This is a nice story i found at:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07269/820491-66.stm

In the '70s, new coach, great drafts turned Pittsburgh into City of Champions

By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Associated Press Steelers owner Art Rooney, center in dark suit, joins his team in prayer in the dressing room after they won Super Bowl IX in New Orleans over the Minnesota Vikings, 16-6. <!-- end story_image_box_size_3 --> <!-- Associated Press 1975 Steelers owner Art Rooney, center in dark suit, joins his team in prayer in the dressing room after they won Super Bowl IX in New Orleans over the Minnesota Vikings, 16-6. 1979 Quarterback Terry Bradshaw is all smiles at Super Bowl XIII in Miami. Named the game's MVP, Bradshaw fired four touchdown passes and shattered two Super Bowl passing records in leading his team to a 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys "Jack Lambert is the defender of all that is right." == Coach Chuck Noll 1972 Franco Harris gives a goodbye look to an Oakland Raiders defender as he streaks down the sidelines for the winning touchdown after his "Immaculate Reception" in the AFC playoffs. Post-Gazette 1975 Franco Harris and Joe Greene hoist coach Chuck Noll on their shoulders after winning Super Bow IX over the Minnesota Vikings, 16-6, in New Orleans. 1977 "It just stuck there" is all receiver John Stallworth could say after making a miraculous one-handed catch during a 30-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Post-Gazette Associated Press Associated Press -->

With the right to the first overall choice in the 1970 draft riding on a coin flip, Dan Rooney deferred to Chicago's Ed McCaskey to make the call while NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle readied his thumb beneath a 1921 silver dollar.

The Bears called heads. The coin spun about a foot in the air and thunked down on a table in a New Orleans hotel. Lady Liberty's image was face down. The eagle side was up. The Steelers had won the toss between the two worst teams in football.

So hardened to losing was the city that the Post-Gazette headline to the top story in the sports section was: "Honest to Goodness -- Steelers Win."

In hindsight, winning the toss was an omen. By the end of the decade, the headlines spoke of triumph after triumph. The team with the NFL's all-time inferiority complex developed a sterling silver swagger. And a city once described as hell with the lid taken off turned into the City of Champions.

Alchemy should work so well.

The franchise that had seen such quarterbacks as Sid Luckman, Johnny Unitas, Len Dawson and Bill Nelsen get away used the first pick to select Terry Bradshaw, a rifle-armed, fleet-of-foot bundle of raw energy who endured a rocky start to become an integral part of the glory days.

A new wind was blowing other ways as well. The Steelers moved into Three Rivers Stadium, and a scratchy-voiced showman named Myron Cope, with his impeccable sense of timing, joined the broadcast team.

"If that stadium had never been built, we'd never have won," Steelers founder Art Rooney once said. "We had second-class facilities in the old days, and we were a second-class team. We went to being a first-class club."

Only a handful of veterans made the transition from old Forbes Field and Pitt Stadium to the new multi-purpose facility and a new start in the American Football Conference, but they noticed a new attitude in the new players coming aboard.

"I don't think they know about the old losing image. They didn't know the Steelers are supposed to lose," lineman Ray Mansfield said at the time. "When I first came to Pittsburgh, even if we won a few games, there was always an expectation of doom."

Still, the bandwagon had plenty of room as the climb started.

Oh, those draft picks

For an outfit notorious for botching the draft, the Steelers set a standard that was the envy of the NFL. Chuck Noll believed in molding young talent by building through the draft. Art Rooney Jr., son of the founder, was in charge of personnel with super scout Dick Haley,

Joe Greene was already on board, and Mel Blount arrived in the Bradshaw draft. Jack Ham was added in 1971. The coach preferred Robert Newhouse as a running back in 1972, but the scouts sold him on Franco Harris. Then came the mother lode in 1974 -- Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster before the fifth round was over. There was no other draft like it before or since.

But in addition to all those future Hall of Famers, the Steelers scored big in lower rounds, especially with players from traditionally black schools. Credit went to a new talent evaluator, Bill Nunn Sr., who as sports editor of The Pittsburgh Courier had named an annual All-Star team of players from black schools.

He recommended draft choices and free agents such as L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes, Joe Gilliam and Donnie Shell.

By the end of the decade, not a single player on the Super Bowl roster had ever worn another team's uniform. They were all home-grown. A total of 22 players were measured for all four Super Bowl rings.

