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The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
team based in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. The Steelers compete in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) as a member of the
American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
(AFC)
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
division. Founded in
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
, the Steelers are the seventh-oldest franchise in the NFL, and the oldest franchise in the AFC. In contrast with their status as perennial also-rans in the pre-
merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
NFL, where they were the oldest team never to have won a league championship, the Steelers of the post-
merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
(modern) era are among the most successful NFL franchises, especially during their dynasty in the 1970s. The team is tied with the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
for the most
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
titles at six, and they have both played in (16 times) and hosted (11 times) more conference championship games than any other team in the NFL. The Steelers have also won eight AFC championships, tied with the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, but behind the Patriots' record 11 AFC championships. The team is tied with the Broncos,
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
, and
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
for the second-most Super Bowl appearances with eight. The Steelers, whose history may be traced to a regional pro team that was established in the early 1920s, joined the NFL as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8, 1933. The team was owned by
Art Rooney Arthur Joseph Rooney Sr. (January 27, 1901 – August 25, 1988), often referred to as "the Chief", was an American professional American football, football executive. He was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football fr ...
and took its original name from the baseball team of the same name, as was common practice for NFL teams at the time. To distinguish them from the baseball team, local media took to calling the football team the Rooneymen, an unofficial nickname that persisted for decades after the team had adopted its current nickname. The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since the organization's founding. Art Rooney's son,
Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American professional American football, football executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL), and son of ...
, owned the team from 1988 until his death in 2017. Much control of the franchise has been given to Dan Rooney's son,
Art Rooney II Arthur Joseph Rooney II (born September 14, 1952) is an American professional football executive and lawyer who is the owner and president of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). A member of the Rooney family, he help ...
. The Steelers enjoy a large, widespread
fanbase A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant portion of ...
nicknamed
Steeler Nation Steeler Nation is an official name for the fan base of the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers. The term was coined by NFL Films narrator John Facenda in the team's 1978 highlights film. Steelers Country is often used for the Pittsb ...
. They currently play their home games at
Acrisure Stadium Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...
on Pittsburgh's North Side in the North Shore neighborhood, which also hosts the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
Panthers. Built in 2001 as Heinz Field, the stadium replaced
Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) ...
, which had hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons. Prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in
Pitt Stadium Pitt Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1925 Pittsburgh Panthers fo ...
and at
Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the fir ...
.


History


Rooney family era (1933–present)

The Steelers first took to the field as the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
on September 20, 1933, losing 23–2 to the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
. Through the 1930s, the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than .500 (
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...
). Pittsburgh did make history in
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
by signing
Byron White Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White (June 8, 1917 – April 15, 2002) was an American lawyer, jurist, and professional American football, football player who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, associate justice of the Supreme ...
, a future
Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
of the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
, to what was at the time the biggest contract in NFL history, but he played only one year with the Pirates before signing with the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
. Prior to the 1940 season, the Pirates renamed themselves the Steelers. 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 The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
forming the "Phil-Pitt Eagles" and were known as the "
Steagles The Steagles, officially known as the Phil-Pitt Combine, was the team created by the temporary merger of Pennsylvania's two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season. The tw ...
". This team went 5–4–1. In
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
, they merged with the
Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...
and were known as Card-Pitt (or, mockingly, as the "Carpets"). This team finished 0–10, marking the only winless team in franchise history. The
Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steeler ...
made the playoffs for the first time in , tying for first place in the division at 8–4 with the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
. This forced a tie-breaking playoff game at
Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the fir ...
, which the Steelers lost 21–0. That would be Pittsburgh's only playoff game in the pre-merger era; they did qualify for a "
Playoff Bowl The Playoff Bowl (officially known as the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl) was a post-season game for third place in the National Football League (NFL), played ten times following the through seasons, all at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was o ...
" in 1962 as the second-best team in their conference, but this was not considered an official playoff. In
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
, the year they moved into
Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) ...
and the year of the
AFL–NFL merger The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, wh ...
, the Pittsburgh Steelers were one of three old-guard NFL teams to switch to the newly formed
American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
(the others being the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
and the
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...
), in order to equalize the number of teams in the two conferences of the newly merged league. The Steelers also received a $3 million ($ million today) relocation fee, which was a windfall for them; for years they rarely had enough to build a true contending team.


Chuck Noll years (1969–1991)

The Steelers' history of bad luck changed with the hiring of coach
Chuck Noll Charles Henry Noll (January 5, 1932 – June 13, 2014) was an American professional football player and head coach. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, his sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the ...
from the NFL champion Baltimore Colts for the 1969 season. Noll's most remarkable talent was in his draft selections, taking Hall of Famers "Mean" Joe Greene in
1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
,
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...
and
Mel Blount Melvin Cornell Blount (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted i ...
in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
,
Jack Ham Jack Raphael Ham Jr. (born December 23, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He is considered one of the greatest outsi ...
in
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
,
Franco Harris Franco Dok Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football fo ...
in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
, and finally, in 1974, pulling off the incredible feat of selecting four Hall of Famers in one draft year,
Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...
, Jack Lambert,
John Stallworth Johnny Lee Stallworth (born July 15, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Alabama ...
, and
Mike Webster Michael Lewis Webster (March 18, 1952September 24, 2002) was an American professional football center in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1990 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. He is a member of the Pro Footb ...
. The Pittsburgh Steelers' 1974 draft was their best ever; no other team has ever drafted four future Hall of Famers in one year, and only very few (including the 1970 Steelers) have drafted two or more in one year. The players drafted in the early 1970s formed the base of an NFL dynasty, making the playoffs in eight seasons and becoming the only team in NFL history to win four
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
s in six years, as well as the first to win more than two. They also enjoyed a regular-season streak of 49 consecutive wins (
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
) against teams that would finish with a losing record that year. The
Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steeler ...
suffered a rash of injuries in the 1980 season and missed the playoffs with a 9–7 record. The 1981 season was no better, with an 8–8 showing. The team was then hit with the retirements of all their key players from the Super Bowl years. "Mean" Joe Greene retired after the 1981 season, Lynn Swann and Jack Ham after
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
's playoff berth, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount after
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
's divisional championship, and Jack Lambert after
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
's AFC Championship Game appearance. After those retirements, the franchise skidded to its first losing seasons since 1971. Though still competitive, the Steelers would not finish above .500 in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
,
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
, and
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
. In
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
, the year of the players' strike, the
Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steeler ...
finished with a record of 8–7, but missed the playoffs. In
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
, they would reach the second round of the playoffs on the strength of
Merrill Hoge Merril DuAine Hoge (; born January 26, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears. He played college foot ...
and
Rod Woodson Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football player for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Widely considered one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, Woodson holds the NFL record fo ...
before narrowly missing the playoffs in each of the next two seasons, Noll's last seasons. Noll's career record with Pittsburgh was 209–156–1.


Bill Cowher years (1992–2006)

In 1992,
Chuck Noll Charles Henry Noll (January 5, 1932 – June 13, 2014) was an American professional football player and head coach. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, his sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the ...
retired and was succeeded by
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
defensive coordinator
Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (; born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the ...
, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton. Cowher led the Steelers to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons, a feat that had been accomplished only by legendary coach
Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American American football, football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the National Football League (NFL), and the American Football League (AFL). ...
of the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
. In those first six seasons, Cowher coached them as deep as the
AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...
three times and following the 1995 season an appearance in
Super Bowl XXX Super Bowl XXX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...
on the strength of the "Blitzburgh" defense. However, the Steelers lost to the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
in Super Bowl XXX, two weeks after a thrilling
AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the wo ...
victory over the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
. Cowher produced the franchise's record-tying fifth Super Bowl win in
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
over the
NFC NFC usually refers to: * Near-field communication, a set of communication protocols for electronic devices * National Football Conference, part of US National Football League NFC may also refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychol ...
champion
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
ten years later. With that victory, the Steelers became the third team to win five Super Bowls, and the first sixth-seeded playoff team to reach and win the Super Bowl since the NFL expanded to a 12-team post-season tournament in 1990. He coached through the 2006 season which ended with an 8–8 record, just short of the playoffs. Overall Cowher's teams reached the playoffs 10 of 15 seasons with six AFC Championship Games, two Super Bowl berths and a championship. Cowher's career record with Pittsburgh was 149–90–1 in the regular season and 161–99–1 overall, including playoff games.


