The Wheeling Stogies was a minor league baseball team based in Wheeling, West Virginia , that played under several different names at various times between 1877 and 1934. They played mostly in the Central League and the Middle Atlantic League , as well as in several various other area-based leagues.
99-475: The Stogies can be traced back to 1877 and the city's first professional team known as Wheeling Standard , which featured Jack Glasscock and Chappy Lane . Then in 1887 the city once again fielded a new team known simply in the record books as Wheeling . However, the following season, Wheeling came to be called the "Nail City" for its nail industry, creating the Wheeling Nailers , a team name which even today
198-589: A Franciscan priest. In June 2004, the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League wore Stogies jerseys to honor the team against the Chillicothe Paints . Jack Glasscock John Wesley Glasscock (July 22, 1857 – February 24, 1947) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for several teams from 1879 to 1895. Nicknamed "Pebbly Jack", he was
297-614: A divisional playoff game 27–10 against Baltimore, who was the defending Super Bowl champion . During their NFL championship season in 2000 , 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
396-562: A first baseman until 1901, winning an 1896 batting title with a .431 average. After his baseball career ended, he returned to carpentry. He died in Wheeling from a stroke at age 89 in 1947 and is buried in Wheeling's Greenwood Cemetery . Pittsburgh Steelers 1943 due to loss of players during World War II (temporary merger with Philadelphia Eagles ): 1944 due to loss of players during World War II (temporary merger with Chicago Cardinals ): The Pittsburgh Steelers are
495-659: A " Playoff Bowl " in 1962 as the second-best team in their conference, but this was not considered an official playoff. In 1970 , the year they moved into Three Rivers Stadium and the year of the AFL–NFL merger , the Pittsburgh Steelers were one of three old-guard NFL teams to switch to the newly formed American Football Conference (the others being the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Colts ), in order to equalize
594-817: 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
693-651: 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 coached
792-659: A bitter 34–31 playoff showdown in 2002 ); 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 in 2020. The Denver Broncos in 2011 broke a tie with the Oakland Raiders 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
891-489: A championship. Cowher's career record with Pittsburgh was 149–90–1 in the regular season and 161–99–1 overall, including playoff games. 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
990-555: A local semi-pro team, and the young hurler was promptly acquired for Indianapolis. When the Hoosiers folded after the 1889 season, his contract – as well as Rusie's – was awarded to the Giants to replace Ward, who was leading many of the sport's top players in a shift to the Players' League for the 1890 season. Glasscock had been intending to switch leagues as well but was expelled from
1089-455: A new NL record, breaking John Montgomery Ward 's 1887 major league record of 226 ( Herman Long had 335 for the 1889 American Association Kansas City Cowboys ); Bob Allen would also break this record just a year later. Glasscock hit for the cycle on August 8 of that year; he also managed the team for the last half of the season, posting a 34–32 record. Early in the year, he discovered 17-year-old future Hall of Famer Amos Rusie pitching for
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#17330850306401188-523: A notable role in the advancement of defensive tactics, being one of the first shortstops to use signals indicating which infielder would cover second base on steal attempts, and also one of the first to back up throws to the second baseman. Germany Smith broke his records for career assists and total chances in 1897 , and his mark for games at shortstop in 1898 . Herman Long broke his record for putouts in 1898, and his mark for double plays in 1900 . Tommy Corcoran bettered his career fielding percentage by
1287-449: 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 season 38–31, and wide receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh used a Terrible Towel to polish his cleats while walking up the tunnel after the game, fueling
1386-642: 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 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 NFL, where they were
1485-471: A regular-season streak of 49 consecutive wins ( 1971 – 1979 ) against teams that would finish with a losing record that year. The Steelers 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
1584-672: A result of an 1891 hand injury. When the American Association merged with the NL prior to the 1892 season, Glasscock shifted to the St. Louis Browns (the team now known as the Cardinals), hitting .241 and .267 in two full seasons; he also managed the team for the first four games of the 1892 season, going 1–3. In June 1893 he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates , and he hit .341 over the remainder of
1683-421: 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 stripped socks, and
1782-525: 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. The Steelers' rivalry with the Cincinnati Bengals dates from the 1970 season, when the AFL–NFL merger was completed. In 1976 ,
1881-629: Is used for the city's professional ice hockey team . The team was also known as the Wheeling National Citys , and in 1895 as the Wheeling Mountaineers , which consisted of future major leaguers : Tom O'Brien and Dewey McDougal . The town also had a thriving tobacco industry with Marsh Wheeling's Stogies as a leading enterprise, and later the club's name changed to the Wheeling Stogies in 1899. In 1900 Ed Poole went 20–15 for
1980-587: The 1885 Cincinnati Red Stockings in the American Association . In 1883 , batting third, Glasscock led the team in runs batted in , and paced the NL in fielding again with a .922 average. In mid-1884 he jumped to the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the Union Association during that league's only season of play and batted .419 in 38 games. He returned to the NL with the St. Louis Maroons for
2079-425: The 1889 Red Stockings, and Bob Allen set a new NL mark with 500 for the 1890 Philadelphia Phillies . Glasscock led the league in fielding (.901) again in 1888 , and would later break his own NL double play record with 60 in 1889, though Beard set a new major league mark with 63 the same year; Allen broke the NL mark with 68 in 1890. 1889 marked Glasscock's top all-around season as he batted .352 – second in
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#17330850306402178-407: 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 its first losing seasons since 1971. Though still competitive, the Steelers would not finish above .500 in 1985 , 1986 , and 1988 . In 1987 ,
2277-748: The 1995 season an appearance in Super Bowl XXX on the strength of the "Blitzburgh" defense. However, the Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX, two weeks after a thrilling AFC Championship victory over the Indianapolis Colts . Cowher produced the franchise's record-tying fifth Super Bowl win in Super Bowl XL over the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks ten years later. With that victory,
2376-480: The 2015 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
