Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are currently members of the Northern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team has appeared in six Super Bowls and is, with the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, one of three teams to have won five of them, and has appeared in thirteen Conference Championship Games, winning six. They are the only team in NFL playoff history to win a Super Bowl after being seeded sixth in the playoffs, winning three consecutive games on the road followed by a Super Bowl victory in Detroit on February 5, 2006.

Originally named the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team, along with the Philadelphia Eagles and the now-defunct Cincinnati Reds football team, joined the NFL as 1933 expansion teams, after Art Rooney, Sr. paid a $2,500 fee. The team was renamed the Steelers in 1941 after the city's prominent steel industry to reflect the "blue-collar worker" ethic of the many Pittsburgh fans as well as to avoid confusion with the major league baseball team with the same name.

The Steelers conduct summer training camp at nearby Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Franchise history

The Pittsburgh NFL team first took to the field on September 20, 1933, losing 23-2 to the New York Giants. Through the 1930s the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than .500 (1936). Pittsburgh did make history in 1938 by signing Byron White, a future justice on the U.S. Supreme Court to what was at the time the biggest contract in NFL history, but he only played one year with the Pirates before signing with the Detroit Lions.

In 1941, the team was renamed the Steelers after the city's prominence as a steel-making center. But the team maintained a long history of futility for the next three decades.

During World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises in order to field a team. During the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles forming the "Phil-Pitt Eagles" and were known as the "Steagles". This team went 5-4-1. In 1944 they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as "Card-Pitt" and derisively known as the "Car-Pitts" or "Carpets", as they finished the season winless.

The Steelers made the playoffs for the first time in 1947, tying for first place in the division at 8-4 with the Philadelphia Eagles. This forced a tie-breaking playoff game at Forbes Field, which the Steelers lost 21-0. That would be Pittsburgh's last playoff game for 25 years.

Their luck changed with the hiring of coach Chuck Noll. Noll's most remarkable talent was in his draft selections, taking Hall of Famers "Mean" Joe Greene in 1969, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount in 1970, Jack Ham in 1971, Franco Harris in 1972, and finally, in 1974,considered by many the best draft in NFL history, pulled the incredible feat of selecting four Hall of Famers in one draft year, Mike Webster, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth and Jack Lambert. This group of players formed the base of one of the greatest teams in NFL history, making the playoffs 8 seasons, and becoming the only team in NFL history to win 4 Super Bowls in 6 years.

The Steelers suffered a rash of injuries in the 1980 season and missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record. 1981 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 season, Lynn Swann and Jack Ham after 1982, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount after 1983, and Jack Lambert after 1984.

In 1992 Chuck Noll retired and was succeeded by Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Bill Cowher, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton. Cowher led the Steelers to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as coach, a feat that had only previously been accomplished by legendary coach Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns. Overall, Cowher has taken his team to the playoffs in 10 out of his 14 seasons, including appearances in Super Bowl XXX in 1996 and the franchise's record-tying fifth Super Bowl win in Super Bowl XL in 2006 over the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks. With their Super Bowl XL victory, the Steelers became the third team to win five Super Bowls. The 2006 Steelers were the first sixth-seeded playoff team to reach and win the Super Bowl since the NFL expanded to a 12-team postseason tournament in 1990.

Since the NFL merger in 1970, the Pittsburgh Steelers have compiled an overall record of 333-217-2, reached the playoffs 22 times, winning their division 17 times, played in 13 AFC Championship Games, and won 5 Super Bowls.

Logo and uniforms

The Steelers have used black and gold as their colors since the club's inception (excluding the 1943 season when they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles and formed the "Steagles"; the team's colors were green and white as a result of wearing the Eagles uniforms). Originally, the team wore solid gold helmets and black jerseys. Unlike most other cities, the colors are currently also used by the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team and the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, making it the official team colors of every professional sports team in the city.

The Steelers logo was then introduced in 1962, and is based on the "Steelmark", originally designed for U.S. Steel, by Cleveland, Ohio based Republic Steel, and now owned by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). It consists of the word "Steelers" surrounded by three astroids (hypocycloids of four cusps). The original meanings behind the astroids were, "Steel lightens your work, brightens your leisure and widens your world" and later the colors came to represent the ingredients of steel, the yellow representing coal; the orange, ore; and the blue, steel scrap. ^* While the "Steelmark" logo only contains the word "Steel", the Steelers were given special permission to add "-ers".

