Steelers
Announce Legends Team as Part of 75th Season Celebration
Twenty-Four Honored as Best
Pre-1970’s Players in Club History
The Steelers announced today the 24 former
players named to their Legends Team as part of the club’s 75th Season
Celebration activities. The Steelers Legends Team will be honored this weekend
during the club’s Sept. 16 home opener versus the Buffalo Bills.
The Legends Team includes the club’s top players who played prior to 1970,
selected by a special panel.
“There were a lot of great Steelers prior to 1970 who were as good as today’s
superstars, but fewer people got to see them play,” said Steelers Chairman Dan
Rooney. “We are looking forward to welcoming the Legends Team and having today’s
fans see some of the great Steelers from the pre-1970 era.”
The Steelers will wear their throwback uniforms for the first time during the
home opener against the Bills. The uniforms represent the team’s uniforms worn
during the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, featuring black jerseys with gold numbers and
stripes, white pants and gold helmets. The Steelers will wear a special 75th
Season patch on their jerseys during all games this season.
“We are excited to be honoring this weekend some of the greatest legends in
Steelers history,” said Steelers President Art Rooney II. “These players helped
build the foundation for the tradition of Steelers football, and represent the
many great players of the NFL who helped build the game into America’s
passion.”
The eight-person panel that selected the Legends Team included Steelers
Chairman Dan Rooney, Steelers Vice President Art Rooney
Jr., Myron Cope (former Steelers broadcaster), Joe
Gordon (former director of communications), Dick Hoak
(former running back/running backs coach), Ed Kiely (former
public relations director), Bill Nunn (former assistant
director of player personnel) and Roy McHugh (former sports
editor of the Pittsburgh Press).
The Steelers will wear their throwback uniforms for a second time this season
when they host the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, Nov. 5.
Additional information on the Steelers 75th Season activities can be found by
visiting the team’s official website at www.steelers.com.
Following are brief bios on the members of the Steelers Legends Team.
Bobby Layne
Quarterback (1958-62)
One of the most colorful characters in the history of professional football,
Bobby Layne gave the Steelers the kind of leadership they had never had before
from a quarterback. Layne had the kind of personality that commanded respect,
and then he solidified his status among his teammates with his performances on
the field. He passed for 66 touchdowns and ran for eight more in 55 games for
the Steelers. During Layne’s five seasons, the Steelers were 33-28-3, arguably
the most successful such span to that point in franchise history. Layne was
inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
Dick Hoak
Running Back (1961-70)
Known primarily by younger Steelers fans as an assistant coach who owned five
Super Bowl rings, Dick Hoak is remembered by those who saw him play as a tough,
productive halfback. An All-American at Penn State, Hoak was drafted by
Pittsburgh in the seventh round of the 1961 NFL Draft. For his career, he rushed
for 3,965 yards, caught 146 passes for 1,452 yards and scored 33 touchdowns.
Hoak led the team in rushing in 1965, 1968 and 1969 and was named to the 1969
Pro Bowl. Upon his retirement following the 1970 season, he was the team’s No. 2
all-time leading rusher and is currently fifth on that list. Hoak went on to
become the longest-tenured coach in team history, with 35 years as the running
backs coach.
John Henry Johnson
Running Back (1960-65)
It was 1964, and the 2-2 Steelers were going to Cleveland for a game against
the Browns in which they supposedly had no chance. For sure, they had no
linebackers, because of all the injuries at the position, but thanks to 200
yards rushing from John Henry Johnson, the Steelers pulled off a huge upset,
23-7. Originally drafted in the second round by the Steelers in 1953, Johnson
played in Canada for one season, before spending three seasons each with the
49ers and Lions. However, Johnson enjoyed his finest seasons with the Steelers.
He was the first player in team history to record a 1,000-yard rushing season,
and he did it in both 1962 and 1964. When he retired in 1966 from the Houston
Oilers, Johnson’s 6,803 career rushing yards were fourth all-time behind Jim
Brown, Jim Taylor and Joe Perry. Johnson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall
of Fame in 1987.
Elbie Nickel
Tight End (1947-57)
It wasn’t called tight end when he played it, but Elbie Nickel still played
the position – known as “end” at the time – better than anybody in Steelers’
history. Nickel, drafted in the 15th round in 1947, finished his career with 329
receptions for 5,133 yards, both of which are fourth on the team’s all-time
lists. He also hauled in 37 career touchdowns, which is the fifth-highest total
in team history. Nickel led the NFL in yards per catch with a 24.3 average in
1949, but his best season was in 1952 when he posted 55 receptions for 884 yards
and nine touchdowns, all of which were Steelers’ records at the time.