In a sporting sort of way, Steelers history has a biblical quality. The first 40 years of wandering through the wilderness is the football version of the Old Testament. The new age dawned with a play known by a religious name and interpreted as an act of providence.

'Dee-fence! Dee-fence'

But before the Steelers ascended to the ranks of winners, they had to vanquish the Browns. Cleveland had won 34 of the first 45 games played against the Steelers, and the radio stations in a city where the river caught fire looked down their noses at Pittsburgh.

The breakthrough came on a gray, gloomy Sunday in 1972, with the teams tied for first place, in a game The Pittsburgh Press called Armageddon. It was a chance to right everything for all the bad years, and a resolute bunch of blue-collar fans packed Three Rivers Stadium to be part of it.

A throaty roar went up an hour before the game and never let up. Those who were there on that Dec. 3 game to witness a 30-0 victory can attest that the reinforced concrete actually pulsated as primal voices, without prompting, chanted "Dee-fence! Dee-fence! Dee-fence!" while savoring every delicious moment.

"I got the feeling that if we didn't win, the fans were going to come out of the stands and win it for us," said linebacker Andy Russell, who intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble, leading to 10 points.

From that day on, the Steelers have never failed to sell out a game.

After finishing first in the division for the Steelers' first title of any kind, the Oakland Raiders came to town for the first playoff game here in a quarter century. It was as fun to watch as a street fight. The Steelers allowed their first touchdown in December and fell behind late in the game.

On fourth down, with time nearing expiration, Art Rooney got into the elevator on his way to consoling his team. Then a 17-second sequence buried the Same Old Steelers for good.

A pass thrown to Frenchy Fuqua, who was belted by Jack Tatum the instant the ball arrived, caromed backward end over end. Franco Harris picked it out of the air at shoe-top level at the 42-yard line and ran into the end zone with five seconds left.

In the bedlam, referee Fred Swearingen phoned the press box to confer with Art McNally, the NFL's director of officiating. "You have to call what you saw," the referee was told.

Since none of the officials saw anything to negate the result, Mr. Swearingen raised his arms to signal a winning score, making official the single most electrifying play in NFL history. The fact that the collision and the reception maintain an element of controversy only adds to the mystique.

There was no Super Bowl trophy that year, but the play lives on. Two figures greet passengers headed to baggage claim at the Pittsburgh airport. One is of a young George Washington, who fought to claim the fort that became Pittsburgh. The other is of Franco Harris reaching out to recreate the city's moment of unabashed joy -- the Immaculate Reception.

Madness in the stands

Darwinism of a sort has a niche in Steelers history because Steelermania evolved from a primate. Well, actually, it evolved from a guy wearing a gorilla suit -- Bob Bubanic of Port Vue, who introduced the world to Gerela's Gorillas, a fan club dedicated to a soccer-style kicker claimed off waivers for $100 in 1971.

He and his pals first rented the monkey suit for $60 a game, then held a raffle to buy it outright for $250. They showed up every Sunday to cheer Roy Gerela and to jinx opposing kickers.

"Yes, I felt like I was part of the team and that. We all did," said Mr. Bubanic. "It was a lot of fun."

All kinds of fans went ape over the Steelers.

Thaddeus Majzer, also from Port Vue, saw Hall of Fame potential in a new linebacker. Beginning in 1971, he hung a sign that said Dobre Shunka, which means Good Ham in Slovak.

As he watched Jack Ham and the Steelers grow into a team without peer, Mr. Majzer would remind his friends: "Enjoy this while it lasts. You'll never see another football team this good."

In 1972, Tony Stagno and Al Vento brought forth Franco's Italian Army and the battle cry "Run, Paisano, Run!" Their ranks were later graced with the enlistment of Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra.

Frenchy's Foreign Legion honored running back John Fuqua, whose sartorial splendor included purple suits and platform shoes displaying live goldfish. Ernie Holmes, part of the Steel Curtain front four that made the cover of Time magazine, shaved his hair in the shape of an arrow to point him toward the opposing quarterback.

The Steelers touched some deep emotional chord that stirred a personal creative energy in a diverse ethnic population that had been hungering for a winner.

A Greek showman named Jimmy Pol merged the melody of the Pennsylvania Polka with his own lyrics. That 45 rpm record became the anthem: "We're from the town with the good football team..." The original version included references to the Gorillas and the Army.

