, spend time watching my beloved basketball, coaching my kids and just kicking back and enjoying the simple things in life, like my home and family.”

Dava Guerin lives in New Hope, PA