Roy Jefferson
Wide Receiver (1965-69)
Roy Jefferson was the team’s best offensive player when Chuck Noll was hired
in 1969, but his decision to test the new head coach resulted in him being
traded before the start of the 1970 season. Jefferson made two Pro Bowls in his
five seasons with the Steelers after being selected in the second round of the
1965 NFL Draft. He became the first Steelers receiver to record back-to-back
1,000-yard seasons when he posted 1,074 in 1968 and followed up with 1,079 in
1969. In that two-year span, Jefferson also caught 20 touchdown passes.
Ray Mathews
Wide Receiver (1951-59)
The Cleveland Browns dominated the All-American Football Conference and did
the same to the Steelers by winning the first eight games of the home-and-home
series. In 1955, the Steelers would beat them for the first time, and Mathews
was a big reason why. In Pittsburgh’s 55-27 win, Mathews scored four touchdowns,
including three on passes. Mathews led the team in receiving for three straight
seasons from 1954-56, and he finished with 230 catches for 3,919 yards.
Chuck Cherundolo
Center (1941-42, 1945-48)
As a player, he was the first of the distinguished group of centers employed
by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then when this part of his career ended, Chuck
Cherundolo helped see to it that the legacy continued. The Steelers have had few
centers during their 75-year history, and that’s a testimony to the quality of
the players they’ve had there. Cherundolo was the first of the great ones. He
entered the league in 1937 with the Cleveland Rams, played with the Philadelphia
Eagles in 1940 and then came to Pittsburgh in 1941. In his day, only Bears Hall
of Famer Clyde “Bulldog” Turner was considered a better center. When his playing
career ended, Cherundolo stayed with the team as an assistant coach and tutored
his replacement, Bill Walsh, to two Pro Bowls.
Mike Sandusky
Offensive Guard (1957-65)
Mike Sandusky played in 102 career games in his nine seasons with the
Steelers and earned a Pro Bowl berth following the 1961 season. That year, the
Steelers finished with a 6-8 record but sent a total of five players to the
annual all-star game. Sandusky also helped protect quarterback Bobby Layne in
1958 as the team led the league in passing that year with 2,752, which was a
team record at the time. He paved the way for John Henry Johnson to become the
Steelers first 1,000-yard rusher in 1962 and guided the way again for Johnson in
1964 to eclipse the 1,000-yard barrier.
Bruce Van Dyke
Offensive Guard (1967-73)
It’s a story that has become part of the legend of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It was 1969, and the team was going through its first training camp under Chuck
Noll while awaiting the arrival of the holdout No. 1 draft choice, Joe Greene.
When Greene signed and reported for his first practice, Noll wanted to give the
rookie a taste of the NFL. He chose Bruce Van Dyke to line up opposite Greene.
Van Dyke entered the league as a 12th-round draft pick of the Philadelphia
Eagles in 1966, and after joining the Steelers in 1967 he played 95 games for
the team as a guard whose primary asset was his toughness. Van Dyke was traded
to Green Bay in 1974.
Charley Bradshaw
Offensive Tackle (1961-66)
Coaches have been preaching this to players as long as the sport has been
played: linemen who always are on the ground can’t make plays. During his
six-year career with the Steelers, Charley Bradshaw’s clean uniform always had a
way of standing out. An eighth-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 1958,
Bradshaw came to the Steelers in 1961 and started every game at tackle (82
straight) for the team through the 1966 season. John Henry Johnson posted the
first two 1,000-yard seasons in franchise history, and he did it behind
offensive lines that had Charley Bradshaw at tackle.
Frank Varrichione
Offensive Tackle (1955-60)
In 1957, the Steelers were going to Baltimore to play a Colts team that would
win back-to-back championships in 1958-59, a team with a future Hall of Famer
named Gino Marchetti at defensive end, one of the game’s all-time greats.
Steelers coach Buddy Parker wasn’t real trusting of young players, and since
Frank Varrichione was a third-year guy, Parker spent the week leading up to the
Colts game trying other players at the position. Varrichione beat off the
competition and stoned Marchetti in a game the Steelers won, 19-13. At the Pro
Bowl following the season, Varrichione was told that Browns coach Paul Brown
used the film of him vs. Marchetti as a teaching tool for his own offensive
linemen. In six seasons with the Steelers, Varrichione was voted to five Pro
Bowls.
Eugene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb
Defensive Line (1961-62)
“I just wrap my arms around the whole backfield and peel ‘em off one-by-one
until I get to the ball carrier. Him I keep.” And so it was that Eugene “Big
Daddy” Lipscomb described his playing style, which also was characterized this
way by Steelers coach Buddy Parker: “He was the best man I ever saw at knocking
people down.” At 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, Lipscomb was a force the likes of which
the NFL never had seen. He is said to have invented “pursuit” when he became the
first defensive lineman to chase the football all over the field. Discovered by
the Los Angeles Rams in a Marine Corps camp, Lipscomb never went to college but
played for the Rams, then was part of two NFL Championships in Baltimore before
ending with the Steelers. He died prematurely in 1963 at the age of 31.
