The
Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the
North DivisionThe American Football Conference North Division, or AFC North, is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created prior to the 1967 season as the NFL Century Division when the NFL split into four divisions...
of the
American Football ConferenceThe American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
(AFC) in the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC. Pittsburgh has won more
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
titles (six), won more
AFC Championship GameThe American Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American...
s (eight) and played in (fifteen) and hosted more (eleven) conference championship games than any other AFC or NFC team. The Steelers share the record for most Super Bowl appearances with the Dallas Cowboys (eight). The Steelers won their most recent championship,
Super Bowl XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
, on February 1, 2009.
The fifth-oldest franchise in the NFL, the Steelers were founded as the
Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8, 1933, by
Art RooneyArthur Joseph "Art" Rooney, Sr. , often referred to as "The Chief", was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football franchise in the National Football League.-Family history:...
, taking its original name from the
baseball team of the same nameThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, as was common practice for NFL teams to do at the time. The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding. The current owner is Art's son,
Dan RooneyDaniel Milton "Dan" Rooney is the United States Ambassador to Ireland. He is chairman emeritus of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in the National Football League , which was founded by his father, Art Rooney. Rooney was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000 for his contributions...
, who has given much control of the franchise to his son
Art Rooney IIArthur Joseph "Art" Rooney II is the president and co-owner of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.-Biography:Rooney is the oldest of nine children of Dan and Patricia Rooney. The Rooney family has owned the Steelers since the team's founding by Art II's grandfather and namesake Art Rooney in 1933...
.
Long one of the NFL's
flagshipCore products or flagship products are a company's products which are most directly related to their core competencies. These products are then integrated into a variety of end products, either by the company holding the core product or by a second company to which the core product is sold to, and...
teams, the Steelers enjoys a large, widespread fanbase nicknamed
Steeler NationSteeler Nation is the unofficial name of the fan base of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, coined by NFL Films narrator John Facenda in "Blueprint for Victory," the team's 1975 highlights film...
. The Steelers currently play their home games at
Heinz FieldHeinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
on Pittsburgh's North Side in the
North ShoreThe North Shore is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's North Side. It has a zip code of 15212, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by both the council members for District 1 and 6...
neighborhood, which also hosts the
University of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
PanthersPittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
. Built in 2001, the stadium replaced
Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
which hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons. Prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in
Pitt StadiumPitt Stadium was a stadium located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1925 to 1999. It served primarily as the home of the University of Pittsburgh's football team, the Pittsburgh Panthers...
and
Forbes FieldForbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
.
Franchise history
The Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL first took to the field as the
Pittsburgh PiratesThe 1933 Pittsburgh Pirates was the debut season of the team that would eventually become the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team was founded after Pennsylvania relaxed its blue laws that, prior to 1933, prohibited sporting events from taking place on Sundays, when most NFL games took place...
on September 20, 1933, losing 23–2 to the
New York GiantsThe 1933 New York Giants season was the ninth season for the club in the National Football League.-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Standings:-See also:*List of New York Giants seasons...
. Through the 1930s, the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than .500 . Pittsburgh did make history in by signing
Byron WhiteByron Raymond "Whizzer" White won fame both as a football halfback and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed to the court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, he served until his retirement in 1993...
, a future
JusticeAssociate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
of the U.S. Supreme Court, to what was at the time the biggest contract in NFL history, but he played only one year with the Pirates before signing with the
Detroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. Prior to the 1940 season, the Pirates renamed themselves the Steelers.
During World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises to field a team. During the
1943 seasonThe 1943 NFL season was the 24th regular season of the National Football League. As more players left to serve in World War II, three teams were affected by the depleted rosters. The Cleveland Rams were granted permission to suspend operations for this season. The Philadelphia Eagles and the...
, they merged with the
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
forming the "Phil-Pitt Eagles" and were known as the "
SteaglesThe Steagles is the popular nickname for the team created by the temporary merger of two National Football League teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season...
". This team went 5–4–1. In
1944The 1944 NFL season was the 25th regular season of the United States National Football League. The Boston Yanks joined the league as an expansion team. Also, the Brooklyn Dodgers changed their name to Brooklyn Tigers. Meanwhile, both the Cleveland Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles resumed their...
, they merged with the
Chicago CardinalsThis article details the history of the Arizona Cardinals American Football Club. The Cardinals are the oldest existing professional football club in the United States.-Chicago years :...
and were known as Card-Pitt (or, mockingly, as the "Carpets"). This team finished 0–10, marking the only winless team in franchise history.
The
SteelersThe 1947 Pittsbutgh Steelers represented the franchise in its 14th season of play as part of the NFL. The team improved on its 1946 record by winning eight games and losing four...
made the playoffs for the first time in , tying for first place in the division at 8–4 with the
Philadelphia EaglesThe 1947 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 15th in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 6–5, winning eight games. The team qualified for the playoffs for the first time in fifteen seasons.-Off Season:...
. This forced a tie-breaking playoff game at
Forbes FieldForbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
, which the Steelers lost 21–0. That would be Pittsburgh's only playoff game for the next 25 years, though the Steelers did qualify for a "Playoff Bowl" in 1962 as the second-best team in their conference, though not considered an official playoff.
In , the year they moved into
Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
and the year of the
AFL-NFL mergerThe AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...
, the Pittsburgh Steelers were one of three old-guard NFL teams to switch to the newly-formed
American Football ConferenceThe American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
(the others being the
Cleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
), in order to equalize the number of teams in the two conferences of the newly-merged league. The Steelers also received a $3 million relocation fee, which was a windfall for them; for years they rarely had enough to build a true contending team.
The Chuck Noll era
The Steelers' history of bad luck changed with the hiring of coach
Chuck NollCharles Henry "Chuck" Noll is a former professional American football player and coach, and a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He served most notably as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991...
for the
1969 seasonThe 1969 NFL season was the 50th regular season of the National Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger. To honor the NFL's 50th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season.As per the...
. Noll's most remarkable talent was in his draft selections, taking Hall of Famers
"Mean" Joe GreeneCharles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
in
1969The 1969 National Football League Draft was part of the Common Draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and American Football League held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place on January 28–29, 1969....
,
Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
and
Mel Blount in
1970The 1970 National Football League Draft was held on January 27–28, 1970.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
,
Jack Ham in
1971The 1971 National Football League Draft was held on January 28–29, 1971.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
,
Franco HarrisFranco Harris is a former American football player. He played his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.In the 1972 NFL Draft he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall...
in
1972The 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
, and finally, in 1974, pulled off the incredible feat of selecting four Hall of Famers in one draft year,
Lynn Swann-Collegiate:Swann attended the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American on the Trojans football team. He played under legendary coach John McKay, including the 1972 undefeated and national championship season. McKay said of Swann, "He has speed, soft hands, and grace." He...
, Jack Lambert,
John StallworthJohnny Lee Stallworth is a former American football wide receiver who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Alabama A&M, and was the Steelers' fourth-round draft pick in 1974. Stallworth played in six AFC championships,...
, and
Mike Webster. The Pittsburgh Steelers'
1974 draftThe 1974 National Football League Draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams was granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks....
was their best ever, and no other team has ever drafted four future Hall of Famers in one year, and only very few (including the 1970 Steelers) have drafted two or more in one year.
The players drafted in the early '70s formed the base of an NFL dynasty, making the playoffs in eight seasons and becoming the only team in NFL history to win four
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s in six years, as well as the first to win more than two. They also enjoyed a regular season streak of 49 consecutive wins (–) against teams that would finish with a losing record that year.
