47 Fun Facts About Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers joined the NFL in 1933 under what original name?

Art Rooney paid a $2,500 franchise fee in 1933 and borrowed the name of the city's baseball club, so the team began as the Pittsburgh Pirates; the press often called them the Rooneymen.

In which year did the franchise drop its original borrowed baseball name and become the Steelers?

The franchise became the Steelers for the 1940 season, a name honoring the city's steel industry, after seven seasons under its borrowed baseball name.

Which future US Supreme Court justice did the club sign in 1938 to the biggest contract in NFL history?

'Whizzer' White played one year in Pittsburgh before joining Detroit.

What was the team nicknamed when the Steelers merged with their cross-state rivals for the 1943 season?

The 1943 Phil-Pitt 'Steagles' went 5-4-1 in green and white; the next year's merger with the Chicago Cardinals produced the winless Card-Pitt, mocked as the 'Carpets'.

Which Pittsburgh-born quarterback did the Steelers draft and cut in 1955 before he became a Colts legend?

Johnny Unitas, a Pittsburgh native, was the Steelers' ninth-round pick in 1955 but was cut in training camp; Baltimore signed him in 1956 and he became a Colts legend.

Art Rooney reportedly bankrolled the early team with a legendary parlay at which racetrack?

Rooney's famous hot streak at Saratoga, parlaying his winnings through several days of races, reportedly netted about $160,000 and steadied the struggling young franchise.

Which coach, hired from the Baltimore Colts for the 1969 season, turned the franchise into a dynasty?

Chuck Noll, hired from the Colts' staff in 1969, went 1-13 in his first season, won a coin flip with the Bears for the No. 1 pick and drafted Terry Bradshaw.

The coach hired in 1969 won how many Super Bowls in Pittsburgh?

He also won nine Central Division titles and had winning records in 15 of his final 20 seasons.

The 1974 Steelers draft is considered the best ever because it produced how many future Hall of Famers?

Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster; no other team has matched it.

Which four defensive linemen anchored the Steel Curtain?

Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes and Dwight White formed the Steel Curtain defensive line of the mid-1970s; linebackers Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Andy Russell played behind them.

'Mean' Joe Greene's nickname is usually traced to the athletic teams of which university?

North Texas plays as the Mean Green; his 'Hey Kid, Catch!' Coca-Cola ad aired during Super Bowl XIV.

The Immaculate Reception, the Steelers' first playoff win, came against which team in 1972?

Franco Harris scooped up a Bradshaw pass that ricocheted off a collision between John 'Frenchy' Fuqua and an Oakland defender and scored to beat the Raiders 13-7 on December 23, 1972.

Which fan club, with Frank Sinatra as its 'Brigadier General', wore military helmets bearing number 32?

Franco's Italian Army, founded in 1972 by fans Tony Stagno and Al Vento, wore army helmets marked 32; Myron Cope had Sinatra 'inducted' during a team trip to Palm Springs.

Terry Bradshaw was drafted first overall in 1970 out of which school?

Bradshaw played his college football at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, a small-college program, before Pittsburgh made him the No. 1 overall pick in 1970.

Beating the Rams 31-19 in the 1979 season's title game earned the Steelers which distinction?

Super Bowl XIV at the Rose Bowl made Pittsburgh the first team to win four Lombardi Trophies, all between the 1974 and 1979 seasons; Terry Bradshaw was MVP for the second straight year.

What Super Bowl first was the only score of the first half in Super Bowl IX, the Steelers' first title?

Fran Tarkenton was downed in his own end zone; Pittsburgh beat Minnesota 16-6.

Which receiver was the first at his position named Super Bowl MVP, in the 21-17 win over Dallas in Super Bowl X?

Lynn Swann's four catches for 161 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown, made him the first wide receiver named Super Bowl MVP; he later ran for Pennsylvania governor in 2006.

Broadcaster Myron Cope conceived the Terrible Towel in which year?

Cope introduced the Terrible Towel in December 1975, urging fans to wave gold towels at the playoff game against the Colts; it has since been carried to Everest and the International Space Station.

Proceeds from Terrible Towel sales go to which institution?

Cope, whose autistic son Danny lived there, signed the Terrible Towel trademark over to the Allegheny Valley School in Coraopolis in 1996; the school has received millions in royalties.

The Steelers are the only NFL team to place their logo on just one side of the helmet. Which side?

Art Rooney ordered it as a test on the gold helmets in 1962, and fans liked it enough to keep it that way.

The three shapes in the Steelers logo are called what?

They are hypocycloids, four-cusped astroids borrowed from the American Iron and Steel Institute's Steelmark; the yellow, orange and blue came to stand for coal, iron ore and steel scrap.

Which 1979 Styx song is played before defensive stands to rally the crowd at Steelers home games?

'Renegade', a 1979 Styx single from the album Pieces of Eight, has been played on the big screen before key defensive series since the 2002 season.

Which venue, home to the Steelers for 31 seasons, was imploded in 2001?

Three Rivers Stadium, at the meeting of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio, opened in 1970 and housed the Steelers through the 2000 season before its February 2001 implosion.

The Steelers' North Shore stadium, opened in 2001, carried what original name?

The stadium opened in 2001 as Heinz Field under a 20-year, $57 million naming deal with the H.J. Heinz Company, complete with giant ketchup bottles atop the scoreboard.

Steelers coach Bill Cowher grew up in which Pittsburgh suburb, about five miles from Three Rivers?

