'Burgh's best to wear it, No. 69: Pitt's Randy Dixon, AC/DC fan, an electric choice
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best 100 players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number.
No. 69: Randy Dixon
Running into defensive linemen all day takes a toll on a man. But when it was time to relax, Pitt’s Randy Dixon knew just how to do it.
“You started playing AC/DC, and he was the first one singing their song,” quarterback John Congemi said of his offensive tackle. “When I would take him to my apartment, he’d say, ‘Hey, Ace, put on AC/DC.’ He was probably their biggest fan.
“Off the field, he didn’t have a mean bone in his body. But on the field, he knew how to turn it on.”
And Dixon kept up the volume for four years, starting on Pitt’s offensive line every season from 1983-86. He was an All-American in his senior year and, according to the Tribune-Review sports staff, wore the No. 69 jersey better than any athlete who has played in Pittsburgh.
“Randy was a guy, he cared a lot about his craft,” said Congemi, a four-year starter and now a college football analyst for ESPN. “He was a guy who tried to be perfect in everything he did.
“The way he played was he played with finesse, and because he was an athlete, he was nimble enough to play with light feet and move around.
“But he had a mean streak about him. That gave him a perfect balance for an offensive lineman because he could do a little bit of everything. That gave him some position flexibility when he got to the next level.
“He had that offensive lineman mean streak that when you saw it, you say, ‘OK, he’s ready to play.’ ”
Congemi said Dixon’s effort and performance remained consistent through all four seasons.
“Randy played at such a high level, it was very rare he had an off game,” he said. “His below-average games were such a rarity, it was a given he was going to play well.”
After the ’86 season, Dixon was a fourth-round draft choice of the Indianapolis Colts and played nine seasons through 1995.
Congemi said he would welcome a reunion with Dixon, saying, “He’d be one guy I’d love to have beer with and give a hug to, that’s for sure.”
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Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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