The Steelers are the only NFL team that puts their logo on only one side of the helmet (the right side). Long time field and equipment manager Jack Hart was instructed to do this by Art Rooney. At first, it was a test to see how the logo appeared on their gold helmets, but 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 Steelers have had the same basic look for their uniforms since 1936 (save for during the 1967 season when the team experimented with a "triangle" theme), and started to use the current uniform design in 1968. The design consists of gold pants and either black jerseys or white jerseys, except for the 1970 and 1971 seasons, when the Steelers wore white pants with their white jerseys. The helmet is solid black with a gold central stripe and small white uniform numbers on the forehead. In 1997 the team switched to rounded numbers instead of the traditional block numbers, and a Steelers logo patch was added to the left side of the jersey.

While teams in recent years have been occasionally wearing their white jerseys at home (or in the case of the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Miami Dolphins, wear white at home all the time), the Steelers are currently one of the few NFL teams (and the only one in the AFC North) that consistently wears its team colored jersey at home, always opting for black. This appears very unlikely to change in the future, although the Steelers did opt for white as the designated "home" team in Super Bowl XL as a result of their road success in the 2005 season, since Bill Cowher did say that "the game is not at Heinz Field, so this is an away game." In addition, there appear to be no plans to introduce an alternate gold jersey.

Franchise traditions

The "Terrible Towel" is a gimmick created by Myron Cope, a broadcaster, for the Steelers. Needing a way to excite the fans during a 1975 playoff game against the Baltimore Colts, Cope urged fans to take yellow dish towels to the game and wave them throughout.

Season-by-season records

Pittsburgh Pirates 1933 3 6 2 5th NFL East -- 1934 2 10 0 5th NFL East -- 1935 4 8 0 3rd NFL East -- 1936 6 6 0 2nd NFL East -- 1937 4 7 0 3rd NFL East -- 1938 2 9 0 5th NFL East -- 1939 1 9 1 T-4th NFL East -- 1940 2 7 2 4th NFL East -- Pittsburgh Steelers 1941 1 9 1 5th NFL East -- 1942 7 4 0 2nd NFL East -- Steagles 1943 5 4 1 3rd NFL East -- Card-Pitt 1944 0 10 0 5th NFL West -- Pittsburgh Steelers 1945 2 8 0 5th NFL East -- 1946 5 5 1 T-3rd NFL East -- 1947 8 4 0 2nd NFL East Lost Eastern Divisional Playoff (Eagles) 1948 4 8 0 T-3rd NFL East -- 1949 6 5 1 2nd NFL East -- 1950 6 6 0 T-3rd NFL AFC -- 1951 4 7 1 4th NFL AFC -- 1952 5 7 0 4th NFL AFC -- 1953 6 6 0 4th NFL East -- 1954 5 7 0 4th NFL East -- 1955 4 8 0 6th NFL East -- 1956 5 7 0 T-4th NFL East -- 1957 6 6 0 3rd NFL East -- 1958 7 4 1 3rd NFL East -- 1959 6 5 1 4th NFL East -- 1960 5 6 1 5th NFL East -- 1961 6 8 0 5th NFL East -- 1962 9 5 0 2nd NFL East -- 1963 7 4 3 4th NFL East -- 1964 5 9 0 6th NFL East -- 1965 2 12 0 7th NFL East -- 1966 5 8 1 6th NFL East -- 1967 4 9 1 4th NFL Century -- 1968 2 11 1 4th NFL Century -- 1969 1 13 0 4th NFL Century -- 1970 5 9 0 3rd AFC Central -- 1971 6 8 0 2nd AFC Central -- 1972 11 3 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 13, Oakland Raiders 7 (Raiders)
Lost Miami Dolphins 21, Pittsburgh Steelers 17 (Dolphins) 1973 10 4 0 2nd AFC Central Lost Oakland Raiders 33, Pittsburgh Steelers 14 (Raiders) 1974 10 3 1 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 32, Buffalo Bills 14 (Bills)
Won Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Oakland Raiders 13 (Raiders)
Won Super Bowl IX (Vikings) 1975 12 2 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Baltimore Colts 10 (B. Colts)
Won Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Oakland Raiders 10 (Raiders)
Won Super Bowl X (Cowboys) 1976 10 4 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 40, Baltimore Colts 14 (B. Colts)
Lost Oakland Raiders 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 7 (Raiders) 1977 9 5 0 1st AFC Central Lost Denver Broncos 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 21 (Broncos) 1978 14 2 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 33, Denver Broncos 10 (Broncos)
Won Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Houston Oilers 5 (Oilers)
Won Super Bowl XIII (Cowboys) 1979 12 4 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Miami Dolphins 14 (Dolphins)
Won Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Houston Oilers 13 (Oilers)
Won Super Bowl XIV (L.A. Rams) 1980 9 7 0 3rd AFC Central -- 1981 8 8 0 2nd AFC Central -- 1982 6 3 0 4th AFC Conf. Lost San Diego Chargers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 28 (Chargers) 1983 10 6 0 1st AFC Central Lost Los Angeles Raiders 38, Pittsburgh Steelers 10 (L.A. Raiders) 1984 9 7 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Denver Broncos 17 (Broncos)
Lost Miami Dolphins 45, Pittsburgh Steelers 28 (Dolphins) 1985 7 9 0 3rd AFC Central -- 1986 6 10 0 3rd AFC Central -- 1987 8 7 0 3rd AFC Central -- 1988 5 11 0 4th AFC Central -- 1989 9 7 0 3rd AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 26, Houston Oilers 23 (Oilers)
Lost Denver Broncos 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 23 (Broncos) 1990 9 7 0 3rd AFC Central -- 1991 7 9 0 2nd AFC Central -- 1992 11 5 0 1st AFC Central Lost Buffalo Bills 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 3 (Bills) 1993 9 7 0 2nd AFC Central Lost Kansas City Chiefs 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 24 (Chiefs) 1994 12 4 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 29, Cleveland Browns 9 (Browns)
Lost San Diego Chargers 17, Pittsburgh Steelers 13 (Chargers) 1995 11 5 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 40, Buffalo Bills 21 (Bills)
Won Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Indianapolis Colts 16 (Colts)
Lost Super Bowl XXX (Cowboys) 1996 10 6 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 42, Indianapolis Colts 14 (Colts)
Lost New England Patriots 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 3 (Patriots) 1997 11 5 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 7, New England Patriots 6 (Patriots)
Lost Denver Broncos 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 21 (Broncos) 1998 7 9 0 3rd AFC Central -- 1999 6 10 0 4th AFC Central -- 2000 9 7 0 3rd AFC Central -- 2001 13 3 0 1st AFC Central Won Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Baltimore Ravens 10 (Ravens)
Lost New England Patriots 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 17 (Patriots) 2002 10 5 1 1st AFC North Won Pittsburgh Steelers 36, Cleveland Browns 33 (Browns)
Lost Tennessee Titans 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 31 (Titans) 2003 6 10 0 3rd AFC North -- 2004 15 1 0 1st AFC North Won Pittsburgh Steelers 20, New York Jets 17 (OT) (Jets)
Lost New England Patriots 41, Pittsburgh Steelers 27 (Patriots) 2005 11 5 0 2nd AFC North Won Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Cincinnati Bengals 17 (Bengals)
Won Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Indianapolis Colts 18 (Colts)
Won Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Denver Broncos 17 (Broncos)
Won Super Bowl XL (Seahawks) Totals 523 502 21 (including NFL playoffs)

