Pittsburgh Steelers celebrate 90 years since founding
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Ninety years of hard hits, touchdowns, trials, and tribulations.
On July 8, 1933, Art Rooney Sr. founded a professional football team that would encompass the very nature of the town it was based in.
In a town forged by steel, Pittsburghers have earned a reputation of being a hard-nosed, determined group who try to win at all costs.
When the Pittsburgh Steelers became an officially recognized member club of the NFL, they joined the Eastern Division and were one of only 10 teams in the league. Only five teams from that group remain today: the Steelers, Chicago (Arizona) Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and New York Giants.
The early years of the team are often highlighted by poor on-field results, global conflicts that disrupted the league, and a franchise that always seemed to take one step forward and then two steps back.
The glory years of the 1970s Steelers remain a source of fond memories for those that grew up during that time. A Steel Curtain defensive unit and an offense led by a gunslinger quarterback with a cast of dominant offensive weapons that created some immaculate plays.
All good things must come to an end, and by the start of the 1980s, those players that had helped win four world championships were showing signs of decline. It would mark the start of another lull period, with new faces having the impossible task of filling the shoes of the elite that came before.
By 1991, after 23 seasons managing the same team, Chuck Noll had stepped aside. Enter a Crafton, Pa. native that took the reins into a new millennium.
Cowher would come close to adding more hardware to the Steelers' trophy cases but failed the reach the mountaintop in Super Bowl XXX, losing to the Dallas Cowboys.
While Bill Cowher's only world title came at the very end of his coaching tenure, his demeanor endeared him to fans much the same way Noll had done in years prior.
Into the present day, stability has been the name of the game, with the Steelers only employing a grand total of three head coaches since 1969. The aforementioned Noll, Cowher, and at the time of his victory, the second Black man and youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl: Mike Tomlin.
Tomlin, alongside another franchise cornerstone and holder of several all-time Steelers passing records, Ben Roethlisberger, remained a dynamic duo throughout the majority of Roethlisberger's 18-year career.
Fast forward to 2023, the Steelers are synonymous with championships, earning six Super Bowl victories, having nearly 30 players forever enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a rabid fan base that touches all corners of Earth.
From Joe Greene and Ben Roethlisberger to Ernie Stautner and Jack Butler, hundreds of men have donned the black and gold colors that have come to identify all aspects of this city.
Ninety years and multiple generations later, even as legendary players have come and gone, the Pittsburgh Steelers remain a constant in a league that continues to grow and become more competitive at astronomical rates.
"If I could start my life all over again, I would be a professional football player, and you damn well better believe I would be a Pittsburgh Steeler." -Jack Lambert