Harold Betters and his jazz band serenaded fans at games. His trombone provided the sound track to the chant, "Here We Go, Steelers, Here We Go."

To top it all off, Myron Cope, the wordsmith whose schtick was that of the Yiddish yinzer, turned terry cloth into a trademark with the Terrible Towel.

One all-encompassing banner created back then now graces Heinz Field. It is a proclamation and a warning: You're In Steeler Country.

Winning the first one

In a decade that introduced leisure suits and smiley faces and disco, the '70s were a roiling time. The Kent State shootings. Spiro Agnew's resignation and plea of no contest to tax evasion. Paris Peace Accords. Richard Nixon said he was not a crook, then resigned the presidency and was pardoned. Saigon fell. An Arab oil embargo inflated gasoline prices. Billy Carter's brother occupied the White House. Iran held Americans hostage. The Soviet Union prepared to invade Afghanistan. And the Steelers provided a blessed diversion.

After Terry Bradshaw emerged from a bitter and contentious quarterback controversy, all the pieces were in place by 1974 for the greatest stretch of football a football town has ever seen. When the Steelers clinched the division title and a playoff spot by defeating the Patriots, someone asked Chuck Noll where the bubbly was.

"Champagne?" he asked with steely-eyed resolve. "We're interested in rings."

After the first round of the playoffs, the notion was put forth that the best two teams in football had clashed when Oakland defeated the defending champion Dolphins. But the Steelers coach had a different view, which led to what Joe Greene called the defining moment in Steelers history.

"I have news for them," Mr. Noll told his players before preparations began for Oakland. "The best team in professional football is right here in this room."

He had never said anything like that before or since. And it got the Steelers in a proper froth.

"It made a big impression on me," said Mr. Greene. "We were behind in the fourth quarter on the road, but there was no despair, no anxiety, no worries. Maybe it was foolhardy. I felt personally that Oakland had no chance."

They didn't. And the Steelers earned a spot in their first Super Bowl. They were underdogs going into that Jan. 12, 1975, game against the Vikings, but this was no longer the Old Testament.

Dwight White, who lost 18 pounds in a bout with pneumonia during the week, climbed out of his hospital bed to register a safety and the team's first points in a Super Bowl. Franco Harris ran and ran to claim the MVP award.

Joe Greene intercepted a pass and recovered a crucial fumble -- "I wasn't prepared to lose," he said -- and captains Andy Russell and Sam Davis elected to give him the game ball. Fate took a hand when Art Rooney was spotted off to the side, stoically waiting to accept the Lombardi Trophy on behalf of his players.

"I saw The Chief standing in a corner, totally removed from the scene, and I just knew that ball should go to him," said Mr. Russell. "I had a lot of good moments with him, but that one was the best."

Thoughts turned to the fans who had waited so long for the ultimate prize.

"The 'Burgh must be in ashes," Jack Ham laughed.

Lynn Swann's breathtaking catches earned him MVP honors the next year in Super Bowl X, a win over the Cowboys that validated the Steelers as true champions. But mention must be made of Jack Lambert, who served notice that there were to be consequences for laughing at Pittsburgh.

With the Steelers trailing, Roy Gerela -- his ribs bruised while making an earlier tackle -- missed a field goal. Cliff Harris got in the kicker's face and taunted him, which prompted Mr. Lambert to toss the Cowboys free safety unceremoniously to the ground.

"We were getting intimidated, and we're supposed to be the intimidators," said Mr. Lambert, who did not draw a penalty for his actions. "Someone had to do something about it."

That play inspired the defense to a second Super Bowl win. It had taken the Steelers 42 years to win their first NFL title and just 371 days for their second.

Said coach Noll: "Jack Lambert is the defender of all that is right."

Injuries take a toll

Of all the super teams of the '70s, the best one didn't win a Super Bowl. That 1976 team lost in the playoffs to Oakland because injuries wiped out their running backs.

During a nine-game winning streak, in the hands of rookie quarterback Mike Kruczek taking over for an injured Bradshaw, when a loss would have eliminated them, the defense took command like never before. It posted five shutouts and, in one stretch, didn't allow a touchdown for 22 quarters. The Steelers routed the Colts in the playoffs, but the only back available in the AFC championship game was Reggie Harrison.

The next year, 1977, the Steelers defeated the Raiders in federal court, but the messy proceedings served as a distraction.

