Former Steeler, NCAA wrestling champion Carlton Haselrig dies at 54

Carlton Haselrig, the six-time NCAA wrestling champion who switched sports and became a Pro Bowl guard with the Pittsburgh Steelers, died Wednesday at his home in Johnstown.

Haselrig was 54.

Cambria County coroner Jeffrey Lees told the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat that Haselrig died of natural causes. An autopsy will be conducted.

Friends said Haselrig had been suffering from liver disease that deteriorated a body that measured a rock-solid 295 pounds in his NFL playing days.

“For those of us who were close to him, we saw it coming,” said Pat Pecora, Haselrig’s wrestling coach at Pitt-Johnstown. “He had been sick for a while. He was losing a tremendous amount of weight, but we were still shocked when it happened this morning.”

Haselrig won six heavyweight wrestling titles at Pitt-Johnstown, a record that never will be equaled because of a change in NCAA rules. Despite never playing football in college — an injury kept him off the field as a freshman at Lock Haven, and tiny Pitt-Johnstown didn’t field a team — Haselrig was selected by the Steelers in the 12th round of the 1989 NFL Draft. Almost 15 years after his playing career ended, Haselrig took up mixed martial arts and competed professionally.

“His athletic accomplishments were amazing — almost downright impossible to think about,” Pecora said. “Carlton didn’t think it was that big of a deal. That was the funny part. To him, he wasn’t impressed with himself. He was so humble about his accomplishments.”

Once the Steelers got Haselrig into camp, they tried him on defense, then switched him to the offensive line where he worked his way into the starting lineup in 1991.

Haselrig spent four years with the Steelers, earning Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors at right guard in 1992. Haselrig was part of an offensive line that paved the way for Barry Foster to rush for a franchise-record 1,690 yards in Bill Cowher’s first season as coach.

Haselrig’s career, however, was curtailed by drug and alcohol issues. He spent time in treatment centers and was jailed at various points of his career and after he left the NFL.

Haselrig did not play in 1994 and spent one season with the New York Jets before his NFL career ended.

“He had his share of demons and faced them down,” Pecora said.

Haselrig spent the past few seasons assisting the wrestling and football teams at his alma mater, Greater Johnstown High School. It was at Greater Johnstown that Haselrig earned a PIAA championship despite the school not fielding a wrestling team.

In 2019, he paired with wrestling coach and historian Kevin Emily on an autobiography titled, “Giant Killer: The Carlton Haselrig Story.”

The 150-page book captured Haselrig’s rise and fall and subsequent rise again.

“He got his life back together,” Emily said. “A lot of people wrote that dude off, turned their back on him, thought he was finished, and he proved them wrong.”

Haselrig enjoyed the quiet life Johnstown provided, and he never strayed far from his roots. He was guarded about his life story but opened up when Emily called about the book project. Emily had portrayed Haselrig in a chapter of a previous book, and that helped the author earn Haselrig’s trust.

Emily traveled to Johnstown and spent eight days interviewing Haselrig, Pecora and other associates.

“I met him at a barbershop, and he greeted me with that big, booming voice,” Emily said. “From that second, we were laughing, talking. We sat on his porch and talked for hours. I got to know the man. He became my friend.”

Emily’s interview subject was, of course, the most accomplished wrestler in NCAA history.

After transferring from Lock Haven to Pitt-Johnstown, Haselrig won national championships at the Division II level in 1987, ‘88 and ‘89. In those days, the Division II and III champions could compete at the Division I tournament, and Haselrig also won that title in those three seasons.

The NCAA changed its rules, meaning no wrestler will be permitted to match Haselrig’s six national championships. The edict became known as the “Haselrig Rule.”

In 2008, although he was in his 40s, Haselrig decided to try another combat sport, mixed martial arts. He had a 3-2 record, including a final victory at Johnstown’s Cambria County War Memorial.

“Can you image what he could have done if he was in his 20s?” Pecora said. “He was doing MMA in his 40s, and he was winning.”

Haselrig is survived by his wife, Michelle, and nine children: Cameron, Jordan, Demetrius, Jade, William, Cortez, Cantara, Carlton Jr., and Carlee.