Mike Tomlin years (2007–present)

On January 7, 2007, Cowher resigned from coaching the Steelers, citing a need to spend more time with his family. He did not use the term "retire", leaving open a possible return to the NFL as coach of another team. A three-man committee consisting of Art Rooney II, Dan Rooney, and Kevin Colbert was set up to conduct interviews for the head coaching vacancy. On January 22, 2007,
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
defensive coordinator
Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led t ...
was announced as Cowher's successor as head coach. Tomlin is the first African-American to be named head coach of the team in its 75-year history. In his first season, he led the Steelers to a 10–6 record and AFC North title. The team fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31–29 in the Wild Card Round to end the season. The following year, he led the Steelers to a 12–4 mark and a division title. With wins over the San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round and the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship, Tomlin became the third consecutive Steelers Head Coach to go to the Super Bowl, equaling the Dallas Cowboys (Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer) in this achievement. On February 1, 2009, Tomlin led the Steelers to their second Super Bowl of this decade, and went on to win 27–23 against the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
. At age 36, he was the youngest head coach to ever win the Super Bowl, and he is only the second African-American coach to ever win the Super Bowl (
Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former professional football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts ...
was the first). In their title defense, the Steelers went 9–7 and missed the postseason in the 2009 season. In the 2010 season, Tomlin led the team to a 12–4 record and an AFC North title. The team defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round and the New York Jets in the AFC Championship. Tomlin became the only coach to reach the Super Bowl twice before the age of 40 as he took the team to
Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
on February 6, 2011. However, the Steelers were defeated by the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
, 31–25. In the 2011 season, the Steelers made the postseason with a 12–4 record. They lost in overtime to the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card Round. The Steelers recorded their 400th victory in Week 8 of the 2012 season after defeating the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
. Overall, the Steelers went 8–8 and missed the postseason in 2012. In the 2013 season, the Steelers went 8–8 and missed the postseason. In the 2014 season, the Steelers won the AFC North with a 11–5 record. They lost 30–17 to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round. The Steelers finished with a 10–6 record and made the playoffs in the 2015 season. They defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card Round and lost to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round. In the 2016 season, the Steelers won the AFC North with a 11–5 record. They defeated the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card Round and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round before falling to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. In the 2017 season, the Steelers won the AFC North with a 13–3 mark. Their postseason was short lived with a 45–42 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite a 9–6–1 record in the 2018 season, the Steelers missed the playoffs. The Steelers went 8–8 and missed the postseason in the 2019 season. The 2020 season saw the Steelers have franchise-best 11–0 start. However, the team faded at the end of the season to finish 12–4. The team lost in the Wild Card Round to the Cleveland Browns 48–37. The 2021 season saw the team go 9–7–1 and make the postseason. The Steelers lost 42–21 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round. Longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season. Through the end of the 2021 season, Tomlin's record is , including playoffs. He is the first Pittsburgh coach to never post a losing season. The 2013–17 seasons were noted for record performances from the " Killer B's". This trio consisted of
Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. During his first nine seasons with t ...
,
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
and
Le'Veon Bell Le'Veon Andrew Bell Sr. ( ; born February 18, 1992) is an American Professional boxing, professional boxer and former American football, football running back. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans football, Michigan State ...
. Occasionally, the "Killer B's" has also included kicker
Chris Boswell Christopher Lynn Boswell (born March 16, 1991) is an American professional football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls and was signed by the Houston Texans ...
due to his ability to hit game-winning field goals. Prior to the 2022 season, the team drafted Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett with their first round pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Pickett started 12 games as the Steelers went 9–8 and missed the postseason in the 2022 season. In the 2023 season, the team finished 10–7 and third in the AFC North. They made the playoffs and were defeated by the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round 31–17. Prior to the 2024 season, the Steelers traded Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles. The team traded for Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears and signed Russell Wilson, who was released from the Denver Broncos.


Summary

Since the NFL merger in 1970, the Pittsburgh Steelers have compiled a regular-season record of 444–282–2 (.635) and an overall record of 480–305–2 (.635) including the playoffs, reached the playoffs 30 times, won their division 22 times, played in 16 AFC championship games, and won six of eight Super Bowls. They are also the only NFL team not to have a season with 12 or more losses since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978.


Ownership

Since 2008, the
Rooney family The Rooney family is an Irish Americans, Irish-American family known for its connections to the sports, acting, and political fields. After emigrating from Ireland in the 1840s, it established its American roots in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsyl ...
has brought in several investors for the team while retaining control of the team itself. This came about so that the team could comply with NFL ownership regulations.
Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American professional American football, football executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL), and son of ...
, and his son,
Art Rooney II Arthur Joseph Rooney II (born September 14, 1952) is an American professional football executive and lawyer who is the owner and president of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). A member of the Rooney family, he help ...
, president of the franchise, wanted to stay involved with the franchise, while two of the brothers – Timothy and Patrick – wanted to further pursue
racetracks A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...
that they own in Florida and New York. Since 2006, many of the racetracks have added video slot machines, causing them to violate "NFL policy that prohibits involvement with racetrack and gambling interests". Upon Dan Rooney's death in 2017, he and Art Rooney II retained control of the team with the league-minimum 30%, the following made up the other investors at the time: *Several other members of the Rooney family, including Art Rooney Jr., John Rooney, and the McGinley family, who are cousins to the Rooneys. *The Robert A. Paul family of Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, which is primarily involved with Pittsburgh-based Ampco Pittsburgh Corporation as well as Morton's Restaurant Group, Urban Active Fitness, Meyer Products and Harley Marine Services. Additionally, family members serve on numerous boards, including Cornell University, UPMC,
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
, the
American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
,
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
and the
Loomis Chaffee The Loomis Chaffee School (; LC or Loomis) is an Independent school, independent, coeducational, college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, including postgraduate year, postgraduate students, located in Windsor, ...
School. *Former Steelers
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
John Stallworth Johnny Lee Stallworth (born July 15, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Alabama ...
, a member of the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
. *
Legendary Pictures Legendary Entertainment, LLC (also known as Legendary Pictures or simply Legendary) is an American mass media and film production company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull. The company has often collaborated with the major stu ...
president and CEO
Thomas Tull Thomas J. Tull (born June 9, 1970) is an American billionaire businessman, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Legendary Entertainment. Tull is the founder of Tulco LLC, an investment h ...
. *
GTCR GTCR LLC is a Chicago, Illinois-based private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, leveraged recapitalization, growth capital and rollup transactions. The firm principally invests in high-growth industries, including financial services & te ...
chairman Bruce V. Rauner. *The Peter Varischetti family of Brockway, which owns several
nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...
s and a
commercial real estate Commercial property, also called commercial real estate, investment property or income property, is real estate (buildings or land) intended to generate a profit, either from capital gains or rental income. Commercial property includes office bu ...
business. *Paul Evanson, chairman, president, and CEO of
Allegheny Energy Allegheny Energy was an electric utility headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It owned and operated electric generation facilities and delivered electric services to customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. Allegh ...
. *Russ and Scott Swank of Lower Burrell.Browns owner Haslam sells stock in Steelers
. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (April 11, 2013). Retrieved on December 4, 2021.
Three minority investors in the Steelers have since became majority owners of other NFL teams: *
Pilot Flying J Pilot Travel Centers LLC, trade name, doing business as Pilot Flying J, is a North American chain of truck stops in the United States and Canada. The company is based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The company is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The comp ...
CEO
Jimmy Haslam James Arthur Haslam III (born March 9, 1954) is an American businessman and sports executive. He is the chairman of the board of the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain. He and his wife Dee own the Cleveland Browns of the National Football Leag ...
purchased the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
in 2012. *Hedge fund manager
David Tepper David Alan Tepper (born September 11, 1957) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager. He is the owner of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Tepper is the founder and ...
purchased the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
in 2018. *
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...
and
New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
owner Josh Harris purchased the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
in 2023. Investment partner
David Blitzer David Scott Blitzer (born September 7, 1969) is an American investor and sports team owner. Blitzer is the chairman of the private equity firm Blackstone's tactical opportunities division and managing partner of the New Jersey Devils ice hocke ...
was also a part of the Harris group.


Season-by-season records

Through the end of the 2023 season, the Steelers have an all-time record of 707–606–22, including playoffs. In recent seasons the Steelers have generally performed well, qualifying for the playoffs six times in the past ten seasons, while winning their division four times. In the NFL's "modern era" (since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970) the Steelers have posted the best record in the league. The franchise has won the most regular-season games, the most playoff games (33 playoff wins; the Dallas Cowboys are second with 32), won the most divisional titles (20), has played in the most conference championship games (15), hosted the most conference championship games (11), and is tied with the Dallas Cowboys, the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl appearances (8). The Steelers have the best winning percentage (including every expansion team), earned the most All-Pro nominations, and have accumulated the most Super Bowl wins (6) since the modern game started in 1970. In 2017, they became the first team to reach 450 victories in the regular season since the 1970 merger. The Steelers are 36–26 (.580) in the postseason, with all but one (the 1947 playoff) having been played since the merger.


Civil rights advocacy

The franchise, along with the Rooney family have for generations been strong advocates for equality of opportunity for both minorities and women. Among these achievements of the Steelers was the first to hire an African-American assistant coach (September 29, 1957, with
Lowell Perry Lowell Wesley Perry (December 5, 1931 – January 7, 2001) was an American football player and coach, government official, businessman, and broadcaster. He was the first African-American assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL), the ...
), the first to start an African-American quarterback (December 3, 1973, with
Joe Gilliam Joseph Wiley Gilliam Jr. (December 29, 1950December 25, 2000) was an American professional American football, football player, a quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. Primarily a backup ...
), the first team to boast of an African-American Super Bowl MVP (January 12, 1975, with
Franco Harris Franco Dok Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football fo ...
), the first to hire an African-American Coordinator (September 2, 1984, with
Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former professional football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts ...
), the first owner to push for passage of an "equal opportunity" mandating that at least one minority candidate is given an interview in all head coach hiring decisions throughout the league (the Rooney Rule in the early 2000s), and the first to hire a female as full-time athletic trainer ( Ariko Iso on July 24, 2002).


