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The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the National Football League (NFL) as part of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the AFC North division. Founded on July 8, 1933, the Steelers have played home games at Acrisure Stadium since 2001.
The Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC and the 7th-oldest franchise in the NFL. The team was founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1933 by Art Rooney, taking its original name from the baseball team of the same name, then switched to Steelers in 1940 to better represent the city's steel industry. The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding. The current owner is Art's grandson, Art Rooney II, who has inherited the control of the franchise from his father Dan Rooney.
The team only appeared in only one playoff game in its first 40 years, however Pittsburgh experienced a dynasty in the 1970s, winning four Super Bowl championships. The Steelers are tied with the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl titles (six), have won the second most AFC Championship Games (eight) and hosted more conference championship games (11) than any other AFC or NFC team. The Steelers won their most recent championship, Super Bowl XLIII, during the 2008 season.
Team history[]
Founding[]
The Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL first took to the field as the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 20, 1933, taking its original name from the National League baseball team of the same name, as was common practice for NFL teams to do at the time. Prior to the 1940 season, owner Art Rooney Sr. changed the team name to Steelers to more properly represent the city’s dominant steel industry.
During World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises to field a team. During the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles forming the "Phil-Pitt Eagles" and were known as the "Steagles". In 1944, they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as Card-Pitt (or, mockingly, as the "Carpets", who finished 0-10). After the war, the Steelers returned in 1945.
The Steelers logo was introduced in 1962 and is based on the "Steelmark", originally designed by Pittsburgh's U.S. Steel and now owned by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). In fact, it was Cleveland-based Republic Steel that suggested the Steelers adopt the industry logo. It consists of the word "Steelers" surrounded by three astroids (hypocycloids of four cusps). The original meanings behind the astroids were, "Steel lightens your work, brightens your leisure, and widens your world." Later, the colors came to represent the ingredients used in the steel-making process: yellow for coal, red for iron ore, and blue for scrap steel. While the formal Steelmark logo contains only the word "Steel," the team was given permission to add "ers" in 1963 after a petition to AISI.
The Steelers are the only NFL team that puts its logo on only one side of the helmet (the right side). Longtime field and equipment manager Jack Hart was instructed to do this by Art Rooney as a test to see how the logo appeared on the gold helmets; however, its popularity led the team to leave it that way permanently. A year after introducing the logo, they switched to black helmets to make it stand out more.
Membership[]
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Championships[]
Although they never won an NFL Championship from the team's birth in 1933 to the first Super Bowl played during the 1966 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have since won six Super Bowl titles, tied with the New England Patriots for the most of any NFL team.
Super Bowl IX[]
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Behind their "Steel Curtain" defense, their running game, and quarterback Terry Bradshaw (who was awarded the starting job after the fourth game), the Steelers went 10-3-1 clinching the AFC Central title. They defeated the Buffalo Bills 32-14 in the divisional round, then upset the Oakland Raiders 24-13 in the AFC Championship game to reach Super Bowl IX.
The game was a defensive struggle, with the Steelers leading 2-0 at halftime. Franco Harris ran for a touchdown in the third quarter to put the Steelers up 9-0. The Vikings scored on a blocked punt to pull within 3, but the Steelers put the game away when Bradshaw threw a 4 yard touchdown to Larry Brown. Harris was named Super Bowl MVP after rushing for a then-record 158 yards (more than the entire Vikings offense) on a then-record 34 carries and the touchdown.
Super Bowl X[]
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Behind their "Steel Curtain" defense, their running game, and Bradshaw, the Steelers went a league best 12-2, then defeated the Baltimore Colts 28-10 in the divisional round, then defeated the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship game for the second straight year 16-10 to reach Super Bowl X.
The Steelers were down 10-7 at halftime and did not score in the third quarter. They scored 14 points in the fourth quarter off a safety, two field goals and a 64 yard touchdown pass from Bradshaw to Lynn Swann to take a 21-10 lead. However, Bradshaw was knocked out with a concussion on the score. Roger Staubach threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Percy Howard on the ensuing Cowboys drive to cut the lead to 4. The Steelers tried to run out the clock but failed, giving the Cowboys one final chance. Glen Edwards intercepted Staubach's Hail Mary pass to seal the Steelers second straight Super Bowl win. Swann became the first wide receiver to win Super Bowl MVP after catching 4 passes for a then record 161 yards and the game clinching touchdown. Two of his other catches were iconic, with his twisting leap and tight rope down the sideline setting up a touchdown while his falling juggle catch is arguably one of the greatest catches in NFL history.
Swann's performance was also memorable in the fact that he had been knocked out of the AFC Championship game with a concussion and would miss several practices before the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XIII[]
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Behind NFL MVP Terry Bradshaw (who benefitted from rule changes made before the season) and the "Steel Curtain", the Steelers went a league best 14-2. They then beat the Denver Broncos 33-10 in the divisional round (avenging their loss from the previous year), then defeated Earl Campbell and the Houston Oilers 34-5 in the AFC Championship game to reach Super Bowl XIII. This was the first Super Bowl rematch (in the same stadium) and both the Steelers and the defending champion Cowboys were looking to become the first team to win 3 Super Bowls. Leading up to the game, Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson insulted Bradshaw's intelligence.