The
Steelers- Regular season :In 1980, the Steelers had their struggles. The aging defense wasn't as effective in 1978–79, falling from 2nd to 15th in yards allowed and 313 points, 15th in the league, up from 262 5th in the league, while only recording 18 QB sacks. The offense was still plagued with too many...
suffered a rash of injuries in the
1980 seasonThe 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...
and missed the playoffs with a 9–7 record. The
1981 seasonThe 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...
was no better, with an 8–8 showing. The team was then hit with the retirements of all their key players from the Super Bowl years. "Mean" Joe Greene retired after the
1981 seasonThe 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...
, Lynn Swann and Jack Ham after
1982The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule...
's playoff berth, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount after
1983The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins.-Major rule changes:...
's divisional championship, and Jack Lambert after
1984The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
's AFC Championship Game appearance.
After those retirements, the franchise skidded to its first losing seasons since 1971. Though still competitive, the Steelers would not finish above .500 in
1985The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...
,
1986The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:...
, and
1988The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division....
. In
1987The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
, the year of the players' strike, the
Steelers- Schedule :- Week 1 : vs. San Francisco 49ers :at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT* Game weather:* Game attendance: 55,735* Referee: Gordon McCarter...
finished with a record of 8–7, but missed the playoffs. In
1989The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
, they would reach the second round of the playoffs on the strength of Merrill Hoge and
Rod WoodsonRoderick Kevin "Rod" Woodson is the current cornerbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He is also a former defensive back best known for his 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as being a key member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XXXV championship...
before narrowly missing the playoffs in each of the next two seasons.
The Bill Cowher era
In 1992,
Chuck NollCharles Henry "Chuck" Noll is a former professional American football player and coach, and a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He served most notably as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991...
retired and was succeeded by
Kansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
defensive coordinator
Bill CowherWilliam Laird "Bill" Cowher is a former American football coach and player. Cowher resigned after 15 seasons as the Steelers' coach on January 5, 2007, 11 months to the day after winning 2005–06's Super Bowl XL...
, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of
CraftonCrafton is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, west of downtown Pittsburgh. The population grew from 1,927 in 1900 to 4,583 in 1910 and to 7,163 in 1940. The population was 5,951 at the 2010 census.-History:...
.
Cowher led the Steelers to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons, a feat that had been accomplished only by legendary coach
Paul BrownPaul Eugene Brown was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League...
of the
Cleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. In those first six seasons Cowher coached them as deep as the
AFC Championship GameThe American Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American...
three times and following the
1995 seasonThe 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
an appearance in
Super Bowl XXXSuper Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
on the strength of the "
BlitzburghBlitzburgh is a nickname for the city of Pittsburgh, used mostly in the context of American football. The name references the 3-4 zone-blitz scheme created by longtime Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, which the team has used since LeBeau first became defensive coordinator in 1992...
" defense. However, the Steelers lost to the
Dallas CowboysThe 1995 Dallas Cowboys season would mark their 36th in the NFL and final of the three Super Bowl titles they would win in the 1990s. Dallas would be the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a span of four seasons...
. Cowher produced the franchise's record-tying fifth Super Bowl win in
Super Bowl XLSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
over the
National Football ConferenceThe National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
champion
Seattle SeahawksThe 2005 Seattle Seahawks season saw them advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in the team's history. They were the NFC representative in Super Bowl XL, a game they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Seahawks compiled a 13-3 record in the regular season, easily winning the NFC West and...
ten years later. With that victory, the Steelers became the third team to win five Super Bowls, and the first sixth-seeded playoff team to reach and win the Super Bowl since the NFL expanded to a 12-team post-season tournament in 1990. He coached through the 2006 season which ended with a 8–8 record, just short of the playoffs. Overall Cowher's teams reached the playoffs 10 of 15 seasons with six AFC Championship Games, two Super Bowl berths and a championship.
The Mike Tomlin era
On January 7, 2007, Cowher resigned from coaching the Steelers, citing a need to spend more time with his family. He did not use the term "retire," leaving open a possible return to the NFL as coach of another team. A three-man committee consisting of Art Rooney II, Dan Rooney, and Kevin Colbert was set up to conduct interviews for the head coaching vacancy. The candidates interviewed included: offensive coordinator
Ken WhisenhuntKenneth "Ken" Moore Whisenhunt is the current head coach of the Arizona Cardinals NFL football team, leading them to the first Super Bowl in franchise history during the 2008 season...
, offensive line coach
Russ GrimmRussell Scott Grimm is a former American football guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. As a collegian, he was an All-American center at the University of Pittsburgh. As a professional, Grimm had multi-selections to both the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams, and was...
, former offensive coordinator
Chan GaileyThomas Chandler "Chan" Gailey, Jr. is an American professional and college football coach. Gailey is the current head coach of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League ; he was formerly the head coach of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets college football...
,
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
defensive coordinator
Mike TomlinMichael Tomlin is the current head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. Tomlin is the third youngest head coach in any of the four major North American professional sports. He is the tenth African-American head coach in NFL history, and first in Steelers history...
, and
Chicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
defensive coordinator
Ron RiveraRonald Eugene Rivera is the head coach of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. Rivera was a linebacker on the 1985 Chicago Bears, who won Super Bowl XX. Rivera was the defensive coordinator for the 2006 Chicago Bears, who won the National Football Conference championship and competed in Super Bowl XLI...
. On January 22, 2007,
Mike TomlinMichael Tomlin is the current head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. Tomlin is the third youngest head coach in any of the four major North American professional sports. He is the tenth African-American head coach in NFL history, and first in Steelers history...
was announced as Cowher's successor as head coach. Tomlin is the first African-American to be named head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in its 75-year history. Tomlin became the third consecutive Steelers Head Coach to go to the Super Bowl, equaling the Dallas Cowboys (Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer) in this achievement. He was named the Motorola 2008 Coach of the Year. On February 1, 2009, Tomlin led the Steelers to their second Super Bowl of this decade, and went on to win 27–23 against the
Arizona CardinalsThe 2008 Arizona Cardinals season was the 89th season for the team in the National Football League and their 21st season in Arizona. The season marked the Cardinals' first-ever Super Bowl appearance, coming as a result of their victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship.The...
. At age 36, he was the youngest head coach to ever win the Super Bowl, and he is only the second African-American coach to ever win the Super Bowl (
Tony DungyAnthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy [DUN-jee] is a former professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. Dungy was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001, and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008...
was the first). The 2010 season made Tomlin the only coach to reach the Super Bowl twice before the age of 40. Tomlin led the team to his second Super Bowl (
Super Bowl XLVSuper Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
) on Feb. 6, 2011. However, the Steelers were defeated in their eighth Super Bowl appearance by the Green Bay Packers by the score of 31–25.
Since the NFL merger in 1970, the Pittsburgh Steelers have compiled a regular season record of 363–235–2 (.607) and an overall record of 394–253–2 (.609) including the playoffs, reached the playoffs 25 times, won their division 20 times, played in 15 AFC championship games, and won six of eight Super Bowls. They are also the only NFL team not to have a season with twelve or more losses since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978.
Ownership
Since 2008, the
Rooney familyThe Rooney family has been the majority owners and operators of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since the formation of the franchise in 1933. Art Rooney was the founder and owner of the team until his death in 1988; ownership of the team was then transferred to...
has brought in several investors for the team while retaining control of the team itself. This came about so that the team could comply with NFL ownership regulations. Current Steelers Chairman,
Dan RooneyDaniel Milton "Dan" Rooney is the United States Ambassador to Ireland. He is chairman emeritus of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in the National Football League , which was founded by his father, Art Rooney. Rooney was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000 for his contributions...
, and his son,
Art Rooney IIArthur Joseph "Art" Rooney II is the president and co-owner of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.-Biography:Rooney is the oldest of nine children of Dan and Patricia Rooney. The Rooney family has owned the Steelers since the team's founding by Art II's grandfather and namesake Art Rooney in 1933...