Championships


Super Bowl championships


AFC championships


Division championships

The Steelers were a part of the NFL Eastern Division from 1933 to 1943 and were briefly in the Western Division in 1944, before returning to the Eastern Division until 1949. The team was then in the American Conference from 1950 to 1952, and the Eastern Conference from 1953 to 1966. They were then placed in the Century Division of the Eastern Conference in 1967. When the league reformed into the NFC and AFC in 1970, the Steelers were placed in the AFC Central until 2001 when they were realigned into the AFC North Division.


Logo and uniforms

The Steelers have used black and gold as their colors since the club's inception, the lone exception being the 1943 season when they merged with the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
and formed the "
Steagles The Steagles, officially known as the Phil-Pitt Combine, was the team created by the temporary merger of Pennsylvania's two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season. The tw ...
"; the team's colors at that time were green and white as a result of wearing Eagles uniforms. Originally, the team wore solid gold-colored helmets and black jerseys. The Steelers' black and gold colors are now shared by all major professional teams in the city, including the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
in baseball and the
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...
in ice hockey. The shade of gold differs slightly among teams: the Penguins have previously used "Vegas Gold", a color similar to metallic gold, and the Pirates' gold is a darker mustard yellow-gold, while the Steelers "gold" is more of a bright canary yellow. Black and gold are also the colors of the city's official flag. The Steelers logo was introduced in 1962 and is based on the "
Steelmark The Steelmark is a logo representing steel and the steel industry owned by the American Iron and Steel Institute, and used by it to promote the product and its manufacturers. The logo was incorporated as the emblem of the Pittsburgh Steelers an ...
", originally designed by Pittsburgh's
U.S. Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...
and now owned by the
American Iron and Steel Institute The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) is a trade association of North American steel producers. Including its predecessor organizations, it is one of the oldest trade associations in the United States, dating back to 1855. It assumed its ...
(AISI). In fact, it was
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
-based
Republic Steel Republic Steel is a Mexican steel manufacturer that was once America’s third largest steel producer. It was founded as the Republic Iron and Steel Company in Youngstown, Ohio in 1899. After rising to prominence during the early 20th Century, ...
that suggested the Steelers adopt the industry logo. It consists of the word "Steelers" surrounded by three
astroid In mathematics, an astroid is a particular type of roulette curve: a hypocycloid with four cusp (singularity), cusps. Specifically, it is the Locus (mathematics), locus of a point on a circle as it Rolling, rolls inside a fixed circle with f ...
s (
hypocycloid In geometry, a hypocycloid is a special plane curve generated by the trace of a fixed point on a small circle that rolls within a larger circle. As the radius of the larger circle is increased, the hypocycloid becomes more like the cycloid creat ...
s 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. The Steelers, along with the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
, are one of only two teams in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
to have the players' uniform numbers on both the front and back of the helmets. The current uniform designs were introduced in
1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
. The design consists of gold pants and either black jerseys or white jerseys, except for the
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
and
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
seasons when the Steelers wore white pants with their white jerseys. In
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
, the team switched to rounded numbers on the jersey to match the number font (
Futura Condensed Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Paul Renner and released in 1927. Designed as a contribution on the New Frankfurt-project, it is based on geometric shapes, especially the circle, similar in spirit to the Bauhaus design sty ...
) on the helmets, and a Steelers logo was added to the left side of the jersey. The 2007–2011 third uniform, consisting of a black jersey with gold lettering, white pants with black and gold stripes, and a gold helmet were first used during the Steelers' 75th anniversary season in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. They were meant to evoke the memory of the
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
era uniforms. The uniforms were so popular among fans that the Steelers' organization decided to keep them and use them as a third option during home games only. In 2012, the Steelers introduced a new third uniform, consisting of a yellow jersey with black horizontal lines (making a bumble bee like pattern) with black lettering and black numbers placed inside a white box, to represent the jerseys worn by the Steelers in their 1934 season. The rest of the uniform consists of beige pants, yellow with black horizontal striped socks, and the Steelers regular black helmet. The uniforms were used for the Steelers' 80th anniversary season. Much like the previous alternate these jerseys were so popular that they were used up through the 2016 season. The jerseys were nicknamed the "bumblebee jerseys" due to looking like the pattern of a bumblebee. The jerseys were retired after the 2016 season. Also in 2016, the Steelers introduced its alternate black '' Color Rush'' uniforms. These were based on the uniforms they wore from 1946 to 1965, but with black pants in place of either gold or white pants. In 2018, the Steelers unveiled a third uniform based on those worn from 1968 to 1997, coinciding with the Steel Curtain teams of the 1970s. It is similar to the current uniforms but without the Steelers logo on the left chest and use block lettering and numbers in place of Futura Condensed. In 1979, the team owners were approached by then-
Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...
Head Coach
Hayden Fry John Hayden Fry (February 28, 1929 – December 17, 2019) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1962 to 1972, North Texas State University—now known ...
about designing his fading college team's uniforms in the image of the Steelers. Three days later, the owners sent Fry the reproduction jerseys (home and away versions) of then quarterback
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...
. Today, the Hawkeyes still retain the 1979 Steelers uniforms as their home, and away colors.


Rivals

The Pittsburgh Steelers have three primary rivals, all within their division: (
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
,
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
, and
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
). They also have rivalries with other teams that arose from post-season battles in the past, most notably the
Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...
,
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
,
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
,
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
, and
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
. They also have an intrastate
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
with the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
, but under the current scheduling the teams play each other only once every four years.


Divisional rivals


Cleveland Browns

The Steelers and
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
have been divisional rivals since the two cities' teams began playing against each other in 1950. After posting a 9–31 record in the first 40 games of the series between the two cities, the Steelers have gone 66–27–1 (including 42–6 in games played in Pittsburgh) since 1970 and currently lead the series 75–58–1; The Steelers have particularly dominated the Browns since their return to the NFL in 1999 and won twelve straight meetings between 2003 and 2009. Additionally, the Browns posted losing streaks of 16 (1970–85) and 15 (2004–present) games in Pittsburgh. Former Steelers head coach
Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (; born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the ...
coached the Browns special teams and secondary before following
Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American professional football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He was the head coach of the Cl ...
for a brief tenure as
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
defensive coordinator and then hired by Pittsburgh. This has only intensified the rivalry. The teams have met three times in the postseason (1994, 2002, and 2021) with the Steelers winning the first two meetings, but losing the most recent in 2021.


Baltimore Ravens

Pittsburgh's rivalry with the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
has had several memorable matchups and has escalated into a fierce divisional rivalry. Both teams handed the other their first losses at their current home stadiums. The Steelers won the inaugural game played at Baltimore's
M&T Bank Stadium M&T Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It has been the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL) since its opening in 1998. The stadium is immediately adjacent to Oriol ...
in , 20–13, and three years later the
Ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' of passerine birds Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * B ...
handed the Steelers their first-ever loss at
Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...
, 13–10. Later that season () Pittsburgh won a divisional playoff game 27–10 against Baltimore, who was the defending Super Bowl champion. During their NFL championship season in
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, the Ravens defeated the Steelers in Pittsburgh, 16–0, in the season opener with the Steelers later exacting revenge, 9–6, in Baltimore (the Ravens' final loss of the season). During the Steelers 2008 Championship run, they beat the Ravens three times, including a win in the AFC Championship game. The two teams complement each other by consistently fielding strong defenses. The Steelers lead the all-time series (including playoffs), 32–24. The teams have met four times in the postseason, with the Steelers owning a 3–1 record.


Cincinnati Bengals

The Steelers' rivalry with the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
dates from the
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
season, when the
AFL–NFL merger The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, wh ...
was completed. In
1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
, the Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive (they later won the division) with a late-season 7–3 win in snowy Cincinnati. One of the most memorable games was the 2005 AFC Wildcard playoff game, in which the Steelers, en route to a Super Bowl title, won a 31–17 come-from-behind victory after Bengals quarterback
Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy as ...
was forced to leave the game with a knee injury. The injury happened when nose tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen contacted Palmer's knee during a passing play. The Bengals players called this a dirty play; the NFL ruled that it was accidental and did not fine von Oelhoffen for the hit. The incident led to an intensifying of the rivalry. The Bengals beat the Steelers in Week 13 of the
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
season 38–31, and wide receiver
T. J. Houshmandzadeh Touraj Houshmandzadeh Jr. ( ; born September 26, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers and was selected by ...
used a
Terrible Towel The Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; for example, fans take their Towel to famous sites while ...
to polish his cleats while walking up the tunnel after the game, fueling the rivalry. The Steelers and Bengals finished and with identical records (11–5 and 8–8 respectively), splitting both regular-season series, the Bengals winning the tiebreaker both years due to having a superior division record. The Steelers also are responsible for ending the Bengals' season in Cincinnati two years in a row, eliminating them from the playoffs in
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
and taking them out of contention in
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
. The rivalry has become more intense again since the
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
season. A central figure is Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, often inflicting brutal hits, resulting in serious injuries to several Steelers on multiple occasions. In the 2015 Wild Card playoff game in Cincinnati, Burfict was the culprit of a late penalty directly responsible for an extremely unlikely 18–16 Steelers comeback victory. The Steelers lead the all-time series, 63–35. The teams have met twice in the postseason, with the Steelers winning both times.