While Bradshaw started strong, the Cowboys tied the game and took the lead in the second quarter when Mike Hegmann stripped the ball from Bradshaw and returned it for a 37 yard touchdown. Bradshaw threw a 75 yard touchdown to John Stallworth (who broke a tackle and outraced everyone) to tie the game, and gave the Steelers the lead just before halftime with a 7 yard strike to Rocky Bleier.
The Cowboys had a great chance to tie the game in the third quarter, but Jackie Smith dropped a wide open touchdown on third and goal, forcing a field goal. In the fourth quarter, controversial penalties allowed the Steelers to score on a Franco Harris 22 yard run and a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return set up Bradshaw's 18 yard score to Lynn Swann, putting the Steelers up 35-17 with seven minutes to go. Roger Staubach threw touchdown passes on the Cowboys next two possessions (they recovered an onside kick after the first one) to cut the deficit to 4, but Bleier recovered the onside kick with 22 seconds left to seal the win.
Bradshaw was named Super Bowl MVP after completing 17 of 30 passes for a record 318 yards and a record 4 touchdowns (breaking Bart Starr's yardage and touchdown records from Super Bowl I in the first half) with 1 interception. Swann caught 7 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown, while Stallworth had 115 yards on 3 catches and two touchdowns (tying Max McGee's record for touchdown catches in a Super Bowl).
Super Bowl XIV[]
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Behind Bradshaw and the "Steel Curtain", the Steelers went 12-4 in 1979 clinching the AFC Central title. They blew out the Miami Dolphins 34-14 in the divisional round, then defeated Earl Campbell and the Houston Oilers 27-13 in the AFC Championship game for the second year in a row to reach Super Bowl XIV.
The Steelers were down 13-10 at halftime. They took the lead on their opening drive when Bradshaw threw a 47 yard touchdown to Swann. The Rams took the lead back when running back Lawrence McCutcheon threw a 24 yard touchdown to Ron Smith. Bradshaw threw interceptions on the Steelers next two possessions and Swann was knocked out of the game due to injury. Despite his struggles, Bradshaw threw a 73 yard score to Stallworth in the fourth quarter to give the Steelers the lead. Jack Lambert made an interception on the Rams next possession. After a 45 yard catch by Stallworth and a pass interference by the Rams, Franco Harris sealed the win with his second touchdown run of the game.
Bradshaw joined Bart Starr as the only players at the time to win Super Bowl MVP for 2 straight years after completing 14 of 21 passes for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns with 3 interceptions while rushing 3 times for 9 yards. Swann caught 5 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown, while Stallworth had 121 yards on 3 catches and a touchdown. With the win, the Steelers repeated as champs for the second time in the decade and became the first team to win 4 Super Bowls.
Super Bowl XL[]
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After stumbling to a 7-5 start during the 2005 season, the Steelers rebounded and entered Super Bowl XL finishing the regular season with an 11-5 record. The Steelers became the first team to win three road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl, then win it all. Pittsburgh defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 31-17; the top-seeded Indianapolis Colts, 21-18; and the Denver Broncos, 34-17, in the AFC Championship Game.
The Steelers went on to win Super Bowl XL over the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10. The franchise would tie the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys for most Super Bowl titles at five. After the Seahawks had drawn the game to 14-10, the Steelers clinched the game in the fourth quarter when wide receiver Antwaan Randle El connected with Hines Ward on a 43-yard touchdown to ice the game. Ward was named Super Bowl MVP, catching 5 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 18 yards. This was the last Super Bowl called by ABC and the final game of running back Jerome Bettis's career (Bettis is from Detroit).
Super Bowl XLIII[]
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Pittsburgh finished the 2008 season with the second best record in the AFC at 12–4. The defense led the NFL in fewest points (13.9) and yards (237.2) allowed per game, while also ranking second in sacks with 51 thanks to James Harrison, who led the league with 16 sacks to become the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. In the playoffs, Pittsburgh started with a 35–24 win over the San Diego Chargers, then went on to beat, for the third time in the season, their AFC North division arch-rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, 23–14.
With Raymond James Stadium as the backdrop, the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals at Super Bowl XLIII to win their record sixth Super Bowl championship. With the first half drawing to a close and Arizona driving, James Harrison intercepted a pass and returned it for a 100-yard touchdown to end the half, helping the Steelers take 17-7 lead. Arizona would comeback in the fourth quarter, taking the lead 23-20 until the final Steelers drive when Ben Roethlisberger threw the game-clinching 6-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes, who would earn Super Bowl MVP for recording nine receptions for 131 yards and the winning touchdown catch. In his second season, Mike Tomlin became the then-youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl. This was the last game that John Madden called.
Achievements[]
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Rivalry[]
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- Note: The Steelers current stadium (Acrisure Stadium) was previously known as Heinz Field from 2001-2021.
External links[]
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