Players of note

Current players

Pro Football Hall of Famers

Inductees

Mel Blount, CB (1970-1983)
Terry Bradshaw, QB (1970-1983)
Bill Dudley, RB-DB (1942 and 1945-1946 - missed 1943-1944 due to military service)
"Mean" Joe Greene, DT (1969-1981)
Jack Ham, LB (1971-1982)
Franco Harris, RB (1972-1983)
John Henry Johnson, RB (1960-1965)
Walt Kiesling, G (1937-1939), Head Coach (1939-1944 and 1954-1956)
Jack Lambert, LB (1974-1984)
Bobby Layne, QB (1958-1962)
Chuck Noll, Head Coach (1969-1991)
Art Rooney, Founder/Owner (1933-1988)
Dan Rooney, Executive (1955-present), Owner (1988-present)
John Stallworth, WR (1974-1987)
Ernie Stautner, DT (1950-1963)
Lynn Swann, WR (1974-1982)
Mike Webster, C (1974-1988)

Award Recipients

Myron Cope, Announcer (1970-2005), awarded the 2005 Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award

Other Hall-of-Famers associated with the Steelers

Bert Bell, Co-owner (1941-1946)
Len Dawson, QB (1957-1959)
Bill Hewitt, TE-DE (1943 Steagles)
Cal Hubbard, T-DT (1936)
Johnny McNally (a.k.a. "Johnny Blood"), RB (1934 and 1937-1938)
Marion Motley, RB (1955)
Earle "Greasy" Neale, Co-Head Coach with Kiesling (1943 Steagles)
Johnny Unitas, QB (cut from 1955 training camp roster)

Retired numbers

70 Ernie Stautner

Except for Stautner, the Steelers do not officially retire uniform numbers. However, the following numbers are out of circulation and "unofficially" retired:

12 Terry Bradshaw
32 Franco Harris
47 Mel Blount - Issued during the preseason regularly, and on some occasions to the final 53-man roster. Used five times officially since Blount's retirement, most recently to practice squad member Ronald Stanley in 2005.
52 Mike Webster
58 Jack Lambert
59 Jack Ham - Used once in 1984 by Todd Seabaugh, who played one season with the team. According to legend, the equipment manager—who assigns jersey numbers to new players—later stripped Seabaugh of the number because he "wasn't Jack Ham". The number has not been used since.
63 Dermontti Dawson
75 Joe Greene