Conference


New England Patriots

The
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
emerged as a prominent rival in league circles when the Patriots upset the Steelers in the 2001
AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...
at
Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...
, though the two teams had met in the postseason twice before; the Patriots defeated the Steelers in
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
28–3 while the Steelers won 7–6 in
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
; both times, the Patriots fielded players with Pittsburgh-area roots in
Ty Law Tajuan Edward "Ty" Law (born February 10, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football f ...
and
Curtis Martin Curtis James Martin Jr. (born May 1, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college football for the Pit ...
. Martin's final game with the Patriots was in the 1997 playoffs before he departed to the rival
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
. Following the 2001 AFC title upset, the Patriots defeated the Steelers 30–14 at the start of the 2002 season. Pittsburgh did not exact revenge for the two losses until ending the Patriots' record-setting 21-game winning streak in week 6 of the
2004 NFL season The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004, to January 2, 2005. Hurricanes forced ...
. Later that season, the Steelers lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots in the AFC Championship game after a 15–1 regular season. The Patriots won six of seven meetings over a ten-year period (–) before the Steelers broke through with a 33–10 victory at
Foxborough Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, it is about southwest of Boston. The population was 18,618 at the 2020 census. "Foxborough" is the official spelling of th ...
in , after
Matt Cassel Matthew Brennan Cassel (born May 17, 1982) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He was a member of seven NFL teams, most notably the New England Patriots and Ka ...
turned the ball over five times. The Patriots in
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
then made history by becoming the first opponent to score 55 points on the Steelers, winning 55–31. The Patriots won again in 2015 (28–21) and 2016's regular season (27–16) and then won 36–17 in the 2016
AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...
. They also won in 2017 when a go-ahead touchdown reception by Steelers' tight end
Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...
was controversially called back. Though they ultimately missed the playoffs, the Steelers defeated the Patriots by a score of 17–10 on December 16, 2018, in Pittsburgh. In the postseason, the Patriots have outscored the Steelers 135–75, with the Patriots maintaining a 4–1 record. The only other franchises with winning AFC playoff records against Steelers include the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
(2–1), the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
(2–0), and the Denver Broncos (5–3). The Steelers have an all-time regular-season record of 15–13 against the Patriots. In the
Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick ( ; born April 16, 1952) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, inc ...
era, the main period of the rivalry, the Patriots have a 12–4 record against the Steelers. In their last matchup, the Patriots beat the Steelers 33–3 on Sunday Night Football.


Tennessee Titans

Pittsburgh also has a
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise. The Oilers were aligned into the
AFC Central The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realigned its divisions u ...
with the Steelers in 1970 and were division rivals for 32 seasons. The Steelers dominated the rivalry during the Houston era and defeated the Oilers in all three of their playoff matchups. However, since the franchise moved to Tennessee in 1997, the rivalry shifted, with the Titans winning 13 of 22 meetings (including a bitter 34–31 playoff showdown in
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
); the Titans won seven in a row in the 1997–2001 period, the longest win streak by either team in the series. The Steelers have won 47 of 79 career meetings following their 27–24 win at
Nissan Stadium Nissan Stadium may refer to: * Nissan Stadium (Nashville) * Nissan Stadium (Yokohama) The , currently known as for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which opened in March 1998. It is ...
in 2020.


Denver Broncos

The
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
in 2011 broke a tie with the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
for the most playoff meetings versus the Steelers and added yet another meeting in 2015 (the Broncos have met Pittsburgh eight times to Oakland's six). The Steelers' rivalry with the Broncos dates from
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
, but the first notable contest came in
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
, when Denver dealt Pittsburgh its first regular-season defeat at
Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) ...
, 23–13. The following year, they met in the NFL's first regular-season overtime game, which ended in a 35–35 tie. Denver's first playoff game had them hosting the Steelers in the 1977 divisional round; the Broncos won 34–21. The following year, the Steelers hosted and defeated Denver 33–10 in the divisional round. Their next playoff matchup was the 1984 divisional round in
Mile High Stadium Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 to 2002. The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of th ...
; the Steelers pulled the upset 24–17. They nearly pulled the upset again 5 years later in Denver, but the Broncos prevailed in the divisional playoff, 24–23. In 1997, the two teams met in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
for the
AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...
, where Denver squeaked out at 24–21 win. Eight years later, the Steelers advanced to
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
by beating Denver 34–17 in Colorado. In 2011, after appearing in
Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
, the Steelers had their campaign to repeat as AFC Champions dashed in Denver after a stunning overtime upset by the
Tim Tebow Timothy Richard Tebow (; born August 14, 1987) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. Tebow played college football for t ...
-led Broncos in January 2012, in what would become known as the "316 game". The following September the Steelers were defeated in Denver 31–19 in
Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...
's debut as Broncos quarterback. The two clubs met twice in
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
, as the Steelers defeated the Broncos in the regular season but fell in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs; through the 2021 season, Denver leads the series 20–13–1, including 5–3 in the playoffs. Neither team has beaten the other more than three times in a row. In their last matchup, the Steelers beat the Broncos on October 10, 2021, in Pittsburgh by the score of 27–19.


Oakland Raiders

The Steelers' rivalry with the Raiders was one of the most heated battles of the 1970s and early to mid-1980s. The Steelers' first playoff victory in franchise history came against the Raiders, which occurred on December 23, 1972, in a 13–7 victory over the Raiders; the victory occurred when
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...
threw a pass intended for
John Fuqua John William Fuqua (born September 12, 1947), nicknamed "Frenchy", is an American former professional football running back who played from 1969 to 1976, for the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and t ...
that was deflected into the hands of
Franco Harris Franco Dok Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football fo ...
, who scooped the ball from nearly hitting the ground and carried the ball in for a touchdown, which was later referred to as the
Immaculate Reception The Immaculate Reception is one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It was a touchdown which occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game of the National Football League (NFL), between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oa ...
, while attracting controversy from Raiders players and coaches, who alleged that the ball had bounced off Fuqua, which would have made it an illegal play per the rules of the time. The victory sent Pittsburgh to their first ever AFC Championship Game. The following year, the two teams met in the Divisional Round again, and the Raiders responded with a 33–14 victory to advance to the AFC title game. However, Pittsburgh fired back with two straight AFC Championship victories over the Raiders in (24–13) and (16–10) to reach the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
. The Raiders responded with a victory over Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game 24–7 (the third consecutive AFC title game between the two teams), but not before
Chuck Noll Charles Henry Noll (January 5, 1932 – June 13, 2014) was an American professional football player and head coach. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, his sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the ...
referred to Raider George Atkinson as part of the NFL's "criminal element" after his alleged cheap-shot on
Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...
during a regular-season matchup. Atkinson and the Raiders later filed a
defamation of character Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...
against Noll, but lost. Following the 1983 regular season, the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Steelers 38–10 in the AFC Divisional round which turned out to be the last NFL game for Steeler Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...
who did not play due to injury. While the rivalry has dissipated over the years (mostly due to the Raiders decline after
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
), the teams have had notable games against each other, including an upset Steelers victory towards the end of the
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
season to prevent the Raiders from obtaining homefield advantage in the playoffs, and an upset Raiders victory in week 8 of the
2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeati ...
(20–13), which helped cost the Steelers a playoff berth. In Week 13 of the 2009 season, another Raiders upset victory happened; the game lead changed five times on five touchdowns in the fourth quarter until Raiders QB
Bruce Gradkowski Bruce Raymond Gradkowski (born January 27, 1983) is an American former professional football quarterback and coach who currently serves as an offensive assistant for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served ...
's third touchdown of the quarter won it with nine seconds to go. The 27–24 loss cost the Steelers another playoff run. The teams met at
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
in
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, where the Steelers blew out the Raiders 35–3, and ended their 3-game winning streak; the game was further notable for a punch thrown by
Richard Seymour Richard Vershaun Seymour (born October 6, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders. He played college football for ...
of the Raiders against Steelers quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
. The Raiders then hosted the Steelers in
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
and erased a 31–21 gap to win 34–31. The two clubs met again in
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
and the Raiders won again, 21–18. In 2015, the Steelers defeated the Raiders 38–35 at Heinz Field. On December 9, 2018, in Oakland, the Raiders defeated the Steelers 24–21, which, ironically, would cost Pittsburgh another playoff berth. The Raiders won at Pittsburgh on September 19, 2021, 26–17, then fell on
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
2022 at Pittsburgh 13–10 on a last-minute touchdown by rookie Steelers quarterback
Kenny Pickett Kenneth Shane Pickett (born June 6, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers football, Pittsbu ...
. A lifeless performance in a 23–18 loss at Vegas on September 23, 2023, contributed to the later firing of Raiders coach
Josh McDaniels Joshua Thomas McDaniels (born April 22, 1976) is an American professional football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the offensive coordinator of the Patrio ...
and GM
Dave Ziegler David Ziegler (born September 7, 1977) is an American professional football executive who currently serves as an assistant general manager for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He began his career as a scout for the De ...
. As of the 2024 season, the Raiders lead the all-time series 17–16.


