Winner of Season 12 – Hines Ward

Date of birth: March 8, 1976 (1976-03-08) (age 35)
Place of birth: Seoul, South Korea
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 205 lb (93 kg)

Career highlights and awards

• 4× Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
  
• 3× 2nd Team All-Pro selection (2002, 2003, 2004)
  
• 2× Super Bowl Champion (XL, XLIII)
  
• Super Bowl MVP (XL)
  
• 3× Steelers MVP (2002, 2003, 2005)
  
• 3× AFC Champion (2005, 2008, 2010)
  
• Steelers Career Records for Receptions, Receiving Yards, & Receiving TDs
  

Hines E. Ward, Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American football player who currently plays the wide receiver position for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, where he is the longest-tenured current player on the team. He was voted MVP of Super Bowl XL. He played college football at the University of Georgia. Born in Seoul, South Korea to a Korean mother and an African American father, Ward grew up in the Atlanta area. He has become an advocate for the social acceptance of foreigners in Korea, especially mixed-race youth.

Ward’s versatility has served him well as a professional wide receiver. Since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft, he has earned three team Most Valuable Player (MVP) selections. He is considered to be one of the best wideouts in the game because of his great hands and his willingness to block. He is also a four-time NFL Pro Bowl selection (2001–2004). He also had a streak of 4 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, which likely could have continued in the 2005 NFL season if he had not missed a game due to injury. In 2002, he set a Steelers franchise record for receptions (112) and touchdowns (12) and was named to his first of two consecutive All-NFL teams. While he is considered one of the best blocking receivers in the NFL, he has also been criticized for habitually hitting defenders on their blind-side. Ward has twice been named the NFL’s dirtiest player, as determined by a Sports Illustrated poll of NFL players; the most recent was in 2009.

On May 24, 2011, Hines and his partner Kym Johnson won season 12 of the American TV dance competition Dancing with the Stars.