, president of the franchise, wanted to stay involved with the franchise, while two of the brothers – Timothy and Patrick – wanted to further pursue
racetracksHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
that they own in Florida and New York. Since 2006, many of the racetracks have added
video slot machinesA slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
, causing them to violate "NFL policy that prohibits involvement with racetrack and gambling interests".
While Dan Rooney and Art Rooney II retain control of the team with the league-minimum 30%, the following make up the other investors:
- Several other members of the Rooney family, including Art Rooney Jr., John Rooney, and the McGinley family, who are cousins to the Rooneys.
- Pilot Corporation
Pilot Corporation is a petroleum corporation in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Pilot operates the Pilot Food Mart convenience stores in Tennessee. Along with Flying J and CVC Capital Partners, Pilot is joint-owner of Pilot Flying J, the largest truck stop chain in the United States.- History...
and Pilot Flying J president Jim Haslam III, son of founder Jim Haslam Jr.James Arthur "Jim" Haslam II is an American businessman and philanthropist, best known as the founder of Pilot Corporation, which operates a chain of convenience stores and travel centers throughout the United States and Canada, and is one of the largest privately-owned companies in the United...
and brother of TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
Governor Bill HaslamWilliam Edward "Bill" Haslam is the 49th and current Governor of Tennessee. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam was elected to office in 2010...
.
- Legendary Pictures
Legendary Pictures is an American film production company, whose parent company, Legendary Entertainment, is based in Burbank, California and was founded by Thomas Tull in 2004...
president and CEO Thomas Tull.
- The Paul family of Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, who are primarily involved with Pittsburgh-based Ampco Pittsburgh Corporation
Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation is a specialty steel manufacturer headquartered in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is one of several companies to bear the Ampco name, and it should not be confused with the Chicago based Ampco Metal Inc. copper base alloy producer, the Miami-based cabinetry...
as well as Morton's Restaurant Group, Urban Active Fitness, Meyer Products and Harley Marine Services. Additionally, family members serve on numerous boardsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, including Cornell University, UPMCThe University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is an $9 billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 54,000 employees, 20 hospitals, 4,200 licensed beds, 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices, a 1.5 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and...
, University of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, the American Red CrossThe American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
, Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
and the Loomis Chaffee SchoolThe Loomis Chaffee School is a premier coeducational boarding school for grades 9–12 and postgraduates located on a 300-plus acre campus in the Connecticut River Valley in Windsor, Connecticut, six miles north of Hartford...
.
- Former Steelers wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
John StallworthJohnny Lee Stallworth is a former American football wide receiver who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Alabama A&M, and was the Steelers' fourth-round draft pick in 1974. Stallworth played in six AFC championships,...
, a member of the Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
.
- GTCR
GTCR LLC is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, leveraged recapitalization, growth capital and rollup transactions. As of 2008, it manages more than $8 billion in equity and mezzanine capital invested in a wide range of companies and industries....
chairman Bruce V. Rauner.
- The Varischetti family of Brockway, Pennsylvania
Brockway is a borough in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,182 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Brockway is located at ....
, which owns several nursing homeA nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
s and a commercial real estateThe term commercial property refers to buildings or land intended to generate a profit, either from capital gain or rental income.-Definition:...
business.
- Paul Evanson, chairman, president, and CEO of Allegheny Energy
Allegheny Energy is an electric utility headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It owns and operates electric generation facilities and delivers electric services to customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia...
.
With the transaction, Jim Haslam and the Paul family each own over 10% of the team making them the largest new investors.
Season-by-season records
Through the end of the season, the Steelers have an all-time record of 565–529–21, including playoffs. In recent seasons the Steelers have generally performed well, qualifying for the playoffs six times in the past ten seasons and winning the Super Bowl twice since .
In the NFL's "modern era" (since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970) the Steelers have posted the best record in the league. The franchise has won the most total games, won the most divisional titles, earned the best winning percentage (including every expansion team), earned the most All-Pro nominations, and have accumulated the most Super Bowl wins (six) since the modern game started in 1970. It is 2nd overall in playoff wins and tied with the
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for most regular-season wins. Since the merger, the team's playoff record is 33–19 (.635), which is second best in terms of playoff winning percentage behind the
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
' playoff record of 28–16 (.636), through January 23, 2011.
Logo and uniforms
The Steelers have used black and gold as their colors since the club's inception, the lone exception being the 1943 season when they merged with the
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and formed the "
SteaglesThe Steagles is the popular nickname for the team created by the temporary merger of two National Football League teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season...
"; the team's colors at that time were green and white as a result of wearing Eagles uniforms. Originally, the team wore solid gold-colored helmets and black jerseys. Unique to Pittsburgh, the Steelers' black and gold colors are now shared by all major professional teams in the city, including the
Pittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
in baseball and the
Pittsburgh PenguinsThe Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
in hockey, and also the
Pittsburgh PowerThe Pittsburgh Power is an Arena Football League team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that began play in March of 2011. The team plays its home games at the new Consol Energy Center, which they share with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League...
of the reformed Arena Football League, and the
Pittsburgh PassionThe Pittsburgh Passion is a women's American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The franchise began play in 2003 and is currently owned by Teresa Conn and Franco Harris. It is a licensed team in the Women's Football Alliance....
of the
Independent Women's Football LeagueThe Independent Women's Football League was founded in 2000, and began play in 2001.IWFL founders began with the goal to establish a quality women's football league that would be respected as the top level of women's tackle football in the world....
. However, the Penguins currently use "Vegas Gold", a color similar to metallic gold, and the Pirates' gold is a darker mustard yellow-gold, while the Steelers "gold" is more of a bright canary yellow. Black and gold are also the colors of the
city's official flagThe flag of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a tricolor flag featuring vertical bands of black and gold. The coat of arms of the City of Pittsburgh is charged in the center of the gold stripe....
.
The Steelers logo was introduced in 1962 and is based on the "
SteelmarkThe Steelmark is a logo representing steel and the steel industry owned by the American Iron and Steel Institute, and used by it to promote the product and its manufacturers....
", originally designed by Pittsburgh's
U.S. SteelThe United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
and now owned by the
American Iron and Steel InstituteThe American Iron and Steel Institute is an association of North American steel producers. Its predecessor organizations date back to 1855 making it one of the oldest trade associations in the United States. AISI assumed its present form in 1908, with Elbert H...
(AISI). In fact, it was Cleveland-based
Republic SteelRepublic Steel was once the third largest steel producer in the United States.The Republic Iron and Steel Company was founded in Youngstown, Ohio in 1899....
that suggested the Steelers adopt the industry logo. It consists of the word "Steelers" surrounded by three
astroids (
hypocycloidIn geometry, a hypocycloid is a special plane curve generated by the trace of a fixed point on a small circle that rolls within a larger circle...
s of four
cuspIn the mathematical theory of singularities a cusp is a type of singular point of a curve. Cusps are local singularities in that they are not formed by self intersection points of the curve....
s). The original meanings behind the astroids were, "Steel lightens your work, brightens your leisure, and widens your world." Later, the colors came to represent the ingredients used in the steel-making process: yellow for coal, red for iron ore, and blue for scrap steel. While the formal Steelmark logo contains only the word "Steel," the team was given permission to add "ers" in 1963 after a petition to AISI.
The Steelers are the only NFL team that puts its logo on only one side of the helmet (the right side). Longtime field and equipment manager Jack Hart was instructed to do this by Art Rooney as a test to see how the logo appeared on the gold helmets; however, its popularity led the team to leave it that way permanently. A year after introducing the logo, they switched to black helmets to make it stand out more.
The current uniform designs were introduced in . The design consists of gold pants and either black jerseys or white jerseys, except for the and seasons when the Steelers wore white pants with their white jerseys. In , the team switched to rounded numbers on the jersey to match the number font (Futura Condensed) on the helmets, and a Steelers logo was added to the left side of the jersey.