Inter Conference


Dallas Cowboys

The Steelers once took part in a historic rivalry with the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
started with the Cowboys' first game as a franchise in (against the Steelers) at the Cotton Bowl with the Steelers coming away with a 35–28 victory. These teams hold a record for the most times (three) that two teams have met in a
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
. The first two times the favored Steelers and Cowboys met came with Pittsburgh victories in the Orange Bowl
Super Bowl X Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for t ...
21–17 and
Super Bowl XIII Super Bowl XIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1978 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cow ...
35–31. The Cowboys never won a regular-season game in the Orange Bowl and lost three Super Bowl games (once to the Baltimore Colts and twice to the Steelers). Between the Cowboys and Steelers, Super Bowl XIII had the greatest number of future Pro Football Hall of Fame players participating, which as of 2021 numbered 25 – 16 players and nine coaches/front office, including
Ernie Stautner Ernest Alfred Stautner (April 20, 1925 – February 16, 2006) was a German-American professional football player and coach. He played as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also served as a ...
,
defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...
for the Cowboys who was a HoF
defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
for the Steelers. The teams featured an all-star matchup at quarterback between the Steelers'
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...
and the Cowboys'
Roger Staubach Roger Thomas Staubach (, -; , -; born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America", and "Captain Comeback", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 se ...
, both of whom are in the
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
. In , Staubach and the Cowboys won
Super Bowl XII Super Bowl XII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1977 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1977 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos to dec ...
, their second and last loss of their season being inflicted by Bradshaw and the Steelers, 28–13 at Three Rivers Stadium in November. In , Staubach's final season, the two defending conference champs met again at Three Rivers, the Steelers winning 14–3 en route to winning their fourth Super Bowl title. The Steelers won six of eight meetings during the 1970s and 80s, before the Cowboys won all four meetings during the 1990s, including the teams' record third Super Bowl meeting in
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
, as this time the heavily favored Cowboys beat the Steelers 27–17. Dallas cornerback Larry Brown intercepted Pittsburgh quarterback
Neil O'Donnell Neil Kennedy O'Donnell (born July 3, 1966) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was selected by the P ...
twice and was named the game's MVP. The teams' first two meetings of the 21st century ( and ) were won by the Steelers, including a come from behind victory on December 7, 2008, in Pittsburgh, when the Steelers drove the length of the field to tie the game 13–13, then
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
Deshea Townsend Trevor Deshea Townsend (born September 8, 1975) is an American professional football coach and former cornerback who currently is the defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator for the Detroit Lions of the National Football Leagu ...
returned an intercepted pass from
Tony Romo Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Pan ...
for the game's final score, Steelers 20, Cowboys 13. The Cowboys won on December 16, 2012, at Cowboys Stadium by a 27–24 margin in overtime and won 35–30 at
Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...
on November 13, 2016. The all-time series is led by the Dallas Cowboys, 17–16. The Pittsburgh/Dallas rivalry served as a backdrop to the 1977 film '' Black Sunday'', parts of which were filmed during Super Bowl X. Most recently, the Steelers beat the Cowboys by a 24–19 margin.


Philadelphia Eagles

The
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
and Steelers are both located in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
and began play in 1933. From that season through 1966, this was a major rivalry for both teams, as both were part of the same division. In 1967, they were placed in separate divisions, but remained in the same conference for three years. In 1970 the Steelers (along with the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
and
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...
) moved to the
American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
, while the Eagles stayed with the rest of the old-line NFL teams in the
National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is a conference of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each h ...
. As a result, the Eagles and Steelers no longer played each other every year; instead, they are scheduled to meet once every four years in the regular season. The most recent meeting was in 2024 at Lincoln Financial Field, a game in which the Eagles won 27-13. The Steelers have lost 11 straight games on the road against the Eagles dating back to 1966, which was also the start of the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
era. The Eagles lead the all-time series 50-29–3.


Culture


Mascot

Prior to the
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
season, the Steelers introduced Steely McBeam as their official mascot. As part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the team, his name was selected from a pool of 70,000 suggestions submitted by fans of the team. Diane Roles of Middlesex Township, submitted the winning name which was "meant to represent steel for Pittsburgh's industrial heritage, "Mc" for the Rooney family's Irish roots, and Beam for the steel beams produced in Pittsburgh, as well as for
Jim Beam Jim Beam is an American brand of bourbon whiskey produced primarily at James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, Kentucky by Suntory Global Spirits. It is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohi ...
, her husband's favorite alcoholic beverage." Steely McBeam is visible at all home games and participates in the team's charitable programs and other club-sponsored events. Steely's autograph is known to be drawn with an oversized ''S'', and the ''L'' is drawn to look like a beam of steel.


Fanbase

The Steelers have a tradition of having a large fanbase, which has spread from Pittsburgh. In August 2008,
ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...
ranked the Steelers' fans as the best in the NFL, citing their "unbelievable" sellout streak of 299 consecutive games. The team gained a large fan base nationally based on its success in the 1970s, but many consider the collapse of the city's steel industry at the end of the 1970s dynasty into the 1980s (and the resulting
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
) to be a large catalyst for the size of the fan base in other cities. The Steelers have sold out every home game since the
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
season. The Pittsburgh Steelers have numerous unofficial fan clubs in many cities throughout the country, that typically meet in bars or taverns on game days. This phenomenon is known to occur for other NFL teams as well, but "Steeler bars" are more visible than most, including representative establishments even in cities that field their own NFL teams. The
Terrible Towel The Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; for example, fans take their Towel to famous sites while ...
has been described by the Associated Press as "arguably the best-known fan symbol of any major pro sports team". Conceived of by broadcaster
Myron Cope Myron Sidney Kopelman (January 23, 1929 – February 27, 2008), known professionally as Myron Cope, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being " the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers". Cop ...
in
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, the towel's rights have since been given to the Allegheny Valley School in Coraopolis, which cares for over 900 people with
intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...
and
physical disabilities A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epilepsy ...
, including Cope's
autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...
son. Since 1996, proceeds from the Terrible Towel have helped raise more than $2.5 million for the school.


Fight songs

The Steelers have no official fight song, but many fan versions of "Here We Go Steelers" and the "Steelers Polka" (the latter a parody of " Pennsylvania Polka") by ethnic singer Jimmy Pol, both originating in the 1970s, have been recorded. Since 1994, the song " Here We Go" by local singer Roger Wood has been popular among fans. Since 2002, the 1979
Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...
song "
Renegade Renegade or The Renegade may refer to: Aircraft *Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design *Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design *Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design Games *''Command ...
" is played near the end of the third quarter or the start of the fourth quarter at the start of a defensive stand to rally the crowd, featuring a compilation of recent Steelers defensive highlights. Another song from hometown rapper
Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...
, "
Black and Yellow "Black and Yellow" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa from his third studio album, '' Rolling Papers''. It was released on September 14, 2010, as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Khalifa, along with Stargate, who pro ...
", which is an ode to growing up in Pittsburgh, is also a standard part of the Steelers home game experience.


Cheerleaders

The Steelers were the first NFL team to have a
cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...
squad, they were known as the Steelerettes. Their run only lasted from 1961 to 1969. To this day, they were the only cheerleaders the team had in their history.


Basketball

During the offseason, the Steelers have long participated in charity
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
games throughout
Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the Unite ...
and neighboring areas. The games usually feature six active players as well as their
player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...
playing against a group of local civic leaders. The players, whose participants aren't announced until the day of the game, sign free autographs for fans during halftime.


Facilities


Stadiums

In 2001, the Steelers moved into
Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...
. The franchise dating back to 1933 has had several homes. For 31 seasons, the Steelers shared
Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the fir ...
with the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
from 1933 to 1963. In 1958, though they started splitting their home games at
Pitt Stadium Pitt Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1925 Pittsburgh Panthers fo ...
three blocks away at the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
. From 1964 to 1969, the Steelers played exclusively at the on-campus facility before moving with the Pirates to
Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) ...
on the city's
Northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, EngIand * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vince ...
. The team moved to what was then known as Heinz Field in 2001. In February 2022, after Heinz declined to sign a new deal after naming rights expired, the Steelers signed a deal with Acrisure and renamed the stadium to Acrisure Stadium.


Training camp

The Steelers hold
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...
east of the city at
Saint Vincent College Saint Vincent College is a private Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, it is operated by the Benedictine Monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Bene ...
in Latrobe. The site is one of the most storied in the league with Peter King of SI.com describing it as: "... I love the place. It's the perfect training-camp setting, looking out over the rolling hills of the
Laurel Highlands The Laurel Highlands is a region in southwestern Pennsylvania made up of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, Fayette County, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Somerset County, and Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County. It has a populat ...
in west-central Pennsylvania, an hour east of Pittsburgh. On a misty or foggy morning, standing atop the hill at the college, you feel like you're in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. Classic, wonderful slice of
American culture The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and Social norm, norms, including forms of Languages of the United States, speech, American literature, literature, Music of the United States, music, Visual a ...
. If you can visit one training camp, this is the one to see." The team has its headquarters and practice facilities at the state-of-the-art University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sportsplex on Pittsburgh's Southside. Constructed in 2000, the facility combines the vast expertise of sports medical professionals and researchers as well as hosting the
University of Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...
football team. In 2020 and 2021, due to the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic, the Steelers held their training camp at Heinz Field. They returned to Saint Vincent College for the 2022 season.