Oakland's George Atkinson had sued for slander after Chuck Noll said he was part of a "criminal element" for a hit on Lynn Swann. A jury in San Francisco returned a verdict that exonerated the coach. But the NFL fined him for inappropriate remarks.

The cast was largely the same but a fresh script arrived in 1978, in large measure because the Steelers defense was so dominant. New rules were adopted to create more offense, but they actually served to take the reins off the Steelers passing game. Although Terry Bradshaw may have exasperated critics who thought he was Li'l Abner in cleats and prone to stage fright, he threw the prettiest spiral in the NFL and came up big on the biggest stage.

After a going 14-2 in 1978 -- a franchise record for wins to that point -- the Steelers breezed through the playoffs for a rematch with the Cowboys, who had been dubbed America's Team by NFL Films.

The tag didn't phase Dan Rooney. "We're Pittsburgh's team," he said.

And after Hollywood Henderson said that Mr. Bradshaw couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the "c" and the "a," the quarterback had his best day as a quarterback in a super win, leaving it up to the Cowboys to spell M-V-P.

The exhilarating roll continued in 1979. Every touchdown pass, every defensive stop, every victory served as a confirmation.

For the second straight year, the Steelers split the regular season series with the Oilers and then beat their rivals in the AFC title game. Houston coach Bum Phillips volunteered these words for his epitaph: "He'd have lived a hell of a lot longer if he didn't have to play Pittsburgh six times in two years."

Mr. Bradshaw repeated as Super Bowl MVP. His biggest contributions were two long passes to John Stallworth -- both of them right on the money -- to rally the Steelers in the fourth quarter over the Rams. The Steelers became the first team to win consecutive Super Bowls twice and the first team to win the big game four times, going from the outhouse to the penthouse in one glorious decade.

After presenting the team its fourth Lombardi Trophy, Pete Rozelle quipped that the value of the sterling silver was higher than the franchise fee The Chief paid back in 1933. Priceless.

The bandwagon was so overcrowded it became a movable tail-gate party. In the background, however, were rumblings that real-life steelers and the mills that employed them were edging toward hard times.

Read more: "In the '70s, new coach, great drafts turned Pittsburgh into City of Champions" - http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07280/823521-66.stm#ixzz0H0UizvHV&A

Give Props to Robert Dvorchak on this.  Truly amazing.

    i was just watching the college all-star challenge thingy and a two players that we could get in rounds 2-4 shot out at me, here they are:

    1: Jordan Norwood, WR, Penn State.

    Watching the last event, the sports authority hands challenge, the player had to catch 8 balls thrown at nearly 90 miles per hour by jugs, go through some ropes, catch a curl and a fade.  Norwood won the event followed by Hakeem Nicks.  He was also the only one to catch 8/8 from the jugs, and also did it without flinching again the second time around!  Even Nicks, a mocked first rounder, didnt come close to catching all 8.  Bottom line:  Norwood has amazing hands, is agile, and could be a perfect #3 receiver or a slot guy.

    2: Ramses Barden, WR, Cal Poly

    this guy is 6'6', has big strong hands, isnt as fast as nate washington, but for a guy 6'6', 237 lbs., he is pretty fast.  Great route running ability, and can really go up to get any ball thrown to him.  Bottom line:  Barden runs great routes, would be spectacular in the red zone, has great size, but can still run fast.  Would be a great target for Ben.  In the first event i watched, it was an obstacle course, there was a small, short trampoline that you had to go under instead of over.  Barden just dove under and slid 5 yards to the other side, very athletic.

    I think we could get either Barden, Norwood, or Robiskie in the third or fourth round.

    Levance Fields, Pitt's starting guard, is questionable Saturday against Uconn.  He is out with a bruised tailbone, which he suffered late in Pitt's 90-75 win against Marquette.  This rivalry is very intense and i would be surprised if Fields doesn't play.  The game will be played in Pittsburgh Saturday.  Uconn wants revenge from Pitt, who went to Conneticut, and beat them in their own dome.  The game could determine who is the #1 seed.