The current third uniform, consisting of a black jersey with gold lettering, white pants with black and gold stripes, and a gold helmet were first used during the Steelers' 75th anniversary season in . They were meant to evoke the memory of the – era uniforms. The uniforms were so popular among fans that the Steeler organization decided to keep them and use them as a third option during home games only.
In –2009, the Steelers became the first team in NFL history to defeat an opponent three times in a single season using three different uniforms. They defeated the Baltimore Ravens in Pittsburgh in Week 4 in their third jerseys, again Week 15 in Baltimore in their road whites, and a final time in the AFC Championship in Pittsburgh in their home black jerseys.
Rivals
The Pittsburgh Steelers have three primary rivals, all within their division: (
Cleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
,
Baltimore RavensThe Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
, and
Cincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
). They also have rivalries with other teams that arose from post-season battles in the past, most notably the
New England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
,
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
,
Tennessee TitansThe Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
and
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. They also have an intrastate rivalry with the
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, but under the current scheduling the teams play each other only once every four years.
Divisional rivals
- The Cleveland Browns and the Steelers have been divisional rivals since the two cities' teams began playing against each other in 1950. After posting a 9–31 record in first 40 games of the series between the two cities, the Steelers recently took over the all-time series lead for the first time ever (60–56); partly due to their dominance over the post-1999, Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
franchise and won the last twelve straight before the Browns snapped their losing skid against them by beating them 13–6 on December 10, 2009. Additionally, the Browns lost 16 straight years in Pittsburgh from – and posted an abysmal 5–24 record at Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
overall. Former Steelers head coach Bill CowherWilliam Laird "Bill" Cowher is a former American football coach and player. Cowher resigned after 15 seasons as the Steelers' coach on January 5, 2007, 11 months to the day after winning 2005–06's Super Bowl XL...
coached the Browns special teams and secondary before following Marty SchottenheimerMartin Edward "Marty" Schottenheimer is the current head coach of the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. Over his career, he has served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. He has the most wins of any NFL coach...
for a brief tenure as Kansas City Defensive Coordinator, and then hired by Pittsburgh. This has only intensified the rivalry.
- The Baltimore Ravens and the Steelers
The rivalry between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers is one of the most intense in the National Football League. Both teams are members of the AFC North division, and play at least twice a year in what are often battles for divisional supremacy...
have had several memorable match-ups and have a bitter divisional rivalry. Both teams handed the other their first losses at their current home fields. The Steelers won the inaugural game played at Baltimore's M&T Bank StadiumM&T Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. The stadium is immediately adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles. Served by the Hamburg Street station of...
in , 20–13, and three years later the RavensThe Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
handed the Steelers their first-ever loss at Heinz FieldHeinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
, 13–10. Later that season Pittsburgh won a divisional playoff game 27–10 against Baltimore, who was the defending Super Bowl championSuper Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
. During their NFL championship season in 2000The Baltimore Ravens concluded the 2000 NFL season with a 12–4 record, good for second place in the AFC central, and earning them a spot in the playoffs as a wild card entrant...
, the Ravens defeated the Steelers in PittsburghThree Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
, 16–0, in the season opener with the Steelers later exacting revenge, 9–6, in Baltimore (the Ravens' final loss of the season). During the Steelers 2008 Championship run, they beat the Ravens three times, including a win in the AFC Championship game. The Steelers lead the series (begun in ), 16–10. The two teams complement each other by consistently fielding strong defenses in their division. The Steelers-Ravens Rivalry really began when Art ModellArthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
moved the his Franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore. "The Steelers saw the Ravens as Modell's team, which was reason enough to want to beat them. The Steelers also looked at Modell's move of his franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore as taking away the Steelers longest and deepest rivalry."
- The Cincinnati Bengals rivalry with Pittsburgh
The Bengals-Steelers rivalry is a rivalry in the NFL. The two teams have played each other twice a year since becoming division rivals in 1970, the lone exception being 1982, when the annual matchup in Cincinnati was canceled due to the player's strike; the teams only met in Week 2 in Pittsburgh...
dates from the season, when the NFL-AFL merger was completed. In , the Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive (they later won the division) with a late-season 7–3 win in snowy Cincinnati. One of the most memorable games was the 2005 AFC Wildcard playoff game, in which the Steelers, en route to a Super Bowl titleSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
, won a 31–17 come-from-behind victory after BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
QB Carson Palmer was forced to leave the game with a knee injury. The knee injury happened when nose tackle Kimo von OelhoffenKimo K. von Oelhoffen is a retired American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at Boise State....
fell forward into Palmer's knee. The Bengals players called this a dirty play, the NFL ruled that it was accidental and did not fine von Oelhoffen for the hit. This incident has led to an intensifying of the rivalry since this game. The Bengals beat the Steelers in week 13 of the season 38–31, and wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh used a Terrible TowelThe Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League . Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; fans take their Towel to famous sites while on vacation...
to polish his cleats while walking up the tunnel after the game, fueling the rivalry. The Steelers and Bengals finished and with identical records (11–5 and 8–8 respectively), splitting both regular-season series, the Bengals winning the tiebreaker both years due to having a superior division record. The Steelers also are responsible for ending the Bengals' season in Cincinnati two years in a row, eliminating them from the playoffs in and taking them out of contention in . The Steelers lead the all-time series, 47–30.
Historic rivals
- The rivalry between the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
was one of the most heated of the 1970s and early to mid 1980s. The Steelers' first playoff win was a 13–7 victory over the Raiders by way of Franco HarrisFranco Harris is a former American football player. He played his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.In the 1972 NFL Draft he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall...
's Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
on December 23, 1972. The wild card Pittsburgh football team was knocked out of the playoffs the following year by the Raiders in the 1973 AFC Divisional round 33–14, but fired back with two straight AFC Championships in 24–13 and 16–10 over Oakland. Oakland responded with a victory over Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game 24–7 (the third consecutive AFC title game between the two teams), but not before Chuck NollCharles Henry "Chuck" Noll is a former professional American football player and coach, and a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He served most notably as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991...
referred to Oakland's George Atkinson as part of the NFL's "criminal element" after his alleged cheap-shot on Lynn Swann-Collegiate:Swann attended the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American on the Trojans football team. He played under legendary coach John McKay, including the 1972 undefeated and national championship season. McKay said of Swann, "He has speed, soft hands, and grace." He...
during a regular-season matchup. Atkinson and the Raiders later filed a defamation of character lawsuitA lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against Noll, but lost. Following the 1983 regular season, the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Steelers 38–10 in the AFC Divisional round which turned out to be the last NFL game for Steeler NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw who did not play due to inury. While the rivalry has dissipated over the years (mostly due to Oakland's decline in recent seasons), the teams have had notable games against each other including an upset Steelers victory towards the end of the season to prevent the Raiders from obtaining homefield advantage in the playoffs, and an upset Raiders victory in week 8 of the 2006 NFL seasonThe 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
(20–13), which helped cost the Steelers a playoff berth. The teams' most recent meeting was at PittsburghHeinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
in , where the Steelers blew out the Raiders 35–3, and ended their 3-game winning streak.
- The rivalry between the Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys–Steelers Rivalry is a rivalry in the National Football League. As such, the two teams only meet during the regular season every four years when the AFC North play the NFC East, and aside from occasional preseason matchups the only other way the two teams would meet would be the Super Bowl...
started with the Cowboys' first game as a franchise in (against the Steelers) at the Cotton BowlThe Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
with the Steelers coming away with a 35–28 victory. These teams hold a record for the most times (three) that two teams have met in a Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
. The first two times the favored Steelers and Cowboys met came with Pittsburgh victories in the Orange Bowl Super Bowl XSuper Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....
21–17 and Super Bowl XIIISuper Bowl XIII was an American football game played on January 21, 1979 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1978 regular season...
