Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU Department of Athletics mourns the loss of former head football coach Joe Walton, who passed away Sunday. He was 85 years old.
 
Born Dec. 15, 1935, and a native of Beaver Falls, Pa., Walton was named the first head coach in RMU football history July 27, 1993. He started the program from scratch, completing everything from hiring assistant coaches to purchasing equipment to recruiting student-athletes for RMU's inaugural season in 1994.
 
During his tenure from 1994 to 2013, Walton led RMU to the first Northeast Conference (NEC) championship in 1996, guided the Colonials to a perfect 10-0 season in 2000 and in 2010 helped RMU earn the NEC's inaugural bid to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs with its league-high sixth regular-season championship.
 
In 1994, after 35 years in the National Football League (NFL), Walton took 64 freshmen at a school that never had football in its 73 years of existence and posted a 7-1-1 (.833) record, 13 months after being named RMU's first head coach. That team won its first game 21 days after the start of training camp and won five consecutive to open the season.
 
The Colonials won outright NEC championships three times (1997, 1999, 2000) while sharing three others (1996, 1998, 2010) under Walton's guidance. He led RMU to back-to-back ECAC Bowl victories in 1996 and 1997, and in 1999 and 2000 he guided the Colonials to a pair of NCAA I-AA mid-major national crowns according to Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette.
 
Walton's fingerprints are all over the program, and to prove that, the Colonials have played their home games since 2005 in a stadium that bears his name. Joe Walton Stadium hosted its first game Sept. 17, 2005, a 49-13 victory over Butler, and the Colonials will open their 16th season in the facility Saturday, Sept. 25, by hosting Howard.
 
During his 20-year tenure as head coach at RMU, Walton posted an overall record of 114-92-1 (.553). He was named NEC Coach of the Year four times (1996, 1997, 1999, 2010) and in 2010 was a candidate for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year. Walton is one of a select few coaches to win 50 games as a head coach at both the NFL and collegiate levels.
 
In his time leading the Colonials, Walton helped a fledgling program send three of its brightest stars to the NFL. The program's first running back, Tim Hall (1994-95), was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round (183rd player overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft. Former offensive lineman Hank Fraley (1996-99) spent 10 years in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns and St. Louis Rams, starting at center for the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, while former defensive back Robb Butler (2002-03) spent the 2004 season with the San Diego Chargers.
 
Walton was twice an All-American at the University of Pittsburgh as a tight end and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round (14th overall selection) of the 1957 NFL Draft. He spent seven years in the NFL as a tight end from 1957 to 1963 with both Washington and the New York Giants (1961-63). Upon retiring in 1964, Walton spent four seasons as a scout with the Giants.
 
From 1983 to 1989, Walton served as head coach of the New York Jets. Also among his years in the NFL were two seasons each as offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1990-91) and New York Jets (1981-82), seven with Washington (offensive coordinator 1978-80; running backs 1974-77) and five with the New York Giants (wide receivers 1969-73). Walton's NFL protégés included Rich Kotite, Bud Carson, Joe Theismann, Fran Tarkenton, Norm Snead, Ken O'Brien and Richard Todd.
 
Walton returned to his hometown of Beaver Falls, Pa., in 1990 with his late wife, Ginger, who passed away in September of 2007 after 47 years of marriage. He and Ginger had three children, daughters Jodi and Stacy and son, Joe, as well as six grandchildren. Walton is also survived by his second wife, Patty Sheehan Walton.
 
Walton was inducted into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013, and he was also a member of the 2013-14 class of the NEC Hall of Fame. Walton was also the 2014 recipient of the Bob Prince Award, presented by Art Rooney, at the Art Rooney Award Dinner in April of 2014.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Walton's honor can by made to the Joe Walton Endowed Scholarship, which can done by using this link.
 
What They're Saying About Joe Walton

Moise Baptiste
RMU Football Student-Athlete (1996-97), Former RMU Assistant Coach

"Coach Walton was a general's general that epitomized what leadership and coaching was about. He gave me a chance to learn and serve as a graduate assistant on his coaching staff when I didn't deserve it. We are all winners in life because of him. There is no Bobby Mo without Joe!"
 
Bernard Clark, Jr.
RMU Head Football Coach
 
"The first time I heard former student-athletes talk about Coach Walton, not one mentioned how good a football player he made them. They all spoke about the men he helped them become. That is the sign of a great teacher. We're sorry to learn of his passing, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
 
Brian Cleary
RMU Football Student-Athlete (1994-97), Former RMU Assistant Coach and RMU Football Color Commentator
 
"Coach Walton built Robert Morris football from the ground up. He established a culture and helped model the men we are today. Joe Theismann is 100 percent correct in saying that we all have a part of Joe with us. He was a great coach and a great friend and will be greatly missed by all. The Robert Morris former players and staff thoughts and prayers are with the Walton family."
 
Marty Galosi
RMU Senior Associate Athletic Director
 
"Coach Walton took our football program from nothing to something special. The fact that he built it from scratch and won early on was a bonus. He was a great coach, but he was a better man as well as a role model for all of the student-athletes and coaches that were under his tutelage. His legacy at RMU will last a long time."

Chris King
RMU Vice President and Director of Athletics
 
"Coach Walton left an indelible mark on Robert Morris University. His name is synonymous with student-athlete development and competitive success. We were so fortunate to have him as part of the RMU family. He will be greatly missed."

Jake Nulph
RMU Football Student-Athlete (2002-04), Former RMU Assistant Coach and Edinboro Head Coach
 
"Coach Walton was more than just a football coach, he was a great man who taught us life lessons to become better people. His teachings reached far beyond X's & O's. Those are teachings I share with my team today. Thank you for everything you have done for me!"
 
Chris Shovlin
The Voice Of The Colonials
 
"Patriarch, architect, mentor, friend: those are just some of the terms that come to mind when I think of Coach Joe Walton. He didn't just build a football program from scratch. He changed the lives of everyone who came in contact with him, molding players into men of character and positively impacting the entire RMU community. In our last conversation just a few months ago, I told him, just like I tell everyone, Joe Walton made me a better play-by-play announcer, and being around him all these years made me a better person."

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