During the 1970s
Pittsburgh became the first NFL team to win four Super Bowls. Head
coach Chuck Noll commanded a talent-laden club starring several
future Hall of Fame members, including quarterback Terry Bradshaw,
defensive end “Mean” Joe Greene, running back Franco
Harris, and linebackers Jack Ham and Jack Lambert.
The Pittsburgh
Pirates football team was founded in 1933 by Art Rooney. He named
the team after Pittsburgh’s National League baseball team,
and the two franchises shared Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field. In
1938 Rooney signed star running back Byron White. Nicknamed Whizzer
because of his speed, White led the league in rushing that year,
but the Pirates won just two of nine games.
After seven
losing seasons, Rooney renamed his team the Steelers in 1940. The
club registered only three winning records from 1942 to 1949. Its
best player during this time was two-time rushing champion Bill
Dudley. In 1946 the versatile running back, who would eventually
be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, led the NFL in rushing,
interceptions, and punt returns.
From 1950 to
1957 Pittsburgh failed to produce a winning record. The team briefly
recovered between 1958 and 1963, culminating with a 9-5 win-loss
record in 1962. Pittsburgh followed a 7-4 record in 1963 with eight
consecutive losing campaigns from 1964 to 1971.
The Steelers
moved to their new home in Three Rivers Stadium in 1970, the same
year Pittsburgh chose quarterback Terry Bradshaw of Louisiana Tech
as the number one pick in the NFL draft. In 1972, just three years
after a one-win season, head coach Chuck Noll led the Steelers to
the team’s first division title ever. The crown marked the
beginning of a dynasty that won seven Central Division championships
(including six consecutively) and four Super Bowls from 1972 to
1980.
Noll put together
a well-balanced offense starring Bradshaw, Franco Harris, center
Mike Webster, and wide receivers John Stallworth and Lynn Swann.
The defense, known as the Steel Curtain because it closed tight
on opposing offenses, featured Jack Ham and Jack Lambert; defensive
backs Mel Blount and Donnie Shell; and linemen Joe Greene, L. C.
Greenwood, and Dwight White. Pittsburgh fielded the AFC’s
top-rated defense for three consecutive seasons, from 1974 to 1976.
Pittsburgh rolled
through the playoffs in both 1974 and 1975 and won the Super Bowls
that followed both seasons, holding the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas
Cowboys to a combined 23 points in the two games. Three years later
the Steelers again reached the Super Bowl. They defeated the Cowboys
35-31 in what is considered one of the most thrilling championships
in NFL history. Bradshaw threw four touchdown passes, and the Steelers
led the game 35-17 with just under seven minutes left to play. Dallas
quarterback Roger Staubach led his team to two more touchdowns before
Pittsburgh recovered a Dallas onside kick and won the game. Pittsburgh
earned its fourth title in 1980, defeating the Los Angeles Rams
31-19.
Noll collected
two more division titles in the following 12 seasons, but under
him the Steelers did not return to the Super Bowl. When he retired
after the 1991 season, he ranked fourth in NFL history with 209
career victories. Club founder Art Rooney died in 1988, having owned
the Steelers for 55 years. His son Daniel M. Rooney became the franchise
president.
Former NFL linebacker
Bill Cowher was hired as head coach in 1992 and built solid teams
in the early 1990s with running back Barry Foster, linebacker Greg
Lloyd, and quarterback Neil O’Donnell. Cowher led Pittsburgh
to three straight division crowns from 1994 to 1996. Following the
1995 season the Steelers again played in the Super Bowl, but they
lost to the Cowboys 27-17. Running back Jerome Bettis led the team
in the 1996 season as Pittsburgh clinched the AFC Central Division
and beat the Indianapolis Colts 42-14 in the playoffs before losing
to the New England Patriots, 28-3.
1975 IX Defeated
Minnesota Vikings, 16-6
1976 X Defeated Dallas Cowboys, 21-17
1979 XIII Defeated Dallas Cowboys, 35-31
1980 XIV Defeated Los Angeles Rams, 31-19
1996 XXX Lost to Dallas Cowboys, 27-17
2005 XL Defeated Seawahks, 21-10