35–31. The Cowboys never won a regular season game in the Orange Bowl and lost three Super Bowl games (once to the Baltimore Colts and twice to the Steelers). Between the Cowboys and Steelers, Super Bowl XIII had the greatest number of future Pro Football Hall of Fame players participating, which as of 2010 numbered 20 – 14 players and six coaches/front office, including Ernie Stautner-References:* * *-External links:*...
, defensive coordinatorA defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
for the Cowboys who was a HoF defensive tackle for the Steelers. The teams featured an all-star matchup at quarterback between the Steelers' Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
and the Cowboys' Roger StaubachRoger Thomas Staubach is a businessman, Heisman Trophy winner and legendary Hall of Fame former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 until 1979. Staubach was instrumental in developing the Cowboys into becoming one of the best teams of the 1970s and led the team to nine of the Cowboys'...
, both of whom are in the Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
. In , Staubach and the Cowboys won Super Bowl XIISuper Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1977 regular season...
, their second and last loss of their season being inflicted by Bradshaw and the Steelers, 28–13 at Three Rivers Stadium in November. In , Staubach's final season, the two defending conference champs met again at Three Rivers, the Steelers winning 14–3 en route to winning their fourth Super Bowl titleSuper Bowl XIV was an American football game played on January 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1979 regular season...
. The Steelers won six of eight meetings during the 1970s and 80s, before the Cowboys won all four meetings during the 1990s, including the teams' record third Super Bowl meeting in 1996Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
, as this time the heavily-favored Cowboys beat the Steelers 27–17. Dallas cornerback Larry BrownLarry Brown, Jr. is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders. He is mostly known for being named the MVP of Super Bowl XXX. Brown was a starting cornerback on all three Dallas Cowboys championship teams of the nineties...
intercepted Pittsburgh quarterback Neil O'DonnellNeil Kennedy O'Donnell is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, and Tennessee Titans...
twice and was named the game's MVP. The teams' first two meetings of the 21st century ( and ) were won by the Steelers, including a come from behind victory December 7, 2008 in Pittsburgh, when the Steelers drove the length of the field to tie the game 13–13, then cornerbackA cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
Deshea TownsendTrevor Deshea Townsend is a former defensive back in the National Football League, and is currently a defensive backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals and most recently a player for the Indianapolis Colts...
returned an intercepted pass from Tony RomoAntonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo is a professional American football quarterback in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo's career passer rating - at 95.8 - ranks third-best all time. Tony Romo didn't play in the regular season in 2003, 2004, or 2005...
for the game's final score, Steelers 20, Cowboys 13. The all-time series is tied, 15–15. The Pittsburgh/Dallas rivalry served as a backdrop to the 1977 film Black SundayBlack Sunday is a 1977 American thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer and based on the novel by Thomas Harris. The film starred Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, and Marthe Keller and was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture in 1978...
, parts of which were filmed during Super Bowl X.
- The Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
are tied with the Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for the most playoff meetings versus the Steelers (six). The rivalry dates from , but the first notable contest came in , when Denver dealt Pittsburgh its first regular-season defeat at Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
, 23–13. The following year, they met in the NFL's first regular-season overtime game, which ended in a 35–35 tie. Denver's first playoff game had them hosting the Steelers in the 1977 divisional round; the Broncos won 34–21. The following year, the Steelers hosted and defeated Denver 33–10 in the divisional round. Their next playoff matchup was the 1984 divisional round in Mile High StadiumMile High Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that stood in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 until 2001.It hosted the Denver Broncos, of the AFL and the NFL, from 1960-2000, the Colorado Rockies, of the National League, of the MLB, from 1993-1994, the Colorado Rapids, of MLS, from 1996-2001, the...
; the Steelers pulled the upset 24–17. They nearly pulled the upset again 5 years later in Denver, but the Broncos prevailed in the divisional playoff, 24–23. In 1997, they met in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship GameThe American Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American...
, where Denver squeaked out at 24–21 win. Eight years later, the Steelers went to the Super Bowl by beating Denver 34–17 in ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. As of December 2009, Denver holds a 16–10–1 lead in the series, including 3–3 in the playoffs. Neither team has beaten the other more than three times in a row.
- The rivalry between the Steelers and the New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
emerged when the Patriots upset the Steelers in the 2001 AFC Championship game at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh did not exact revenge for the loss until ending the Patriots record-setting 21-game winning streak in week 6 of the 2004 NFL seasonThe 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
. Later that season, the Steelers lost to the eventual champion Patriots in the AFC Championship game after a 15–1 season. The two also had a brief rivalry in the mid 1990s when the Steelers and Patriots split playoff meetings in 1996 and 1997, in which the Patriots had two young stars with Pittsburgh-area roots with Ty LawTajuan "Ty" Law is a retired football cornerback of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots 23rd overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan....
and Curtis MartinCurtis James Martin, Jr. is a former American football running back. He is an alumnus of Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh...
. Martin played his last game as a Patriot against the Steelers in the second playoff game before signing with the rival New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
during the offseason, where he became more well known. The Patriots won 6 of 7 meetings over a ten year period (–) before the Steelers broke through with a 33–10 victory at FoxboroughGillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 21 miles southwest of downtown Boston and from downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution...
in , after Matt Cassel had turned the ball over five times. The Steelers lead the all-time regular season series, 13–8. In the postseason, the Patriots have outscored the Steelers 99 points to 58, with the Patriots maintaining a 3–1 record. The only other franchises with winning AFC playoff records against Steelers include the Miami Dolphins (2–1, both wins in the AFC Championship), the Kansas City Chiefs (1–0), San Diego Chargers (2–1, all games played in Pittsburgh), Jacksonville Jaguars (1–0, game at Heinz Field). The Steelers have an all-time record of 14–11 against the Patriots.
Mascot
Prior to the season, the Steelers introduced Steely McBeam as their official mascot. As part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the team, his name was selected from a pool of 70,000 suggestions submitted by fans of the team. Diane Roles of
Middlesex Township, Butler CountyMiddlesex Township is a township in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,586 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 23.0 square miles , of which, 23.0 square miles of it is land and...
,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
submitted the winning name which was "meant to represent steel for Pittsburgh's industrial heritage, "Mc" for the Rooney family's Irish roots, and Beam for the steel beams produced in Pittsburgh, as well as for
Jim BeamJim Beam is a brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Clermont, Kentucky. It is currently one of the best selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 , seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in whiskey production for the company that produces the brand, which was given the name...
, her husband's favorite alcoholic beverage." Steely McBeam is visible at all home games and participates in the team's charitable programs and other club-sponsored events. Steely's autograph is known to be drawn with an oversized 'S' and the "L" is drawn to look like a beam of steel.
Fanbase
The Steelers have a tradition of having a large fanbase, which has spread from Pittsburgh. In August 2008,
ESPN.comESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
ranked the Steelers' fans as the best in the NFL, citing their "unbelievable" sellout streak of 299 consecutive games. The team gained a large fan base nationally based on its success in the 1970s, but many consider the collapse of the city's steel industry at the end of the '70s dynasty into the 1980s (and the resulting
diasporaA diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
) to be a large catalyst for the size of the fan base in other cities. The Steelers have sold out every home game since the season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have numerous unofficial fan clubs in many cities throughout the country, that typically meet in bars or taverns on game days. This phenomenon is known to occur for other NFL teams as well, but "Steeler bars" are more visible than most, including representative establishments even in cities that field their own NFL teams.
The
Terrible TowelThe Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League . Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; fans take their Towel to famous sites while on vacation...
has been described by the Associated Press as "arguably the best-known
fan symbolA rally towel is a sports paraphernalia item and a type of towel often used as a fan symbol used in American sports events. The prototype of the modern rally towel, created in 1975 by former Pittsburgh Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, was known as the Terrible Towel...
of any major pro sports team". Conceived of by broadcaster
Myron CopeMyron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
in , the towel's rights have since been given to the Allegheny Valley School in
CoraopolisCoraopolis is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 5,677 at the 2010 census. In 1940 the population peaked at 11,086. It is a small community located to the west of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River and to the east of the Pittsburgh International Airport...
