Pittsburgh Steelers

Inaugural season: 1933

Home field: Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Owner: Art Rooney II

Team colors: Black, gold, white

Overview

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a National Football League (NFL) franchise that began play in the 1933 season. For the first four decades of their existence, the Steelers were an example of futility, making just a single playoff appearance. Then, in 1968, the team hired Chuck Noll as head coach and began building one of the signature teams in NFL history. In 1972, propelled by a miraculous victory in just the franchise’s second playoff game, Pittsburgh began a stretch that eventually saw them win four Super Bowls in a six-year period. That success continued for most of the next four decades, as the Steelers were consistently among the NFL’s best teams. From 1980 to 2020, the Steelers won seventeen division titles, four conference championships, and two more Super Bowls. The team's longevity and success helped establish a wide and loyal fan following, as well as storied rivalries with opponents including the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Philadelphia Eagles.

History

The franchise was founded in 1933 by Pittsburgh resident Art Rooney, a former boxer who was involved in running several regional semi-pro teams. Rooney paid the NFL a $2,500 franchise fee and called his new team the Pirates after the city’s Major League Baseball team. Despite his attempts to build a winner, Rooney’s team struggled mightily in its first nine seasons. Only once did the Pirates finish with a non-losing record—a 6–6 mark in 1936. Two years later, the team signed collegiate superstar Byron “Whizzer” White to a $15,800 contract, an unheard of sum for the time. Byron White played only two seasons in Pittsburgh, but led the NFL in rushing both times. He quit football in 1941 and went on to law school, eventually becoming a judge and a US Supreme Court Justice from 1962 until his retirement in 1993.

In 1940, the team name was changed to the Steelers to reflect the region’s steel-manufacturing heritage. That same year, frustrated by losing, Rooney decided to sell the team to New York businessman Alexis Thompson for $160,000. He then took the money and bought a half interest in the Philadelphia Eagles, a team owned by his friend, Bert Bell. Knowing that Thompson preferred to be nearer to his New York home, Rooney and Bell arranged a swap with Thompson. The Eagles would move to Pittsburgh where they would become the Steelers, and the Pittsburgh franchise would relocate to Philadelphia as the Eagles. In 1943, with the NFL facing a player shortage because of World War II, the Steelers and Eagles joined together and played one season as the Steagles. In 1944, Pittsburgh merged with the Chicago Cardinals. The team, known as Card-Pitt, went 0–10 and was mockingly referred to as the “carpets.”

When Bell became NFL commissioner in 1945, he sold his stake in the team back to Rooney. In 1947, the Steelers finished 8–4 but lost in the playoffs to the Eagles. Until 1972, that game remained the franchise’s only playoff appearance. In 1962, the team adopted the Steelmark logo used by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) as a helmet design. The logo featured three diamonds—yellow, orange, and blue—set in a circle with the word “Steel.” The Steelers received permission from the AISI to change “Steel” to “Steelers.” In later years, the orange diamond would be changed to red. Because the team did not know how the logo would look, they decided to paint it on only one side of their helmets. That year, the Steelers finished 9–5, the team’s best record up to that time, so they decided to keep the logo on one side. They also changed their helmets from gold to black.

However, by 1968, Pittsburgh was once again mired at the bottom of the league’s standings. After firing coach Bill Austin, the Steelers hired Baltimore Colts’ assistant Chuck Noll as head coach. Noll brought with him a focus on defense, discipline, and fundamentals and had an eye for selecting talented players in the NFL Draft. In 1970, Pittsburgh was moved to the Central Division of the newly formed American Football Conference (AFC), where they were paired with the Cleveland Browns, Houston Oilers, and Cincinnati Bengals. In 2002, the NFL divisions were realigned and the Baltimore Ravens replaced the Oilers in the AFC North. The Steelers and Ravens would go on to develop one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL.

By 1972, the Steelers had improved to 11–3 and won the AFC Central division. In December, Pittsburgh played the Las Vegas Raiders in its first playoff game in twenty-five years. Trailing 7–6 with just seconds to play, quarterback Terry Bradshaw dropped back and threw a desperation pass over the middle of the field. The ball arrived as the Steelers’ receiver and Raiders’ defensive back collided, sending it ricocheting back towards the line of scrimmage. Running back Franco Harris plucked the ball out of the air and ran down the sidelines for a 60-yard touchdown. The play, known as the Immaculate Reception, is often considered the greatest play in NFL history.

Though Pittsburgh lost in the 1972 AFC Championship game, the Steelers embarked on an historic eight-year run that saw the team win seven division titles and four Super Bowls. In 1974, Pittsburgh defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX; they beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowls X (1975) and XII (1978); and the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV (1979).