Historical facilities

The Rooney family has long had a close relationship with
Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...
in the city and from the teams founding in the 1930s to the late 1990s used Art Rooney Field and other facilities on campus as either its primary or secondary in-season training site as well as Greenlee Field during the 1930s. In the 1970s and 1980s, the team had season scrimmages at
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
in the suburban south hills of Pittsburgh. During various seasons including the strike season of 1987, the Steelers used Point Stadium in nearby Johnstown for game week practices. During the 1950s
St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private university, private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,760 undergraduate and graduate students. The Order of Friars Minor, Franciscans established the university in 1858. In ath ...
(where Art Rooney's brother Silas was serving as athletic director) and suburban Ligonier also served as a pre-season training camp sites.


Statistics


Players of note


Current roster


Retired uniform numbers

The Steelers retired Stautner's #70 in 1964 before creating a 50-year tradition of not retiring numbers. The team retired Greene's #75 in 2014 and left the possibility open that they would retire other players' jersey numbers at later dates. However, several numbers have not been reissued since the retirement of the players who wore them, including: *1 Gary Anderson *7
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
*12
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...
*36
Jerome Bettis Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. (born February 16, 1972) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" due to his l ...
*43
Troy Polamalu Troy Aumua Polamalu (; born Troy Benjamin Aumua; April 19, 1981) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 12-year career as a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). An eight-time ...
*47
Mel Blount Melvin Cornell Blount (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted i ...
*52
Mike Webster Michael Lewis Webster (March 18, 1952September 24, 2002) was an American professional football center in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1990 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. He is a member of the Pro Footb ...
*58 Jack Lambert *59
Jack Ham Jack Raphael Ham Jr. (born December 23, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He is considered one of the greatest outsi ...
*63
Dermontti Dawson Dermontti Farra Dawson (born June 17, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a center and long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football with the Kentucky Wildcats. He was selected by th ...
*86
Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American American football, football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for Arizona State Sun Devils football, Arizona State. He played as a wide receiver in the National Foo ...


Pro Football Hall of Famers


"Primary" inductees

The Steelers boast the third most "primary" inductees into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
, i.e. inductees that spent most or all of their NFL careers in Pittsburgh. They also can claim the most honorees of any franchise founded on or after and the only franchise with three members of ownership in the Hall of Fame.


Steelers in the Hall for contributions elsewhere


= Misc. Award recipients

= *
Rocky Bleier Robert Patrick "Rocky" Bleier ( , born March 5, 1946) is an American former professional football player and a veteran of the United States Army. He played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1 ...
, former Steeler running back received the
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
,
Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...
and the
Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces soldiers in the rank of Colonel (United States), colonel and below, wh ...
while serving in the Army in Vietnam. *Pat Livingston, Steelers beat writer for the
Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'', formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'', was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for over a century, from 1884 to 1992. At the height of its popul ...
, awarded the 1979
Dick McCann Memorial Award The Bill Nunn Memorial Award is bestowed annually by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) to a reporter for their "long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage". It is named after Bill Nunn Jr., who worked ...
*Vito Stellino, Steelers beat writer in the 1970s for the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...
, awarded the 1989
Dick McCann Memorial Award The Bill Nunn Memorial Award is bestowed annually by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) to a reporter for their "long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage". It is named after Bill Nunn Jr., who worked ...
*
Myron Cope Myron Sidney Kopelman (January 23, 1929 – February 27, 2008), known professionally as Myron Cope, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being " the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers". Cop ...
, Announcer (1970–2005), awarded the 2005 Pro Football Hall of Fame's
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in profes ...
*
John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) (1954–2022), American sportswriter and reporter *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, Joh ...
, Steelers beat writer for the
Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'', formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'', was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for over a century, from 1884 to 1992. At the height of its popul ...
(1976–1986), awarded the 2007
Dick McCann Memorial Award The Bill Nunn Memorial Award is bestowed annually by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) to a reporter for their "long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage". It is named after Bill Nunn Jr., who worked ...