, Pennsylvania, which cares for over 900 people with
mental retardationMental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
and
physical disabilitiesA disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
, including Cope's
autisticAutism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
son. Since 1996, proceeds from the Terrible Towel have helped raise more than $2.5 million for the school.
Fight songs
The Steelers have no official fight song, but many fan versions of "Here we go Steelers" and the "Steelers Polka" by ethnic singer "Jimmy Pol", both originating in the 1970s, have been recorded. During Steelers games,
StyxIn Greek mythology the Styx is the river that forms the boundary between the underworld and the world of the living, as well as a goddess and a nymph that represents the river.Styx may also refer to:-Popular culture:...
's "Renegade" is often used to rally the crowd.
Also, considered the fight song of the Pittsburgh Steelers is as of the
2010 NFL SeasonThe 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
is
Black and Yellow"Black and Yellow" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa from his debut studio album, Rolling Papers. It was released on September 14, 2010 as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Wiz Khalifa, and StarGate, and it was produced by StarGate. It was released as a CD single in...
by
Wiz KhalifaCameron Jibril Thomaz , better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa , is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007...
.
Nicknames
The Steelers enjoy several endearing nicknames, most notably "The Black and Gold" and the Pittsburghese dialect "Stillers" or "Stihllers". The founder Art Rooney was almost always referred to by the nickname "The Chief" and Three Rivers Stadium as the "Blast Furnace" during the championship years of the 1970s.
Stadiums
In 2001, the Steelers moved into
Heinz FieldHeinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
. The franchise dating back to 1933 has had several homes. For thirty-one seasons, the Steelers shared
Forbes FieldForbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1933 to 1963. In 1958, though they started splitting their home games with the football only
Pitt StadiumPitt Stadium was a stadium located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1925 to 1999. It served primarily as the home of the University of Pittsburgh's football team, the Pittsburgh Panthers...
three blocks away at the
University of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. From 1964 to 1969, the Steelers played exclusively at the on campus facility before moving with the Pirates to
Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
on the city's
NorthsideNorth Side refers to the region of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, located to the north of the Allegheny River and the Ohio River...
. Three Rivers is remembered fondly by the Steeler Nation as where Chuck Noll and Dan Rooney turned the franchise into a powerhouse, winning four Super Bowls in just six seasons and making the playoffs 11 times in 13 seasons from 1972 to 1984, the AFC title game seven times. Since 2001 however a new generation of Steeler greats has made Heinz Field legendary with multiple AFC Championship Games being hosted and two Super Bowl championships.
Training camp
The Steelers hold training camp east of the city in the suburban
Laurel HighlandsThe Laurel Highlands is a region in southwestern Pennsylvania made up of Fayette County, Somerset County and Westmoreland County. It has a population of about 600,000 people....
at
Saint Vincent CollegeSaint Vincent College is a four-year, coeducational, Roman Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, located about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. It was founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, Germany. It was the first Benedictine monastery in the...
in
Latrobe, PennsylvaniaLatrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States, approximately southeast of Pittsburgh.The city population was 7,634 as of the 2000 census . It is located near the Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ridge. Latrobe was incorporated as a borough in 1854, and as a city in 1999...
. The site is one of the most storied in the league with
Peter KingPeter King is an American sportswriter. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated and its Web site, including the weekly multiple-page column Monday Morning Quarterback. He is the author of five books, most notably Inside the Helmet, as well as a TV analyst and reporter...
of SI.com describing it as: ". . . I love the place. It's the perfect training-camp setting, looking out over the rolling hills of the
Laurel HighlandsThe Laurel Highlands is a region in southwestern Pennsylvania made up of Fayette County, Somerset County and Westmoreland County. It has a population of about 600,000 people....
in
west-central PennsylvaniaWestern Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...
, an hour east of Pittsburgh. On a misty or foggy morning, standing atop the hill at the college, you feel like you're in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Classic, wonderful slice of
AmericanaAmericana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
. If you can visit one training camp, this is the one to see.
The team has its headquarters and practice facilities at the state-of-the-art
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center SportsplexThe UPMC Sports Performance Complex is a multipurpose, multisport training, sports science, and sports medical complex of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center...
on Pittsburgh's Southside. Constructed in 2000 the facility combines the vast expertise of sports medical professionals and researchers as well as hosting the
University of Pittsburgh PanthersThe Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams of University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, faculty, and students...
football team.
Historical facilities
The Rooney family has long had a close relationship with
Duquesne UniversityDuquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...
in the city and from the teams founding in the 1930s to the late 1990s used
Art Rooney FieldArthur J. Rooney Athletic Field is a 4,500-seat multi-purpose facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Situated on the campus of Duquesne University, it is the home field of the Duquesne Dukes football team....
and other facilities on campus as either its primary or secondary in-season training site.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the team had season scrimmages at South Park in the suburban south hills of Pittsburgh. During various seasons including the strike season of 1987, the Steelers used
Point StadiumPoint Stadium is the name of two stadiums located on the same site in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The "Point" refers to its location is at the confluence of the Little Conemaugh, Stonycreek, and Conemaugh rivers....
in nearby
Johnstown, PennsylvaniaJohnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
for game week practices.
Pro Football Hall of Famers
The Steelers boast the third most "primary"
inductees into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
. They also can claim the most honorees of any franchise founded on or after , the only franchise with three members of ownership in the Hall and the only player (
Cal HubbardRobert Calvin Hubbard was a professional American football player and later an umpire in Major League Baseball, and is a member of three major sports halls of fame...
) to be inducted in both the pro football and the
baseballThe National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
Halls of Fame.
Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famers
| No. |
Name |
Year Inducted |
Position(s) |
Years w/ Steelers |
| – |
Bell, BertBert Bell De Benneville "Bert" Bell was the National Football League commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he helped chart a path for the NFL to facilitate its rise in becoming the most popular sports attraction in the United States...
|
1963 |
Head coach, co-owner |
– |
| 47 |
Blount, MelMel Blount |
1989 |
Cornerback A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
|
– |
| 12 |
Bradshaw, TerryTerry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
|
1989 |
QuarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
|
– |
| 16 |
Dawson, LenLen Dawson Leonard Ray "Len" "Lenny" Dawson is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who attended Purdue University and went on to play for three professional teams, most notably the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs...
|
1987 |
QuarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
|
– |
| 35 |
Dudley, BillBill Dudley William McGarvey "Bullet Bill" Dudley was a professional American football player in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.-Early life:Dudley was born in Bluefield, Virginia and...
|
1966 |
Halfback A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, defensive backIn American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
|
, – |
| 75 |
Greene, Joe"Mean" Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
|
1987 |
Defensive tackle |
– |
| 59 |
Ham, JackJack Ham |
1988 |
LinebackerA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
|
– |
| 32 |
Harris, FrancoFranco HarrisFranco Harris is a former American football player. He played his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.In the 1972 NFL Draft he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall...
|
1990 |
Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
|
– |
| 36 |
Hubbard, CalRobert "Cal" Hubbard Robert Calvin Hubbard was a professional American football player and later an umpire in Major League Baseball, and is a member of three major sports halls of fame...
|
1963 |
Tackle |
|
| 35 |
Johnson, John HenryJohn Henry Johnson John Henry Johnson was an American football fullback. He played from 1954 to 1965 for the San Francisco 49ers, the Detroit Lions, and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League...
|
1987 |
Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
|
– |
| 35 |
Kiesling, WaltWalt Kiesling Walter Andrew Kiesling was an American football player and coach.-Playing career:A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Kiesling played both offensive and defensive line at the University of St. Thomas...