Ben McGee
Defensive Line (1964-72)
Ben McGee was a fourth-round draft pick by the Steelers in 1964 out of
Jackson State and went on to become one of the top defensive ends in his time.
He twice went to the Pro Bowl following the 1966 and 1968 seasons. In his final
season with the team, he helped the Steelers to an 11-3 record while winning the
AFC Central title for the first time in team history. McGee and the Steelers
advanced to the AFC Championship Game before falling to the Miami Dolphins. He
played in 119 games for Pittsburgh and finished his career with seven fumble
recoveries.
Bill McPeak
Defensive Line (1949-57)
Versatility is one thing, but Bill McPeak took that to extremes during his
career with the Steelers. McPeak was born and raised about 90 minutes northwest
of Pittsburgh in New Castle, Pa. Originally drafted by Paul Brown, who called
his decision to cut the rookie one of the blunders of his career, McPeak was a
starter as soon as he joined the Steelers in 1949, and before he turned 30 he
served the team as a player, assistant coach and scout. In 1956-57, McPeak was a
player, coach and scout all at once, and he stayed on as a coach/scout for
another year after he retired as a player. McPeak missed only three games in
nine years and was voted to the Pro Bowl three times.
Ernie Stautner
Defensive Line (1950-63)
“That man ain't human. He's too strong to be human ... He's the toughest guy
in the league to play against because he keeps coming head first. Swinging those
forearms wears you down.” That’s the way Hall of Fame offensive lineman Jim
Parker once described Ernie Stautner. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection,
Stautner came to the Steelers as a second-round draft choice from Boston College
who had been told by the New York Giants that he was too short to play
professional football. But he anchored Pittsburgh’s defense for 14 seasons and
was voted the NFL’s Best Lineman Award in 1957 because of his strength and
toughness. “What made him was his strength,” said Dan Rooney. “This was a time
when players didn’t lift weights. I remember we were playing the Giants at
Forbes Field one time and it was a very close game, and they were moving the
ball. He sacked the quarterback three times in a row.” The Steelers retired his
No. 70 jersey in 1964 following his retirement, and he remains the only Steelers
player to have received that honor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall
of Fame in 1969.
Dale Dodrill
Linebacker (1951-59)
A very tough, physical and demanding player during his time, Dale Dodrill
became one of the top linebackers in the league after being a sixth-round draft
pick by the Steelers in 1951. He earned four trips to the Pro Bowl (1954, 1955,
1956 and 1958), becoming the second player in team history to do so at the time
behind Ernie Stautner.
Myron Pottios
Linebacker (1961-65)
Myron Pottios was a good player for the Pittsburgh Steelers in his day, good
enough to catch George Allen’s eye. The team’s first pick (second round) in the
1961 NFL Draft, Pottios played his first four seasons in the league with
Pittsburgh. He played in 41 career games for the Steelers and finished with
seven interceptions while earning two trips to the Pro Bowl. When Allen took
over as the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, he immediately made a deal for
Pottios, and then Allen also took him to Washington, D.C., when he became head
coach of the Redskins in 1971. The 1963 All-NFL team featured three linebackers
from Western Pennsylvania – Pottios, from Charleroi, Joe Schmidt from
Pittsburgh, and Bill George from Waynesburg.
Jerry Shipkey
Linebacker (1948-52)
Jerry Shipkey came into the league as an offensive threat, scoring eight
touchdowns as a rookie, but turned into one of the top defensive players at his
position by the time he was through. In just five seasons with the team, he
posted 13 interceptions for 238 yards and earned Pro Bowl berths following the
1950, 1951 and 1952 seasons. A sixth-round draft choice in 1947, he joined
fellow standouts in an outstanding rookie class that included Elbie Nickel and
John Mastrangelo that were drafted by legendary coach Jock Sutherland.
Jack Butler
Defensive Back (1951-59)
It is said that defensive backs often choose between making a play on the
football or making a play on the receiver. Jack Butler did both. Described by
former Pittsburgh Press sports editor Pat Livingston as “having the face of a
choirboy and the heart of an arsonist,” Butler played nine seasons with the
Steelers and recorded 52 interceptions in 103 games, and the guy who once
studied to become a priest accomplished that in a most uncharitable way. “The
best pass defense is the respect of the receivers,” said Butler. “If they know
they’re going to get hit as soon as they touch the ball, they’re not so relaxed
catching it.” When Butler’s stellar career ended, only Hall of Famers Dick
“Night Train” Lane and Emlen Tunnell had more interceptions than him. Butler
never played high school football, and only tried out at St. Bonaventure College
as a lark. Father Dan Rooney, a priest at St. Bonaventure, recommended Butler to
his brother, who just happened to be Art Rooney Sr., the founder of the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Butler finished his career with four consecutive trips to
the Pro Bowl from 1956-1959.
