Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a National Football League team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Founded: 1933.
- Formerly Known as: Pittsburgh Pirates (1933-1940)
- Home stadium: Heinz Field
- Uniform colors: Black and gold
- Helmet design: Solid black on the left side. The team logo, appearing only on the right side, says "Steelers" and is based on the old U.S. Steel logo. The diamonds in the logo are officially known as "hypocycloids".
- League championships won: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979.
- Super Bowl appearances: IX (won), X (won), XIII (won), XIV (won), XXX (lost)
Franchise history
The team was so named because of the abundant steel industry in the city. The team won four Super Bowls 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 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 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, much-celebrated coach Chuck Noll, who lead the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories, retired, and the Steelers hired Bill Cowher, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton, PA who had coached special teams in Kansas City. He lead the Steelers to the playoffs on his first six seasons as coach, a feat that had only been before accomplished by legendary Jim 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 NFL merger. This season, the Steelers currently have the best record in the NFL. [1] (http://www.nfl.com/standings)
Players of note
- 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 stars:
- Kendrell Bell
- Jerome Bettis
- Plaxico Burress
- Alan Faneca
- Troy Polamalu
- Tommy Maddox
- Joey Porter
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Duce Staley
- Hines Ward
- James Farrior
Retired numbers:
Not to be forgotten:
External links
- Pittsburgh Steelers official web site (http://www.steelers.com/)
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