Steelers All-Time Team Bios

 

 

Thirty-three players were named to the Steelers All-Time Team the club announced the members as part of the Steelers 75^th Season Celebration. The squad includes both former and current Steelers players who make up the official Steelers All-Time Team.

 

The players will be honored at the team’s Nov. 4 Gala event at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and at the Steelers Nov. 5 Monday Night game against the Baltimore Ravens when the Steelers will wear their throwback uniforms for the second and final time this season. Thirty-three players were selected in recognition of the team being founded in 1933.

 

Throughout this week www.steelers.com will feature bios of the players who were voted to the team. Be sure to check back each day for those bios.

 

 

OFFENSIVE BACKS

 

 

Terry Bradshaw - Quarterback (1970-83)

 

 

Winning championships is what distinguishes the great NFL quarterbacks, and that’s why Terry Bradshaw was a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1989. The Steelers won the right to pick Bradshaw first overall in the 1970 draft because they won a coin flip with the Chicago Bears. Actually, the Bears lost because their representative called heads and the coin came up tails. While calling his own plays, Bradshaw quarterbacked the Steelers to eight division titles and four Super Bowl championships; Bradshaw was voted the MVP of Super Bowls XIII and XIV, NFL Player of the Year in 1978, and he won team MVP honors in back-to-back seasons (1977-1978). In 19 career playoff games, Bradshaw threw 30 touchdown passes, and his record as a starting quarterback in conference championship games and Super Bowls was 8-2.

 

 

Jerome Bettis - Running Back (1996-05)

 

He might have been drafted into the NFL by the Los Angeles Rams, but Jerome Bettis was born to star for the Steelers. He ran the football with the type of power that energized the fans and his nimble feet allowed him to last longer and be more productive than any previous back his size. The wheels on The Bus were responsible for a lot of wins during his 10 seasons with the Steelers after arriving via a draft day trade in 1996. Bettis finished his Steelers’ career with 10,571 rushing yards and 78 touchdowns, both second in team history behind Franco Harris. He also became the players’ rallying point during the drive to Super Bowl XL in 2005, and Bettis was able to announce his retirement in his hometown while holding the Lombardi Trophy in his hands. He finished his career with 13,662 rushing yards to rank fifth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list. A three-time team Steelers MVP, Bettis earned six trips to the Pro Bowl.

 

 

Rocky Bleier - Running Back (1968, 1970-80)

 

 

Football often is compared to war by the overly-dramatic. Rocky Bleier knows the difference. A 16th-round draft choice in 1968, Bleier also was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1969 and was wounded in combat during the Vietnam War. Bleier was awarded the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, and then he began the arduous rehabilitation process on his foot that would enable him to return to professional football. Known primarily as a blocker for Franco Harris, Bleier finished with 3,855 yards rushing, including 1,036 in 1976. Bleier caught two touchdown passes in the playoffs, including an acrobatic one in Super Bowl XIII.

 

 

Franco Harris - Running Back (1972-83)

 

“We didn’t win too much until he got here. And then we didn’t lose very often after he did.” That’s what Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. once said about Franco Harris, and that is the ultimate testament to someone who was the most productive running back in team history and one of the best big-game backs in NFL history. Harris is the Steelers’ all-time leading rusher with 11,950 yards and their all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (91). Despite his star status, Harris also was the kind of player who was always hustling to the football, which put him in position for the Immaculate Reception. Harris was named Super Bowl IX MVP after rushing for a then-record 158 yards and a touchdown; in 19 playoff games, he rushed for 1,556 yards and 16 touchdowns to go along with 51 catches for 504 yards. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.