Pro Bowl players

The following Steelers players have been named to the
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
: *QB
Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He has primarily played for the Seattle Seahawks. With the Sea ...
,
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
(6),
Kordell Stewart Kordell Stewart (born October 16, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "Slash", he played college ...
,
Neil O'Donnell Neil Kennedy O'Donnell (born July 3, 1966) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was selected by the P ...
,
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...
(3),
Bobby Layne Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns before ...
(2),
Earl Morrall Earl Edwin Morrall (; May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. He was the last remaining player from t ...
,
Jim Finks James Edward Finks (August 31, 1927 – May 8, 1994) was an American professional football player, coach, and executive. Early life and playing career Finks was born in St. Louis, Missouri, attended high school in Salem, Illinois, and attended ...
*FB Roosevelt Nix, Earnest Jackson,
Franco Harris Franco Dok Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football fo ...
(9),
John Henry Johnson John Henry Johnson (November 24, 1929 – June 3, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a fullback. His first stint was in Canada in the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU, a forerunner league to today's Canadia ...
(3),
Fran Rogel Francis Stephen Rogel (December 12, 1927 – June 3, 2002) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany ...
, Dick Riffle,
John Karcis John Karcis (December 3, 1908 – September 4, 1973), sometimes known by the nicknames "Bull" and Johnny "Five Yards", was an American football player and coach. A native of Monaca, Pennsylvania, he played college football as a fullback at Carn ...
,
Stu Smith Stuart Moore Smith (February 3, 1915 – November 7, 1969) was an American professional football player who played running back for two seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Early life Stuart Smith was born in Montour Falls, New York. He played ...
*HB
Najee Harris Najee Mzee Harris ( ; born March 9, 1998) is an American professional American football, football running back for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide football ...
, James Conner,
Le'Veon Bell Le'Veon Andrew Bell Sr. ( ; born February 18, 1992) is an American Professional boxing, professional boxer and former American football, football running back. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans football, Michigan State ...
(3),
Willie Parker Willie Everett Parker Jr. (born November 11, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for No ...
(2),
Jerome Bettis Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. (born February 16, 1972) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" due to his l ...
(4), Barry Foster (2),
Dick Hoak Richard John Hoak (born December 8, 1939) is an American former professional football player and coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Steelers as a running back. Hoak played college football ...
,
Clendon Thomas Clendon Thomas (born December 28, 1935) is an American former professional football player who was a halfback and defensive back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). In college, he was a star athlete for the Oklahoma Sooners u ...
,
Tom Tracy John Thomas "the Bomb" Tracy (September 7, 1934 – January 24, 1996) was an American professional gridiron football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers and Wa ...
(2),
Ray Mathews Raymond Dyral Mathews (February 26, 1929 – December 20, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys. He played college ...
(2), Johnny Lattner,
Lynn Chandnois Lynn Chandnois (February 24, 1925 – April 19, 2011) was an American football player who earned All-American honors for the Michigan State Spartans in 1949, won the NFL Player of the Year award for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1952, and played tw ...
(2),
Joe Geri Joe Geri (October 20, 1924 – April 20, 2002) was an American professional football quarterback-running back who played four seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals from 1949 to 1952 in the National Football League (NFL). He w ...
(2),
Bill Dudley William McGarvey Dudley (December 24, 1921 – February 4, 2010), nicknamed "Bullet Bill", was an American professional football halfback, safety and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steeler ...
,
Merl Condit Merlyn Edwin Condit (March 21, 1917 – October 18, 1992), nicknamed "Merlyn the Magician", was an American football halfback (gridiron football), halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskin ...
,
Whizzer White Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White (June 8, 1917 – April 15, 2002) was an American lawyer, jurist, and professional football player who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1962 until 1993. By his retirem ...
*LT Alejandro Villanueva (2),
Marvel Smith Marvel Amos Smith (born August 6, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils. He was se ...
, Charlie Bradshaw (2), Joe Coomer *LG Isaac Seumalo,
Alan Faneca Alan Joseph Faneca (; born December 7, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Guard (gridiron football), guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for L ...
(7), Duval Love, Mike Sandusky,
Byron Gentry Byron Burk Gentry (October 20, 1913February 10, 1992) was an American professional football guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Gentry played college football at the University of Sou ...
(2) *C Maurkice Pouncey (9),
Jeff Hartings Jeffrey Alan Hartings (born September 7, 1972) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Center (American football), center for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football f ...
(2),
Dermontti Dawson Dermontti Farra Dawson (born June 17, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a center and long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football with the Kentucky Wildcats. He was selected by th ...
(7),
Mike Webster Michael Lewis Webster (March 18, 1952September 24, 2002) was an American professional football center in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1990 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. He is a member of the Pro Footb ...
(9), Buzz Nutter,
Bill Walsh William Ernest Walsh (November 30, 1931 – July 30, 2007) was an American professional and college football coach. He served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal, during which time he popularized the West Coast off ...
(2), Chuck Cherundolo (2), Mike Basrak *RG David DeCastro (6), Carlton Haselrig,
Bruce Van Dyke Bruce Van Dyke (born August 6, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Green Bay Packers. He p ...
, John Nisby (2), Milt Simington *RT
Tunch Ilkin Tunch Ilkin (; September 23, 1957 – September 4, 2021) was a Turkish-American professional American football, football player and sports broadcaster. A two-time Pro Bowl selection as an offensive tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was th ...
(2), Larry Brown,
Frank Varrichione Frank Joseph Varrichione (pronounced "Vair-akee-oh'-nee;" January 14, 1932 – January 6, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a tackle for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for ...
(4), George Hughes (2), John Woudenberg *TE
Heath Miller Earl Heath Miller Jr. (born October 22, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons from 2005 to 2015. Miller played college foot ...
(2), Eric Green (2),
Preston Carpenter Verba Preston Carpenter (January 24, 1934 – June 30, 2011)Neiswanger, R"Football: Arkansas Great Carpenter Dies at 77", ''Arkansas News''. June 30, 2011. was an American professional football player. He played as an end, halfback, tight end, ...
, Jack McClairen, Elbie Nickel (3) *WR
Diontae Johnson Diontae Lamarcus Johnson (born July 5, 1996) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Toledo Rockets and was selected by the Pittsbu ...
,
JuJu Smith-Schuster John Sherman "JuJu" Smith-Schuster ( Smith; born November 22, 1996) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Tr ...
,
Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. During his first nine seasons with t ...
(6),
Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...
,
Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American American football, football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for Arizona State Sun Devils football, Arizona State. He played as a wide receiver in the National Foo ...
(4),
Yancey Thigpen Yancey Dirk Thigpen (born August 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers (1991), the Pittsburgh Steelers (1992–1997), and the Tenn ...
(2),
Louis Lipps Louis Adam Lipps Jr. (born August 9, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), spending eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and one with the N ...
(2),
John Stallworth Johnny Lee Stallworth (born July 15, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Alabama ...
(4),
Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...
(3), Ron Shanklin,
Roy Jefferson Roy Lee Jefferson (born November 9, 1943) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Colts, and Washington Redskins. He ...
(2), Gary Ballman (2),
Buddy Dial Gilbert Leroy "Buddy" Dial (January 17, 1937 – February 29, 2008) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. He played college foo ...
(2),
Jimmy Orr James Edward Orr Jr. (October 4, 1935 – October 27, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, running from 1958 to 1970. The speedy Orr ...
*DE
Cameron Heyward Cameron Phillip Heyward (born May 6, 1989) is an American professional American football, football defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes footba ...
,
Brett Keisel Brett Keisel (born September 19, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a defensive end for 13 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...
, Aaron Smith,
L. C. Greenwood L. C. Henderson Greenwood (September 8, 1946September 29, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arkansas ...
(6),
Dwight White Dwight Lynn White (July 30, 1949 – June 6, 2008) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the East ...
(2), Ben McGee (2), Lou Michaels (2),
Bill McPeak William Patrick McPeak (July 24, 1926 – May 7, 1991) was an American football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 16th round of the 1948 NFL draft, playing nine seasons ...
(3) *DT
Cameron Heyward Cameron Phillip Heyward (born May 6, 1989) is an American professional American football, football defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes footba ...
(6),
Casey Hampton Casey Hampton Jr. (born September 3, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a five-time Pro Bowl nose tackle and two-time Super Bowl champion over twelve seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football Le ...
(5), Joel Steed,
Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1981. A ...
(10),
Joe Krupa Joseph S. Krupa Sr. (July 6, 1933 – September 13, 2011) was an American professional American football, football player who was a defensive tackle for nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Krupa was s ...
,
Gene Lipscomb Eugene Allen Lipscomb (August 9, 1931 – May 10, 1963) was an American professional football defensive tackle and occasional professional wrestler who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was known by the nickname "Big D ...
,
Ernie Stautner Ernest Alfred Stautner (April 20, 1925 – February 16, 2006) was a German-American professional football player and coach. He played as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also served as a ...
(9) *LB
Patrick Queen Patrick Queen (born August 13, 1999) is an American professional football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers and was selected 28th overall by the Baltimore ...
,
T. J. Watt Trent Jordan Watt (born October 11, 1994) is an American professional American football, football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers football, Wiscon ...
(7),
Ryan Shazier Ryan Dean Shazier (; born September 6, 1992) is an American professional coach and former football linebacker who is the current offensive assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college foot ...
(2),
Lawrence Timmons Lawrence Olajuwon Timmons (born May 14, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft. ...
, James Harrison (5),
LaMarr Woodley LaMarr Dewayne Woodley (born November 3, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Michigan, earning unanimous All-Americ ...
,
James Farrior James Alfred Farrior (born January 6, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers. He played with th ...
(2),
Joey Porter Joseph Eugene Porter Sr. (born March 22, 1977) is an American professional football coach and former player. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorado State Rams and was selec ...
(3),
Jason Gildon Jason Larue Gildon (born July 31, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1994 to 2003 and the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2004. He was sel ...
(3),
Kendrell Bell Kendrell Alexander Bell (born July 2, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Pittsburgh St ...
,
Levon Kirkland Lorenzo Levon Kirkland (born February 17, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 11 years in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A two-time All-Pro and two-time ...
(2), Chad Brown,
Kevin Greene Kevin Darwin Greene (July 31, 1962December 21, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player who was a linebacker and defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49e ...
(2),
Greg Lloyd Gregory Lenard Lloyd Sr. (born May 26, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to five Pro Bowls and three All-P ...
(5), David Little,
Mike Merriweather Michael Lamar Merriweather (born November 26, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pacific Tigers and was selected by the Pittsbu ...
(3), Robin Cole, Jack Lambert (9),
Jack Ham Jack Raphael Ham Jr. (born December 23, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He is considered one of the greatest outsi ...
(8), Andy Russell (7), Myron Pottios (3), John Reger (3),
Dale Dodrill Dale Fike Dodrill (February 7, 1926 – January 18, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle for nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footbal ...
(4),
Marv Matuszak Marvin H. Matuszak (September 12, 1931 – February 28, 2004) was an American professional American football, football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). He went to two NFL Pro Bowls and was onc ...
,
Jerry Shipkey Gerald Wade Shipkey (October 31, 1925 – November 28, 2009) was an American professional football player. He played as a linebacker for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL).Obituary ''Los Angeles Times'', 10 January 2010. He al ...
(3) *CB Joe Haden,
Rod Woodson Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football player for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Widely considered one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, Woodson holds the NFL record fo ...
(7),
Mel Blount Melvin Cornell Blount (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted i ...
(5), J. T. Thomas, Marv Woodson, Brady Keys, Dean Derby, Jack Butler (4), Art Jones *SS
Troy Polamalu Troy Aumua Polamalu (; born Troy Benjamin Aumua; April 19, 1981) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 12-year career as a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). An eight-time ...
(8), Carnell Lake (4),
Donnie Shell Donnie Shell (born August 26, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) between 1974 and 1987. Shell was a member of the Steelers famed Steel Cur ...
(5),
Mike Wagner Michael Robert Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Western Illino ...
(2) *FS
Minkah Fitzpatrick Minkah Annane Fitzpatrick Jr. (born November 17, 1996) is an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footba ...
(5), Ryan Clark, Glen Edwards (2) *PK
Chris Boswell Christopher Lynn Boswell (born March 16, 1991) is an American professional football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls and was signed by the Houston Texans ...
(2), Gary Anderson (3), Roy Gerela (2), Mike Clark *P Bobby Walden *RS
Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. During his first nine seasons with t ...
,
Rod Woodson Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football player for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Widely considered one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, Woodson holds the NFL record fo ...
*ST Miles Killebrew (2)


NFL MVPs


Defensive Player of the Year Awards winners


Rookie of the Year Award winners


Super Bowl MVPs


NFL All-Decade Teams

The following Steelers were named to NFL All-Decade Teams (and 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, selected in 1994 and 2019, respectively). Only those who spent time with Pittsburgh during the respective decades are listed. Bold indicates those elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.


All-time team

In
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, in celebration of the franchise's 75th season, the team announced an updated All-Time team of the 33 best players who have ever played for the Steelers. This team supplanted the previous All-Time team of 24 players named as part of the 50th anniversary commemoration in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
. A "Legends team" consisting of the club's best pre-1970s players was released concurrently with the latest All-Time team.


Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year

The regional
Dapper Dan Charities The Dapper Dan Charities were founded by ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' editor Al Abrams in 1936. It is one of the oldest nonprofit and fundraising community sports clubs in the world and the oldest in Western Pennsylvania. The foundation fundraises ...
has since 1939 named the "Sportsman of the Year" in the Pittsburgh region. 19 Steelers have won the award in 23 events: *1941
Aldo Donelli Aldo Teo "Buff" Donelli (July 22, 1907 – August 9, 1994) was an American football player and coach, soccer player, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Duquesne University from 1939 to 1942, Boston Univ ...
*1942
Bill Dudley William McGarvey Dudley (December 24, 1921 – February 4, 2010), nicknamed "Bullet Bill", was an American professional football halfback, safety and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steeler ...
*1946
Bill Dudley William McGarvey Dudley (December 24, 1921 – February 4, 2010), nicknamed "Bullet Bill", was an American professional football halfback, safety and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steeler ...
*1950
Joe Geri Joe Geri (October 20, 1924 – April 20, 2002) was an American professional football quarterback-running back who played four seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals from 1949 to 1952 in the National Football League (NFL). He w ...
*1952
Red Dawson Lowell Potter "Red" Dawson (December 20, 1906 – June 10, 1983) was an American football coach for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Tulane Green Wave at the collegiate level and the AAFC's Buffalo Bills at the professional level. ...
*1955
John Michelosen John Pollock Michelosen (February 13, 1916 – October 17, 1982) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1948 to 1951, compiling a record of 2 ...
*1962 Lou Michaels &
John Michelosen John Pollock Michelosen (February 13, 1916 – October 17, 1982) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1948 to 1951, compiling a record of 2 ...
*1968
Dick Hoak Richard John Hoak (born December 8, 1939) is an American former professional football player and coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Steelers as a running back. Hoak played college football ...
*1972
Chuck Noll Charles Henry Noll (January 5, 1932 – June 13, 2014) was an American professional football player and head coach. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, his sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the ...
*1974
Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1981. A ...
*1975
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...
*1977
Franco Harris Franco Dok Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football fo ...
*1984
John Stallworth Johnny Lee Stallworth (born July 15, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Alabama ...
*1985
Louis Lipps Louis Adam Lipps Jr. (born August 9, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), spending eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and one with the N ...
*1992
Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (; born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the ...
*1994
Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (; born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the ...
*1997
Jerome Bettis Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. (born February 16, 1972) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" due to his l ...
*2001
Kordell Stewart Kordell Stewart (born October 16, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "Slash", he played college ...
*2004
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
*2006
Jerome Bettis Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. (born February 16, 1972) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" due to his l ...
*2008
Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led t ...
*2014
Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. During his first nine seasons with t ...
*2015
Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. During his first nine seasons with t ...
*2018 James Conner *2020
Cameron Heyward Cameron Phillip Heyward (born May 6, 1989) is an American professional American football, football defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes footba ...


Hall of Honor

The Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor was established on August 1, 2017. There have been 57 inductees.


Coaches

The Steelers have had 16 coaches through their history. They have cycled through the fewest head coaches in the modern NFL history. Their first coach was Forrest Douds, who coached them to a 3–6–2 record in
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
.
Chuck Noll Charles Henry Noll (January 5, 1932 – June 13, 2014) was an American professional football player and head coach. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, his sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the ...
had the longest term as head coach with the Steelers; he is one of only four coaches to coach a single NFL team for 23 years. Hired prior to the 2007 Pittsburgh Steelers season, 2007 season, the Steelers current coach is
Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led t ...
.


Current staff


Offensive coordinator history

Source:


Defensive coordinator history

Source:


Media

As of 2006, the Steelers' Flagship (radio), flagship radio stations were WDVE 102.5 FM and WBGG (AM), WBGG 970 AM. Both stations are owned by iHeartMedia. Games are also available on 51 radio stations in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, Western Maryland, Ohio, and Northern West Virginia. The announcer is
Tunch Ilkin Tunch Ilkin (; September 23, 1957 – September 4, 2021) was a Turkish-American professional American football, football player and sports broadcaster. A two-time Pro Bowl selection as an offensive tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was th ...
. Craig Wolfley is the sideline reporter.
Myron Cope Myron Sidney Kopelman (January 23, 1929 – February 27, 2008), known professionally as Myron Cope, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being " the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers". Cop ...
, the longtime color analyst and inventor of the "
Terrible Towel The Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; for example, fans take their Towel to famous sites while ...
", retired after the 2004 NFL season, 2004 season, and died in 2008. Longtime lead announcer Bill Hillgrove retired after the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. Pre-season games not shown on one of the national broadcasters are seen on CBS Owned-and-operated station, O&O KDKA-TV, channel 2; independent sister station WPKD-TV, channel 19; and AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. KDKA-TV's Bob Pompeani and former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch do the announcing for the pre-season games, as well as the two hosting the pre-game program ''Steelers Kickoff'' during the regular season prior to the national airing of ''The NFL Today''. Pompeani and former Steelers Lineman (American football), lineman Chris Hoke also host the ''Xfinity Xtra Point'' following the game on days when CBS does not have that week's NFL doubleheader. When CBS has a week's doubleheader, the show airs on WPKD-TV. Coach Mike Tomlin's weekly press conference is shown live on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. Both Batch and Hoke replaced former Steelers lineman Edmund Nelson (American football), Edmund Nelson, who retired from broadcasting in 2015. ''Thursday Night Football'' broadcasts are shown locally on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox affiliate WPGH-TV, channel 53 (along with home games with NFC opponents and some flexed interconference games), while ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' broadcasts are shown locally on WTAE-TV, channel 4. (WTAE-TV is owned by the Hearst Corporation, which owns a 20% stake in ESPN.) By virtue of being members of the AFC, most of the Steelers' games air on CBS and KDKA. ''NBC Sunday Night Football'' games are carried by WPXI, channel 11, in the market. The Steelers hold a national contract with Grupo Imagen for radio rights to their games in Mexico; Imagen broadcasts the Steelers on their stations in 17 Mexican cities.


Figures with broadcasting résumés

The Steelers franchise has a rich history of producing well-known sportscasters over the years. The most famous of these is probably
Myron Cope Myron Sidney Kopelman (January 23, 1929 – February 27, 2008), known professionally as Myron Cope, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being " the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers". Cop ...
, who served as a Steelers radio color commentator for 35 seasons (
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
–2004 Pittsburgh Steelers season, 2004). Several former Steelers players have gone on to careers in media after completing their playing careers.


Newspaper

The ''Steelers Digest'' is the only official newspaper for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It has been published for 22 years and is currently published by Dolphin/Curtis Publishing in Miami, Florida, which also handles several other publications. The newspaper is very widely acknowledged by Steelers fans. Issues are mailed out to paying subscribers weekly through the season after every regular-season game and continue through playoffs as long as the Steelers do. After a Super Bowl victory, a bonus issue is published, which is followed by a draft preview, draft recap, and training camp edition every other month, then leading into the pre-season. There are typically 24 issues of the paper within a publishing year. The newspaper is listed on the official Steelers.com page.


Usage in popular culture

The Steelers' success over several decades has permeated film and literature. The Steelers are portrayed in the following big-budget Hollywood films: *The January 11, 1975, episode of the ''Mary Tyler Moore Show'' featured Super Bowl IX (featuring the Steelers) as a plot device. *'' Black Sunday'' in 1977 *''Heaven Can Wait (1978 film), Heaven Can Wait'' in 1978 *''Smokey and the Bandit II'' in 1980 *''Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story, Fighting Back'' in 1980 *''Hey Kid, Catch!'' in 1980 *''...All the Marbles'' in 1981 *''Evening Shade'' (TV series) 1990–1994 *''The Waterboy'' cameo by
Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (; born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the ...
in 1998 *''The Longest Yard (2005 film), The Longest Yard'' in 2005 *''The Chief (play), The Chief'' a theater production. *''
Black and Yellow "Black and Yellow" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa from his third studio album, '' Rolling Papers''. It was released on September 14, 2010, as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Khalifa, along with Stargate, who pro ...
'' in 2010. *''The Dark Knight Rises'' in 2012 features several Steelers players as the fictional Gotham Rogues, which was filmed in Heinz Field *''Mad Men (season 6), Mad Men's'' April 14, 2013, episode has Don Draper, Pete Campbell and Roger Sterling meeting with two H.J. Heinz Company, HJ Heinz executives. The executives are told that not only would the ad firm have given them tickets to the Steelers' November 19, 1967, game at the Giants, the firm would have worked it so that the Steelers would have won (they lost 20–28). *''Concussion (2015 film), Concussion'' in 2015 features players from the team suffering from Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE. The protagonist of John Grisham's novel ''The Associate (novel), The Associate'' is a staunch Steelers fan. In the summer of 2019, the Kennywood theme park located near Pittsburgh, opened a new land themed to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kennywood#Themed areas, Steelers Country, featuring a major record-breaking coaster, the Steel Curtain (roller coaster), Steel Curtain. The land, in addition to this ride, features a Steelers-themed experience, and an 'End Zone Restaurant'.


The Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research

The Steelers helped launch the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research in November 2016 by donating $1 million. The Foundation, started by Steelers president Art Rooney II, focuses on education and research regarding brain injuries and sports-related concussions. In June 2017, the Steelers announced an inaugural charity walk to raise money for the foundation.


See also

* Active NFL playoff appearance streaks * Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Pittsburgh Steelers
at the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
official website
Franchise Encyclopedia
at Pro Football Reference {{Authority control Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL teams Steagles American football teams established in 1933 David Blitzer Josh Harris