|
1966 |
GuardIn American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
, Head coach |
– (player);
–, – (head coach) |
| 58 |
Lambert, JackJack Lambert |
1990 |
LinebackerA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
|
– |
| 22 |
Layne, BobbyBobby Layne Robert Lawrence "Bobby" Layne was an American football quarterback who played for 15 seasons in the National Football League. He played for the Chicago Bears in 1948, the New York Bulldogs in 1949, the Detroit Lions from 1950–1958, and the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1958–1962...
|
1967 |
QuarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
|
– |
| 15, 35 |
McNally, JohnJohnny "Blood" McNally John Victor "Blood" McNally was an American football player who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
|
1963 |
Halfback A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, head coach |
, – |
| 36 |
Motley, MarionMarion Motley Marion Motley was a professional football player, a fullback for the Cleveland Browns, and briefly for the Pittsburgh Steelers.-Early years:...
|
1968 |
FullbackA fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
|
|
| – |
Noll, ChuckChuck Noll Charles Henry "Chuck" Noll is a former professional American football player and coach, and a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He served most notably as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991...
|
1993 |
Head coach |
– |
| – |
Rooney, ArtArt RooneyArthur Joseph "Art" Rooney, Sr. , often referred to as "The Chief", was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football franchise in the National Football League.-Family history:...
|
1964 |
Founder, Owner |
– |
| – |
Rooney, DanDan RooneyDaniel Milton "Dan" Rooney is the United States Ambassador to Ireland. He is chairman emeritus of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in the National Football League , which was founded by his father, Art Rooney. Rooney was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000 for his contributions...
|
2000 |
Executive, Owner |
–present |
| 82 |
Stallworth, JohnJohn Stallworth Johnny Lee Stallworth is a former American football wide receiver who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Alabama A&M, and was the Steelers' fourth-round draft pick in 1974. Stallworth played in six AFC championships,...
|
2002 |
Wide receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
|
– |
| 70 |
Stautner, ErnieErnie Stautner -References:* * *-External links:*...
|
1969 |
Defensive tackle, GuardIn American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
|
– |
| 88 |
Swann, LynnLynn Swann-Collegiate:Swann attended the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American on the Trojans football team. He played under legendary coach John McKay, including the 1972 undefeated and national championship season. McKay said of Swann, "He has speed, soft hands, and grace." He...
|
2001 |
Wide receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
|
– |
| 52 |
Webster, MikeMike Webster |
1997 |
Center Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
|
– |
| 26 |
Woodson, RodRod WoodsonRoderick Kevin "Rod" Woodson is the current cornerbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He is also a former defensive back best known for his 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as being a key member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XXXV championship...
|
2009 |
Defensive back In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
|
– |
Award recipients
- Pat Livingston, Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh Press
The Pittsburgh Press is an online newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, currently owned and operated by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Historically, it was a major afternoon paper...
, awarded the 1979 Dick McCann Memorial AwardThe Dick McCann Memorial Award is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for long and distinguished reporting on professional football". The award was created in 1969 and is named for Dick McCann, who was the first director of the Hall of Fame...
- Vito Stellino, Steelers beat writer in the 1970s for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
, awarded the 1989 Dick McCann Memorial AwardThe Dick McCann Memorial Award is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for long and distinguished reporting on professional football". The award was created in 1969 and is named for Dick McCann, who was the first director of the Hall of Fame...
- Myron Cope
Myron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
, Announcer (1970–2005), awarded the 2005 Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television AwardThe Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football". Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame's comparable...
- John Clayton
John Travis Clayton is a National Football League writer and reporter for ESPN. He is also a senior writer for ESPN.com.-Early career:...
, Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh PressThe Pittsburgh Press is an online newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, currently owned and operated by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Historically, it was a major afternoon paper...
(1976–1986), awarded the 2007 Dick McCann Memorial AwardThe Dick McCann Memorial Award is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for long and distinguished reporting on professional football". The award was created in 1969 and is named for Dick McCann, who was the first director of the Hall of Fame...
Steelers in the Hall for contributions elsewhere
- Former Steelers QB Jim Finks
James Edward Finks was an American sports executive, primarily for American Professional Football.-Biography:...
, as an administrator with the Vikings, Bears and Saints.
- Current defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
(and coordinator for Super Bowls XXXSuper Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
, XLSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
, XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
, and XLVSuper Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
) Dick LeBeauCharles Richard “Dick” LeBeau is a National Football League Hall of Fame defensive back. He is currently the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator and is considered to be one of the greatest defensive coordinators of all time. He spent 14 years in the NFL as a player with the Detroit Lions and...
, as a player for the LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
.
Unofficially retired numbers
- 12 Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
- 32 Franco Harris
Franco Harris is a former American football player. He played his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.In the 1972 NFL Draft he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall...
- 36 Jerome Bettis
Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
- 52 Mike Webster
- 58 Jack Lambert
- 59 Jack Ham
- 63 Dermontti Dawson
Dermontti Farra Dawson is a former American football center in the National Football League. He played his entire career with the Pittsburgh Steelers....
- 75 Joe Greene
Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
League MVPs
Steelers players who have been named the league MVP:
- Bill Dudley
William McGarvey "Bullet Bill" Dudley was a professional American football player in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.-Early life:Dudley was born in Bluefield, Virginia and...
– awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy in
- Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
– named the AP MVP in
Defensive Player of the Year Awards winners
Steelers players who have been named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year:
- Joe Greene
Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
(1972 & 1974)
- Mel Blount (1975)
- Jack Lambert (1976)
- Rod Woodson
Roderick Kevin "Rod" Woodson is the current cornerbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He is also a former defensive back best known for his 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as being a key member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XXXV championship...
(1993)
- James Harrison (2008)
- Troy Polamalu
Troy Aumua Polamalu is an American football strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Steelers. He played college football at the University of Southern California.-High school:Troy Polamalu graduated...
(2010)
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Steelers players who have been named the Offensive Rookie of the Year:
- Franco Harris
Franco Harris is a former American football player. He played his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.In the 1972 NFL Draft he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall...
(1972)
- Louis Lipps
Louis Adam Lipps is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL who played his entire nine-season career for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints....
(1984)
- Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...
(2004)
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Steelers players who have been named the Defensive Rookie of the Year:
- Joe Greene
Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
(1969)
- Kendrell Bell
Kendrell Alexander Bell is a former American football linebacker. He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia...
(2001)
Super Bowl MVPs
The following Steelers players have been named
Super Bowl MVPThe Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
:
- Super Bowl IX
Super Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
– Franco HarrisFranco Harris is a former American football player. He played his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.In the 1972 NFL Draft he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall...
- Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....
– Lynn Swann-Collegiate:Swann attended the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American on the Trojans football team. He played under legendary coach John McKay, including the 1972 undefeated and national championship season. McKay said of Swann, "He has speed, soft hands, and grace." He...
- Super Bowl XIII
Super Bowl XIII was an American football game played on January 21, 1979 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1978 regular season...
– Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
- Super Bowl XIV
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game played on January 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1979 regular season...
– Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
- Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
– Hines WardHines E. Ward, Jr. 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...
- Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
– Santonio HolmesSantonio Holmes Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football at Ohio State...
All-time team
In , in celebration of the franchise's 75th season, the team announced an updated All-Time team of the 33 best players who have ever played for the Steelers. This team supplanted the
previous All-Time teamThe Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team was named as a part of the franchise's 50th season celebration in . The top 24 players in the club's history were selected: eleven on offense, eleven on defense, one punter and one placekicker....
of 24 players named as part of the 50th anniversary commemoration in .
A
"Legends team"The Pittsburgh Steelers Legends team represents the franchise's best players from the pre-1970 era. The team was chosen by a small group of Steeler officials and journalists and presented as a part of the Steeler's 75th season celebration in ....
consisting of the club's best pre-1970's players was released concurrently with the latest All-Time team.
