The Pittsburgh Steelers are a National Football League team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Founded: 1933.

Formerly Known as: Pittsburgh Pirates (1933-1940)

Home field: Heinz Field

Previous home fields:

Forbes Field (1933-1963)

Pitt Stadium (1958-1969)

Three Rivers Stadium (1970-2000)

Uniform colors: Black and gold

Helmet design: Solid black on the left side. The team logo, appearing only on the right side, is based on the old U.S. Steel logo. It consists of the word "Steelers" surrounded by three astroids (hypocycloids of four cusps).

League championships won: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979.

Super Bowl appearances: IX (won), X (won), XIII (won), XIV (won), XXX (lost)

Famous gimmick: Terrible Towel

Franchise history

The team was so named because of the abundant steel industry in the city. The team appeared in five Super Bowls and won four, and is regarded as The Team of The Seventies.

The team had a dominant defense known as The Steel Curtain and an offense led by Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth. Their coach was Chuck Noll. Longtime sportscaster Myron Cope is well known in Pittsburgh for his distinctive commentary.

The Steelers had a long history of futility before 1972, their first postseason appearance. In fact, they had only eight winning seasons prior to that season, despite being one of the oldest teams in the league. The Immaculate Reception game happened in this postseason.

During World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises in order to field a team. In 1942 they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were know as "Card-Pitt" and informally known as the "Car-Pitts" or "Carpets" (due to their ineptitude; they won no games). During the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles and were known as the "Steagles".

In 1991, legendary coach Chuck Noll, who lead the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories, retired, and the Steelers hired Bill Cowher, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton, PA who had coached special teams in Kansas City. He led the Steelers to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as coach, a feat that had only previously been accomplished by legendary coach Paul Brown of the Browns.

It has become an article of faith among NFL pundits that the Steelers do not have a bad team two years in a row -- they have never lost 10 or more in consecutive years since the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.

2004 season

The Steelers completed the 2004 regular season with the best record in the NFL at 15-1. Only three previous teams have 15 wins, with the Steelers being the first AFC team to accomplish this feat. As a result of this dominant season, the Steelers received home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The Steelers defeated the New York Jets in the Divisional Round and lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship.

Players of note

Pro Football Hall of Famers:

• Mel Blount
• Terry Bradshaw
• Bill Dudley
• "Mean" Joe Greene
• Jack Ham
• Franco Harris
• John Henry Johnson
• Walt Kiesling
• Jack Lambert
• Bobby Layne
• Chuck Noll (coach)
• Art Rooney (owner)
• Dan Rooney (owner)
• John Stallworth
• Ernie Stautner
• Lynn Swann
• Mike Webster

Current stars:

• Kendrell Bell
• Jerome Bettis
• Alan Faneca
• James Farrior
• Troy Polamalu
• Tommy Maddox
• Joey Porter
• Ben Roethlisberger
• Aaron Smith
• Duce Staley
• Hines Ward

Other notable players:

• Byron White (U.S. Supreme Court Justice)
• Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer spent the 1971 training camp with the Steelers, but was traded to the Colts before the start of the season
• Actor Ed O'Neill, 'Al Bundy' on Married... with Children, was drafted by the Steelers in 1969, but was cut in training camp

Retired numbers:

• The Steelers are one of the few teams in the NFL that don't officially retire players' numbers, though several numbers have not been worn since the players that wore them retired, including: 12 (Bradshaw), 32 (Harris), 58 (Lambert), 59 (Ham), and 70 (Stautner).

External links

• Pittsburgh Steelers official web site