does anyone remember in week 2? when the chargers were playing with the broncos? at the end of the game, it was 31-38, chargers, with about around 30seconds left, and the broncos had the ball at san diegos 10 or 20, with no timeouts.  jay cutler was being chased by a defensive player, when he fumbled the ball. the ref that was on the field, thought it was an incomplete pass, and blew the whistle. he thought it was an incomplete pass because cutlers arm went forward, but of course, the ball went backward.  and even though the broncos fumbled, they still got another chance to score. then its fourth down, the broncos throw it to eddie royal, and score. now its 37-38. then the broncos go for 2.(obviously they hate the chargers, my brother is a bronco fan, and he says that he'll take a season sweep over the chargers than the super-bowl anyday)the broncos run the exact same play, but reversed. they throw it to royal, and win the game.  Now the refs dont "hate" any team, they just love the chargers because they made a call that cost them the game

Wow!  How lucky are we to have a bye week when almost all of our players are banged up?  Ben Roetlisberger has to be the happiest guy in the NFL right now.  First we beat Baltimore in OT, then we beat Jaxsonville IN Jaxsonville, where everyone thought we were going to lose, ( mainly because they beat us in Heinz Field twice last year ) he threw for 239 yards in the first half alone, finishing with 309 yards, and now gets a bye that would allow him to rest and recover from the bad shoulder.  Willie Parker also is pretty happy that he will recover during the bye, and will play against Cinncinnatti, who is 0-5.  Casey Hampton is also dealing with a groin injury, and is expected to play against the Bungels.  Mr. Automatic ( Jeff Reed ) hurt is calf in the Jaxsonville game, we still do not know how severe, but lets hope it isn't to serious and he will be in perfect shape for the rest of the season.

                         But boy oh boy!  What a perfect time for a bye week for the perfect team!!!

        We, as Steelers fans are faced with a tough question...Can Mewelde Moore fill in as the starter at running back???  I cant really decide whether he will get less than 50 yards, or he will have a 100+ yard game.  It's obvious that this kid's got talent, especially on third downs, but what will he be like running the ball constantly???  I mean, we cant win by JUST passing the ball.  We either have to completely shut-down this Jaguars offense, and hopefully their defense will be ripped apart like presents on Christmas.  Or we can try to run the ball consistently enough so that the defense should bite on the play-action, and leave a wide-receiver open.  Now honestly, which option seems more realistic???

                                                                   Thoughts?

     "The grass may be greener on the other side, but it still has to be mowed"

anyone who says that USC will not go undefeated, must be mentally insane!!!!  i mean, after USC beats Virginia, 52-7, someone might go : well lets see if they beat Ohio State. After we beat Ohio State, 35-3, i think there is absoluetley no way USC wont go undefeated.  USC dominates, no question about it.  if you say USC will not go undefeated, you my friend, are not a Trojans fan. 

                                 GO USC!!!! Make us proud!!!

USC goes undefeated this year with a 5% chance of losing one game.  i think they have just been improving and impressing the past 2 years, with Reggie Bush to Sedrick Ellis to now Mark Sanchez, i mean, they are THE best team in NCAA history, and i highly doubt that any team will beat them this year, we are getting the title!!!!

                               Thoughts and Comments anyone???

                    Any doubts that USC will win the title and go undefeated???

                                                                      DENVER!!!

Denver has beaten the Steelers the past 2 years, last year we improved against them, but Denver has made many improvements that could lead to defeat for us.  Right, our receiving core is amazing, but Denver has signed many great players including Darell Jackson, Sammie Parker, Eddie Royal....and Jay Cutler did a heck of a job last year!!!  And guess what?!?....he has type 1 diabetes.  and he lost about 20 lbs. last year.  when he figured that he had diabetes, he treated it immediately and has recovered  from it  amazingly.  Now that he has recovered, he is gonna have a MONSTER year!!! and i didn't even come to Champ Baily yet.  Well you should know about Baily....he DOMINATES!!!  Another thing we have to prepare for is Selvin Young.  He had a monster year last year and he wasn't even the starter.  He is going to be a very big issue we have to focus on.  Now that you see my point, i think you will take Denver much more seriously.

                                                                Thank You!

i think big ben will be number 1, followed by either daunte culepepper, or byron leftwich, ( whichever 1 pittsburgh doesn't choose to release ) i think they will keep dennis dixon as a third stringer, release mike potts, and finally release charlie batch.....the reason i think pittsburgh will choose dennis dixon instead of batch, is because i think dixon has a potential at the QB position, batch broke his collarbone, ( which seems more serious than they say it is ) dixon is younger, dixon can run fast and elude defenders more often.....i think batch is good...and i like him, but he has 2 go.

feel free 2 say anything u want....i want 2 know what ur thinking : )