Bill Dudley
Defensive Back/Running Back (1942,
1945-46)
Who is the last Steelers running back to lead the NFL in rushing? Here’s a
hint: He also led the NFL in interceptions and punt returns that same season.
“Bullet” Bill Dudley was a first-round pick of the Steelers in 1942 and finished
as the NFL’s leading rusher twice in his three seasons with the team – 1942 and
1946. Dudley was in the military for the 1943 and 1944 seasons. He rushed for
696 yards in 1942, and then in 1946, Dudley led the league in three distinctly
different statistical categories: rushing (604 yards), punt returns (27 for 385
yards) and interceptions (10). That year he was named the NFL’s Most Valuable
Player. Dudley was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in
1966.
Howard Hartley
Defensive Back
(1949-52)
The Washington Redskins didn’t really know what they had when they signed an
undrafted free agent from Duke named Howard Hartley in 1948, and they sure
didn’t know what they would be losing when they decided to release him after
that one season. The Steelers knew what they had in Hartley, even if they didn’t
have him for very long. In a three-season span, 36 games, Howard Hartley
intercepted 21 passes for the Steelers, including 10 in 1951. For his career,
Hartley played in 45 games for the Steelers and recorded 25 interceptions.
Clendon Thomas
Defensive Back (1962-68)
On offense, he averaged 18.2 yards on 42 career catches for the Steelers and
scored two touchdowns. On defense, he had 23 interceptions. He could punt, if
necessary; he returned kicks when asked. Clendon Thomas was a football player.
In college, Clendon Thomas played a key role on Oklahoma’s back-to-back national
championship teams of 1955-56, and he would lead the Sooners in scoring in both
1956 and 1957. His combination of speed, strength and lateral movement made him
not only a great halfback, but also an excellent defensive back. Against Notre
Dame in 1956, Thomas intercepted a Paul Hornung pass and returned it for a
touchdown. After four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Thomas joined the
Steelers, where he played the final seven of his 11 NFL seasons. Having recently
sold his chemical company, Thomas currently lives in Oklahoma City.
Pat Brady
Punter (1952-54)
If practice indeed makes perfect, Pat Brady was in a good spot to hone his
punting skills. In three seasons for Steelers teams that finished a combined
16-20, Brady punted 223 times and averaged 44.5 yards on those kicks. In 1953,
Brady led the NFL in punts (80), yards (3,752) and average (46.9). The following
season, Brady again led the NFL with a 43.2-yard average. Brady’s 46.9-yards per
punt average is still the second-highest single-season average in team history.
Brady was also a member of the Steelers 50th Anniversary team.
Armand Niccolai
Kicker (1934-42)
Armand Niccolai played nine seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates/Steelers after
attending nearby Duquesne University. He led the team in scoring in four years,
including posting a personal-best 28 points in both 1935 and 1936. He booted a
Steelers’-best seven field goals in 1936, which that mark would not be broken
for the next 14 years.
Steelers
Legends Team - Offense
Quarterback:
Bobby Layne...................................................
1958-62
Running
Back:
Dick Hoak........................................................
1961-70
John Henry Johnson.......................................
1960-65
Tight
End:
Elbie Nickel.....................................................
1947-57
Wide
Receiver:
Roy Jefferson..................................................
1965-69
Ray Mathews...................................................
1951-59
Center:
Chuck Cherundolo..........................................
1941-42, ‘45-48
(cher-RUN-do-lo)
Offensive
Guard:
Mike Sandusky................................................
1957-65
Bruce Van
Dyke...............................................
1967-73
Offensive
Tackle:
Charley Bradshaw...........................................
1961-66
Frank Varrichione...........................................
1955-60
Kicker:
Armand Niccolai.............................................
1934-42
Steelers
Legends Team - Defense
Defensive
Line:
Eugene
“Big Daddy” Lipscomb......................
1961-62
Ben McGee......................................................
1964-72
Bill McPeak.....................................................
1949-57
Ernie Stautner.................................................
1950-63
Linebackers:
Dale Dodrill.....................................................
1951-59
Myron Pottios.................................................
1961-65
Jerry Shipkey..................................................
1948-52
Defensive
Back:
Jack Butler......................................................
1951-59
Bill Dudley......................................................
1942, ’45-46
Howard Hartley................................................
1949-52
Clendon Thomas.............................................
1962-68
Punter:
Pat Brady........................................................
1952-54