The 1980s was a relatively quiet decade for the Steelers, though they did make the playoffs four times. Art Rooney's son Dan Rooney took over as owner in 1988 upon Art's death. Chuck Noll retired after the 1991 season and was replaced with Bill Cowher. Pittsburgh made six consecutive playoff appearances from 1992 to 1997, and played in Super Bowl XXX, losing to the Cowboys in 1995. Cowher led the team to the postseason four times in the 2000s, culminating with a victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL in 2005.

After the 2006 season Cowher retired and was succeeded by Mike Tomlin, who helped keep the team perennially competitive. In 2008, Tomlin’s squad won the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl with a 27–23 last-second victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Pittsburgh made another Super Bowl in 2010, losing to the Green Bay Packers. From 2011 to 2021, the team made seven playoff appearances and won four division titles. After Dan Rooney died in 2017, his son, Art Rooney II, was named the team’s controlling owner.

Notable Players

More than twenty people with significant ties to the Steelers have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Only five players were so honored prior to the 1970s. Among them was linebacker Ernie Stautner (1950–63), who in 1964 was the first Steeler to have their jersey number retired by the team. The second was defensive end Joe Greene (1969–81), a Hall of Famer who earned the nickname “Mean Joe” for his ferocious style of play. Greene was the first player drafted by Chuck Noll (himself a Hall of Fame inductee as a coach).

Greene was the foundation of a Steelers defense that would become one of the greatest defensive units in NFL history. Nicknamed the “Steel Curtain,” the defense of the 1970s featured several Hall of Famers and numerous Pro Bowlers. Joining Greene in Canton were linebacker Jam Ham (1971–82), defensive back Mel Blount (1970–83), and linebacker Jack Lambert (1974–84), who was one of the most feared hitters of his era. Other standouts on the defense included L.C. Greenwood (1969–81), Ernie Holmes (1972–77), and Dwight White (1971–80). Safety Donnie Shell (1974–87) was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2020.

On the offensive side, the great Steelers teams of that era were led by Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw (1970–1983), who won two Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards (1978, 1979). Wide receivers Lynn Swann (1974–1982) and John Stallworth (1974–1987) were also inducted into the Hall of Fame, as was running back Franco Harris (1972–1983), who became the team’s all-time leading rusher with 11,950 career yards. While not in the Hall of Fame, running back Rocky Bleier (1968–1980) became a key member of four Super Bowl-winning teams just a few years after being seriously injured while serving with the US military in Vietnam.

The Steelers’ success of the 1990s was also powered by the team’s defense. Leading the way was seven-time Pro Bowler and Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson (1987–96). Linebackers Kevin Greene (1993–95) and Greg Lloyd (1988–97) were also key contributors. Greene was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2016, though he played the majority of his career with other teams; Lloyd made five straight Pro Bowls from 1991 to 1995.

In 1996, the Steelers traded for running back Jerome Bettis (1996–2005), whose bruising, powerful style earned him the nickname “The Bus.” Bettis was elected to Canton in 2015. Hines Ward (1998–2011) was drafted in 1998 and went on to become the leading receiver in franchise history with 1,000 receptions and 12,083 receiving yards. Ward was also named MVP of Super Bowl XL. Defensive back Troy Polamalu (2003–14) was an eight-time pro bowler who won defensive player of the year honors in 2010 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020. For much of the early twenty-first century, the Steelers were led by renowned quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was drafted by and debuted with the team in 2004 and retired after the 2021 season. He won two Super Bowls and finished his career with the fifth-most career passing yards in NFL history, along with numerous franchise passing records and other honors. Linebacker T. J. Watt emerged as a defensive superstar after being drafted by the team in 2017, tying the NFL single-season record for sacks in 2021.

Bibliography

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“History of the Steelmark.” American Iron and Steel Institute, 2019, www.steel.org/about-aisi/history/history-of-the-steelmark. Accessed 30 July 2019.

Meier, William. Pittsburgh Steelers. ABDO Publishing, 2019.

“Pittsburgh Steelers Franchise Encyclopedia.” Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.

“Pittsburgh Steelers.” Pro Football Hall of Fame, www.profootballhof.com/teams/pittsburgh-steelers/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.

Reed, Derek. “The Philadelphia Steelers?: Pennsylvania's Great Football Switch-A-Roo.” Bleacher Report, 6 Apr. 2009, bleacherreport.com/articles/151742-the-philadelphia-steelers-pennsylvanias-great-football-switch-a-roo. Accessed 29 July 2019.

“Steelers History.” Steelers.com, www.steelers.com/history/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.

“Steelers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.” Steelers.com, www.steelers.com/history/hall-of-fame/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.