The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Northern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC), in the National Football League (NFL).
Originally named the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team joined the NFL in 1933 when owner Art Rooney, Sr. paid a US$2,500 franchise fee to the league. Prior to 1933, strict state blue laws had prevented sporting events from taking place on Sundays, when most NFL games were scheduled.
The team was renamed the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1940, after the city's prominent steel industry. A fan suggested the name in a contest held by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the team.
The Pittsburgh Steelers (Pirates) first took to the field on September 20, 1933, losing 23-2 to the New York Giants. Through the 1930s the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than .500 (1936). During World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises in order to field a team. During the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles forming the "Phil-Pitt Eagles" and were known as the "Steagles". This team went 5-4-1. In 1944 they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as Card-Pit. This team went 0-10, the only team in franchise history to go winless.
The Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs for the first time in 1947, tying for first place in the division at 8-4 with the Philadelphia Eagles. This forced a tie-breaking playoff game at Forbes Field, which the Pittsburgh Steelers lost 21-0. That would be Pittsburgh's only playoff game for 25 years, though the Steelers did qualify for a "Playoff Bowl" in 1963 as the second best team in their conference, though not considered an official playoff.
Their luck changed with the hiring of coach Chuck Noll. Noll's most remarkable talent was in his draft selections, taking Hall of Famers "Mean" Joe Greene in 1969, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount in 1970, Jack Ham in 1971, Franco Harris in 1972, and finally, in 1974, pulled off the incredible feat of selecting four Hall of Famers in one draft year, Mike Webster, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, and Jack Lambert. The Pittsburgh Steelers' 1974 draft has gone down in NFL history as the best ever, considering no other team has ever drafted four future Hall of Famers in one year. The players drafted in the early 70's formed the base of one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history, making the playoffs eight seasons, and becoming the only team in NFL history to win four Super Bowls in six years, as well as the first to win more than two.
The Steelers suffered a rash of injuries in the 1980 season and missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record. 1981 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's playoff berth, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount after 1983's divisional championship, and Jack Lambert after 1984's AFC Championship Game appearance.
After those retirements the franchise skidded to their first losing seasons since 1971. Though still competitive the Steelers would not finish above .500 in 1985, 1986, and 1988. In the strike year of 1987, the Steelers finished with a record of 8-7, but missed the playoffs. In 1989 they would reach the second round of the playoffs on the strength of Merrill Hoge and Rod Woodson before narrowly missing the playoffs each of the next two seasons.
In 1992, Chuck Noll retired and was succeeded by Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Bill Cowher, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton.
Cowher 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 Cleveland Browns. Overall, Cowher led the Steelers to the playoffs in 10 of his 15 seasons, including appearances in Super Bowl XXX in at the end of the 1995 season where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys, and the franchise's record-tying fifth Super Bowl win in Super Bowl XL over the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks ten years later. With their Super Bowl XL 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 postseason tournament in 1990.
Cowher resigned from coaching the Steelers on January 5, 2007, 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.[14] The candidates interviewed included: offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, offensive line coach Russ Grimm, former offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin, and Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera. On January 22, 2007, Mike Tomlin was announced as Cowher's successor as head coach. Tomlin is the first African-American to be named head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in its 74-year history.
For more information on the franchise's current season see: 2007 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Since the NFL merger in 1970, the Pittsburgh Steelers have compiled an overall record of 333-217-2, reached the playoffs 22 times, won their division 17 times, played in 13 AFC Championship Games, and won 5 Super Bowls.
The Steelers are the oldest and most championed franchise in the AFC. The team has appeared in six Super Bowls and, along with the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, is one of three teams to have won the Super Bowl five times. They have appeared in thirteen Conference Championship Games and have hosted more conference championship games than any other NFL franchise. They are the only team in NFL playoff history to win a Super Bowl after being seeded sixth in the playoffs, winning three consecutive games on the road followed by a Super Bowl XL victory in Detroit on February 5, 2006 against the Seattle Seahawks.
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