Pittsburgh Steelers
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Template:NFL team The Pittsburgh Steelers are a National Football League team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Founded: 1993.
- Formerly Known as: Pittsburgh Pirates (1933-1940)
- Home field: Heinz Field
- Previous home fields:
- Forbes Field (1933-1963)
- Pitt Stadium (1958-1969)
- Three Rivers Stadium (1970-2000)
- Uniform colors: Black and gold
- Helmet design: Solid black on the left side. The team logo, appearing only on the right side, is based on the old U.S. Steel logo. It consists of the word "Steelers" surrounded by three astroids (hypocycloids of four cusps).
- Division titles won: 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004
- Conference championships won: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1995
- Super Bowl appearances: IX (won), X (won), XIII (won), XIV (won), XXX (lost)
- Famous gimmick: Terrible Towel
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Franchise history
The team was so named because of the major steel industry in the city. The team appeared in five Super Bowls, winning four and is regarded as The Team of The Seventies.
The team had a dominant defense known as The Steel Curtain and an offense led by Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth. Their coach was Chuck Noll. Longtime sportscaster Myron Cope is well known in Pittsburgh for his distinctive voice and commentary.
The Steelers had a long history of futility before 1972, their first postseason appearance. In fact, they had only eight winning seasons prior to that season, despite being one of the oldest teams in the league. The Immaculate Reception game happened in this postseason.
During World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises in order to field a team. In 1942 they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were know as "Card-Pitt" and informally known as the "Car-Pitts" or "Carpets" (due to their ineptitude; they won no games). During the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles and were known as the "Steagles".
In 1991, legendary coach Chuck Noll, who led the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories, retired. He was replaced by Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Bill Cowher, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton, PA. 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 Browns.
It has become an article of faith among NFL pundits that the Steelers do not have a bad team two years in a row -- they have never lost 10 or more in consecutive years since the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.
2004 season
The Steelers completed the 2004 regular season with the best record in the NFL at 15-1. Only three previous teams have 15 wins, with the Steelers being the first AFC team to accomplish this feat. As a result of this dominant season, the Steelers received home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The Steelers defeated the New York Jets in the Divisional Round yet lost to the New England Patriots, 41-27, in the AFC Championship. This defeat marked the fourth time in ten years that the Steelers have lost the conference title game at home under Bill Cowher.
Single Season Records
- Rushing Attempts: 375 Jerome Bettis (1997)
- Rushing Yards: 1690 Barry Foster (1992)
- Rushing Touchdowns: 14 Franco Harris (1976)
- Receiving Catches: 112 Hines Ward (2002)
- Receiving Yards: 1398 Yancey Thigpen (1997)
- Receiving Touchdowns: 12 Buddy Dial (1961), Louis Lipps (1985), Hines Ward (2002)
- Passing Attempts: 519 Tommy Maddox (2003)
- Passing Completions: 298 Tommy Maddox (2003)
- Passing Yards: 3724 Terry Bradshaw (1979)
- Passing Toucdhowns: 28 Terry Bradshaw (1978)
- Passing Interceptions: 25 Terry Bradshaw (1979)
- Quarterback Sacks: 15 Mike Merriweather (1984)
- Pass Interceptions: 11 Mel Blount (1975)
Players of note
Pro Football Hall of Famers
- Mel Blount
- Terry Bradshaw
- Bill Dudley
- "Mean" Joe Greene
- Jack Ham
- Franco Harris
- John Henry Johnson
- Walt Kiesling
- Jack Lambert
- Bobby Layne
- Chuck Noll (coach)
- Art Rooney (owner)
- Dan Rooney (owner)
- John Stallworth
- Ernie Stautner
- Lynn Swann
- Mike Webster
Current players
- Jerome Bettis
- Alan Faneca
- Casey Hampton
- Tommy Maddox
- Kimo von Oelhoffen
- Troy Polamalu
- Joey Porter
- Antwaan Randle-El
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Aaron Smith
- Duce Staley
- Hines Ward
Not to be forgotten
- Walter Abercrombie
- Kendrell Bell
- Rocky Bleier
- Bubby Brister
- Plaxico Burress
- Bennie Cunningham
- Dermontti Dawson
- Buddy Dial
- Barry Foster
- John Fuqua
- Jason Gildon
- Joe Gilliam
- Eric Green
- Kevin Greene
- L.C. Greenwood
- Merril Hoge
- Ernie Holmes
- Levon Kirkland
- Jon Kolb
- Carnell Lake
- Louis Lipps
- Greg Lloyd
- Ray Mansfield
- Bam Morris
- Gerry Mullins
- Neil O'Donnell
- Actor Ed O'Neill was drafted by the Steelers in 1969, but was cut in training camp
- Frank Pollard
- Andy Russell
- Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer spent the 1971 training camp with the Steelers, but was traded to the Colts before the start of the season
- Donnie Shell
- Kordell Stewart
- Yancey Thigpen
- Mike Wagner
- Byron White (U.S. Supreme Court Justice)
- Dwight White
- Dwayne Woodruff
- Rod Woodson
- Amos Zereoue
Retired numbers
- Ernie Stautner's jersey number 70 is the only official retired number. The Steelers later stopped officially retiring numbers. However, the following numbers are not currently assigned to players, and are in essence retired as well:
- 12 (Bradshaw)
- 32 (Harris)
- 52 (Webster)
- 58 (Lambert)
- 59 (Ham)
- 75 (Greene)
Head Coaches
- 1. Jap Douds, 1933
- 2. Luby DiMelio, 1934
- 3. Joe Bach, 1935-1936
- 4. John Blood, 1937-1939
- 5. Walt Kiesling, 1940-1944
- 6. Jim Leonard, 1945
- 7. Jock Sutherland, 1946-1947 (1 Playoff appearance)
- 8. John Michelosen, 1948-1951
- 9. Joe Bach, 1952-1953
- 10. Walt Kiesling, 1953-1956
- 11. Buddy Parker, 1957-1964 (1 Playoff appearance)
- 12. Mike Nixon, 1965
- 13. Bill Austin, 1966-1968
- 14. Chuck Noll, 1969-1991 (12 Playoff appearances, 4 Super Bowl victories)
- 15. Bill Cowher, 1992-present (9 Playoff appearances, 1 Super Bowl appearance)
External links
- Pittsburgh Steelers official web site (http://www.steelers.com/)
- The American Ireland Fund web site (http://www.irlfunds.org/)