Cowher grew up in Crafton, a borough just west of Pittsburgh, and played at Carlynton High School before his 15-season run as Steelers head coach from 1992 to 2006.

Ben Roethlisberger, drafted 11th overall in 2004, played college football at which school?

Roethlisberger starred at Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, leading the RedHawks to a 13-1 record in his final college season, before Pittsburgh drafted him 11th overall in 2004.

Super Bowl XL in Detroit made the Steelers the first team to win it all from which playoff position?

Pittsburgh won every road playoff game as the AFC's sixth seed, then beat Seattle 21-10 in Detroit for a record-tying fifth title.

Which Steelers receiver, later a Dancing with the Stars champion, was MVP of Super Bowl XL?

Hines Ward, born in Seoul to a Korean mother, caught five passes for 123 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown thrown by fellow receiver Antwaan Randle El, to win Super Bowl XL MVP.

Jerome Bettis, who retired after Super Bowl XL in his home city, was nicknamed what?

Bettis, 'The Bus', bulldozed for 13,662 career yards on the ground, then retired in his native Detroit after the Super Bowl XL win, the only title of his career.

Mike Tomlin became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl at what age, in Super Bowl XLIII?

Tomlin was 36 when Pittsburgh won Super Bowl XLIII in February 2009, then the youngest Super Bowl-winning coach; Sean McVay, also 36 but younger, edged the mark in 2022.

Which linebacker's 100-yard interception return in Super Bowl XLIII was then the longest Super Bowl play?

James Harrison, undrafted out of Kent State, returned Kurt Warner's pass 100 yards as the first half ended, the longest play in Super Bowl history until Jacoby Jones's 108-yard kickoff return in XLVII.

Whose toe-tap catch with 35 seconds left beat Arizona 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII?

Santonio Holmes tapped both feet down in the end-zone corner on a 6-yard Roethlisberger throw; his nine catches for 131 yards earned Super Bowl XLIII MVP.

Which part of his body did Troy Polamalu famously insure for $1 million in 2010?

Polamalu insured his hair for $1 million with Lloyd's of London in 2010 after signing with Head & Shoulders; Chiefs back Larry Johnson had once tackled him by his flowing mane.

How many interceptions did Rod Woodson return for touchdowns, an NFL record?

Rod Woodson, the 1993 Defensive Player of the Year, returned 12 of his 71 career interceptions for touchdowns, an NFL record.

T.J. Watt's 22.5 sacks in 2021 tied whose single-season record?

Watt's 22.5 sacks in 2021 matched Michael Strahan's 2001 single-season mark; Watt also won that season's Defensive Player of the Year award.

Antonio Brown, who set receiving records in Pittsburgh, was drafted in which round in 2010?

Brown was a sixth-round pick, 195th overall, out of Central Michigan in 2010, then twice led the NFL in receiving yards and made seven Pro Bowls.

The Rooney Rule, requiring minority candidates be interviewed for head coaching jobs, dates from which year?

Adopted in 2003 and named for Dan Rooney, then chairman of the league's diversity committee, the rule followed a 2002 report on the dearth of Black head coaches.

'Bullet' Bill Dudley, the Steelers' first overall pick in 1942, led the league in what as a rookie?

Dudley led the NFL in rushing as a 1942 rookie with 696 yards on 162 carries and was first-team All-Pro; after war service he won the 1946 MVP with Pittsburgh.

The Steelers' first winning record in nine years came in 1958 after trading for which Lions quarterback?

Layne had led Detroit to two NFL championships.

The Steelers' 1947 playoff appearance, their first, ended in a 21-0 loss to which team at Forbes Field?

Philadelphia's Eagles beat Pittsburgh 21-0 at Forbes Field on December 21, 1947, in a divisional tiebreaker playoff; it was the club's only official postseason game before the 1970 merger.

From 1969 through the 2025 season, how many head coaches had the Steelers employed?

Noll, Cowher and Tomlin: each has reached a Super Bowl, matching the Cowboys' Landry-Johnson-Switzer run.

Which Steelers quarterback was nicknamed 'Slash' for also playing receiver and running back?

Kordell Stewart earned the 'Slash' nickname as a 1995 rookie when Bill Cowher used him at quarterback, receiver and running back; he became the full-time starting quarterback in 1997.

The NFL's 1978 five-yard illegal-contact rule is informally named after which Steelers cornerback?

The 'Mel Blount Rule' of 1978 barred defenders from contacting receivers more than five yards downfield, a reaction to Blount's bump-and-run dominance; he retired in 1983 with 57 interceptions.

Which fullback was the first Steeler to rush for 1,000 yards in a season?

Fullback John Henry Johnson ran for 1,141 yards in 1962, the first 1,000-yard season in Steelers history, while in his thirties; he was enshrined in Canton in 1987.

Ben Roethlisberger was seriously hurt in a June 2006 crash while riding what?

Roethlisberger, riding without a helmet, collided with a car on his motorcycle in Pittsburgh in June 2006; an emergency appendectomy that September then cost him the season opener.

How many old-guard NFL clubs, the Steelers among them, moved to the AFC in the 1970 merger?

The Browns and Colts made the move too, and each got a $3 million relocation fee that the cash-poor Steelers badly needed.

Which Oakland defensive back may, or may not, have deflected the ball on the Immaculate Reception?

Oakland's Jack Tatum collided with Fuqua as the ball arrived; under 1972 rules a pass touched only by Fuqua would have been dead, so whether Tatum deflected it decided the play's legality.