Coaches
The Steelers have had sixteen coaches through their history. Their first coach was
Forrest DoudsForrest "Jap" McCreery Douds was an All-American football player at Washington and Jefferson College in suburban Washington, Pennsylvania, where he was selected as an All-American three times and was the first player ever selected to the East-West Game in two separate seasons...
, who coached them to a 3–6–2 record in
1933The 1933 Pittsburgh Pirates was the debut season of the team that would eventually become the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team was founded after Pennsylvania relaxed its blue laws that, prior to 1933, prohibited sporting events from taking place on Sundays, when most NFL games took place...
.
Chuck NollCharles Henry "Chuck" Noll is a former professional American football player and coach, and a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He served most notably as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991...
had the longest term as head coach with the Steelers; he is one of only four coaches to coach a single NFL team for 23 years. Hired prior to the
2007 seasonThe 2007 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the 75th season of the Steelers franchise. The season saw the team improve upon their 8–8 record from 2006, finish with a record of 10–6, and win the AFC North Division...
, the Steelers current coach is
Mike TomlinMichael Tomlin is the current head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. Tomlin is the third youngest head coach in any of the four major North American professional sports. He is the tenth African-American head coach in NFL history, and first in Steelers history...
.
Media
As of 2006, the Steelers' flagship radio stations were
WDVEWDVE is a mainstream rock music formatted radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA at 102.5 MHz. It is often referred to by Pittsburghers as simply "DVE." WDVE's transmitter is located on Pittsburgh's North Side...
102.5 FM and
WBGGWBGG is a sports radio station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, owned by Clear Channel Communications. The station broadcasts at 970 kHz with 5,000 watts day and night.- History :...
970 AM. Both stations are owned by
Clear Channel CommunicationsClear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
. Games are also available on 51 radio stations in
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
,
Western MarylandWestern Maryland is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that consists of Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties. The region is bounded by the Mason-Dixon line to the north, Preston County, West Virginia to the west, and the Potomac River to the south. There is dispute over the...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and Northern
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. The announcers are
Bill HillgroveBill Hillgrove is an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sports broadcaster.He is currently the lead play-by-play broadcaster for the steelers football network and for the University of Pittsburgh Img sports network he calls the Pitt games with former Pitt quarterback Pat...
and
Tunch IlkinTunch Ilkin is a Turkish sports broadcaster and a former American football player. He currently serves as a television and radio analyst for the Pittsburgh Steelers.-Biography:...
.
Craig WolfleyCraig Wolfley is a former American football player and current sideline reporter for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Along with former teammate Tunch Ilkin, he hosts a show on ESPN Radio 970.-College career:...
is the sideline reporter.
Myron CopeMyron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
, the longtime color analyst and inventor of the "
Terrible TowelThe Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League . Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; fans take their Towel to famous sites while on vacation...
", retired after the
2004 seasonThe 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
, and died in 2008.
Pre-season games not shown on one of the national broadcasters are seen on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
O&OIn the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
KDKA-TVKDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center....
, channel 2;
sister CW O&OThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
WPCWWPCW is a The CW-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is licensed to Jeannette. WPCW is owned by the CBS Corporation and serves as an affiliate of The CW Television Network for the television market...
, channel 19; and Root Sports Pittsburgh. KDKA-TV's Bob Pompeani and former Steelers lineman Edmund Nelson do the announcing for the pre-season games, as well as the two hosting the pre-game program Steelers Kickoff during the regular season prior to the national airing of
The NFL TodayThe NFL Today is an American sports series that precedes the American football program The NFL on CBS on CBS Sports. The program usually airs at noon on Sundays of the National Football League regular season...
. The two also host the Steelers Postgame Extra following the game on days when
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
does not have that week's NFL doubleheader. Coach Mike Tomlin's weekly press conference is shown live on Root Sports Pittsburgh.
National
NFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
broadcasts are shown locally on
KDKA-TVKDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center....
(sister station
WPCWWPCW is a The CW-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is licensed to Jeannette. WPCW is owned by the CBS Corporation and serves as an affiliate of The CW Television Network for the television market...
shows KDKA-TV's normal CBS programming during the game, while its normal CW programming is pre-empted), while national
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
broadcasts are shown locally on
WTAE-TVWTAE-TV is the ABC affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh, broadcasting on UHF channel 51 and identifying via PSIP as channel 4 . It also serves as an ABC affiliate for the Wheeling/Steubenville and Clarksburg/Weston, West Virginia market areas...
, channel 4. (WTAE-TV is owned by the
Hearst CorporationThe Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
, which owns a 20% stake in ESPN.) By virtue of being members of the AFC, most of the Steelers' games air on CBS except for home games against NFC opponents, which air locally on
WPGH-TVWPGH-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter at its studios on Ivory Avenue in the city's Summer Hill section. The station can also be seen on Verizon FiOS and Comcast channel 7...
, which is a
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate.
The team announced a one-year agreement with
Mexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
radio station XHM-FM to bring Steelers games in Spanish on the radio in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The Steelers are only the third NFL team with a Spanish radio affiliate in Mexico.
Figures with broadcasting resumés
The Steelers franchise has a rich history of producing well-known sportscasters over the years. The most famous of these is probably
Myron CopeMyron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
, who served as a Steelers radio
color commentatorA color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
for 35 seasons (–).
Several former Steelers players have gone on to careers in media after completing their playing careers.
Newspaper
The Steelers Digest is the only official newspaper for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It has been published for 22 years and is currently published by Dolphin/Curtis Publishing in Miami, FL, which also handles several other publications. The newspaper is very widely acknowledged by Steelers fans. Issues are mailed out to paying subscribers weekly through the season after every regular season game and continues through playoffs as long as the Steelers do. After a Super Bowl victory, a bonus issue is published, which is followed by a draft preview, draft recap, and training camp edition every other month, then leading into the pre-season. There are typically 24 issues of the paper within a publishing year. The newspaper is listed on the official Steelers.com page.
Usage in popular culture
The Steelers success over several decades has permeated film and literature. The Steelers are portrayed in the following big-budget Hollywood films:
- The January 11, 1975 episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show used the team's first Super Bowl as the plot device. http://www.superbowlconcierge.com/Super_Bowl_IX.html
- Black Sunday
Black Sunday is a 1977 American thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer and based on the novel by Thomas Harris. The film starred Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, and Marthe Keller and was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture in 1978...
in 1977
- Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry. It is the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's stageplay of the same name, preceded by Here Comes Mr. Jordan and followed by Down to Earth...
in 1978
- Smokey and the Bandit II
Smokey and the Bandit II is a comedy film released on August 15, 1980 in the United States. It is the sequel to the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit. The film stars Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, and Dom DeLuise...
in 1980
- Fighting Back
Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story was a 1980 made-for-television movie about the life of Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rocky Bleier, starring Robert Urich. It was released on 7 December 1980....
in 1980
- ...All the Marbles in 1981
- Evening Shade
Evening Shade was an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The series starred Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long...
(TV Series) 1990–1994
- The Waterboy
The Waterboy is a 1998 American comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It stars Adam Sandler alongside Henry Winkler, Kathy Bates, Jerry Reed, and Fairuza Balk. Lynn Swann, Lawrence Taylor, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Cowher, Paul Wight, and Rob Schneider have cameos...
cameo by Bill CowherWilliam Laird "Bill" Cowher is a former American football coach and player. Cowher resigned after 15 seasons as the Steelers' coach on January 5, 2007, 11 months to the day after winning 2005–06's Super Bowl XL...
in 1998
- The Longest Yard
The Longest Yard is a 2005 American sports comedy film remake of the 1974 film of the same name. Adam Sandler plays the protagonist, Paul Crewe, a disgraced former professional football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, who is coerced to form a team from the prison inmates to play...
in 2005
External links
Wiki