The Dancing Bear Lives On…

Ron “The Dancing Bear” McDole has lived an extraordinary life of competition and victory on the football field. His impressive list of accomplishments includes the following:

More than 250 games played
Two American Football League Championship
One Super Bowl appearance
18 years in professional football

It is easy to see why Ron was just recently inducted into the Nebraska University Football Hall of Fame.

His long tenure in pro football is exceptional in its own right as Ron holds the record for any Husker football player’s longest NFL playing career. However, he made his mark on the University of Nebraska football program from 1958 to 1960. While there, Ron was a three-year letter winner as a tackle and served as team captain in his final year. During his junior and senior seasons in Lincoln, he spent 1,074 out of a possible 1,200 minutes on the field – more than any other player at the time. Ron’s dedication to the sport he loved is inspiring and absolutely deserving of Hall of Fame recognition.

Time in the NFL

After graduating, Ron went on to play 18 seasons in the NFL and AFL, playing with the Cardinals, Oilers, Bills, and Redskins. Such a long and successful career makes it no surprise that Ron was selected for the Hall of Fame from the Legends player category.

Over 50 people attended his celebration, including NFL greats Pat Fischer and Roy Jefferson, who fondly recounted their football days with Ron. Many memories and jokes were shared among the men as though no time had passed at all. Ron’s daughter Tammy also spoke of her father’s great legacy and shared memories of Ron piling their entire family into the car to travel hundreds of miles to attend games. Ron’s career clearly touched many, as he is still receiving fan mail to this day, which his loving wife, Toni, brings to him every other week.