2475-465: The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). In fact, it was Cleveland -based Republic Steel that suggested the Steelers adopt the industry logo. It consists of the word "Steelers" surrounded by three astroids ( hypocycloids 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
2574-540: The Baltimore Ravens has had several memorable match-ups 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 in 1998 , 20–13, and three years later the Ravens handed the Steelers their first-ever loss at Heinz Field , 13–10. Later that season ( 2001 ) Pittsburgh won
2673-640: The Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise. The Oilers were aligned into the AFC Central 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
2772-646: The Los Angeles Chargers (2–1), the Jacksonville Jaguars (2–0), and the Broncos (5–3). The Steelers have an all-time regular-season record of 15–13 against the Patriots. In the Bill Belichick 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 . Pittsburgh also has a rivalry with
2871-599: The Louisville Colonels and the Washington Senators . Glasscock left the major leagues with a .290 career batting average, 2,040 hits, 27 home runs, 1163 runs, 825 runs batted in and 98 triples . His batting average was nearly thirty points higher than the league average of the time, and he ranked eighth all-time in hits when he retired. He was one of the most difficult players of the 19th century to strike out , doing so just once in every 33 at bats . He played
2970-590: 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 ). Pittsburgh did make history in 1938 by signing Byron White , a future Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court , 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 . Prior to
3069-598: The North Shore neighborhood, which also hosts the University of Pittsburgh Panthers . Built in 2001 as Heinz Field, the stadium replaced Three Rivers Stadium , which had hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons. Prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in Pitt Stadium and at Forbes Field . The Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL first took to the field as the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 20, 1933, losing 23–2 to
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3168-478: The " Steagles "; 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 in baseball and the Pittsburgh Penguins in ice hockey. The shade of gold differs slightly among teams:
3267-478: The "Carpets"). This team finished 0–10, marking the only winless team in franchise history. The 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 Steelers lost 21–0. That would be Pittsburgh's only playoff game in the pre-merger era; they did qualify for
3366-506: 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 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-Pitt (or, mockingly, as
3465-496: The 2016 AFC Championship Game . They also won in 2017 when a go-ahead touchdown reception by Steelers' tight end Jesse James 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
3564-460: 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,
3663-488: The AFC Championship game after a 15–1 regular season. The Patriots won six of seven meetings over a ten-year period ( 1998 – 2007 ) before the Steelers broke through with a 33–10 victory at Foxborough in 2008 , after Matt Cassel turned the ball over five times. The Patriots in 2013 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
3762-408: The Broncos dates from 1970 , but the first notable contest came in 1973 , when Denver dealt Pittsburgh its first regular-season defeat at Three Rivers Stadium , 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,
3861-492: The Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players after signing his 1890 contract with Indianapolis. He won the 1890 batting championship by eleven points over Billy Hamilton , going 6-for-6 on September 27; he also became the second player to lead the NL in hits two years in a row (joining Brouthers), and was second in doubles to Sam Thompson and fifth in total bases. His offensive totals dropped off in later seasons, partially as
3960-401: The Browns special teams and secondary before following Marty Schottenheimer for a brief tenure as Kansas City Chiefs 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. Pittsburgh's rivalry with
4059-684: 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. 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 and formed
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4158-622: 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
4257-482: The NFL as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8, 1933. The team was owned by Art Rooney 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
4356-455: The NFL. The Steelers have also won eight AFC championships , tied with the Denver Broncos , but behind the Patriots' record 11 AFC championships. The team is tied with the Broncos, Dallas Cowboys , and San Francisco 49ers 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
4455-492: The NL behind Dan Brouthers , and the best average by a major league shortstop prior to 1893, when the pitching distance was increased to 60 feet (18 m) – and led the league in hits (205). He was second in doubles (40, behind King Kelly ) and total bases (272, behind Jimmy Ryan ), and was fifth in the league with a career-high 128 runs . Furthermore, he led the league in every defensive category (246 putouts, 478 assists, 60 double plays, .915 average). His 246 putouts set
4554-501: The NL in double plays four times and in putouts twice. He won the 1890 batting title with a .336 average for the New York Giants and led the league in hits twice; in his final season he became the sixth major league player to make 2,000 hits. He was the first player to appear in over 600 games as a shortstop, and ended his career with major league records for games (1,628), putouts (2,821), assists (5,630), total chances (9,283), double plays (620) and fielding percentage (.910) at
4653-563: The NL in assists (392) and fielding (.906). The Maroons moved to Indianapolis and became the Indianapolis Hoosiers before the 1887 , and Glasscock continued his solid output in Indianapolis with a .294 average that year. He also set new major league records for assists (493) and double plays (58), topping Fennelly's totals of 485 and 54 with the previous year's Red Stockings. Ollie Beard broke his major league assists mark with 537 for
4752-434: The Patriots was in the 1997 playoffs before he departed to the rival New York Jets . 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 . Later that season, the Steelers lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots in
4851-458: 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 ", originally designed by Pittsburgh's U.S. Steel and now owned by
4950-414: 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
5049-471: The Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since the organization's founding. Art Rooney's son, Dan Rooney , 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 . The Steelers enjoy a large, widespread fanbase nicknamed Steeler Nation . They currently play their home games at Acrisure Stadium on Pittsburgh's North Side in
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#17330850306405148-464: 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
5247-471: 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 was forced to leave the game with a knee injury. The injury happened when nose tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen contacted Palmer's knee during
5346-464: 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
5445-474: The Steelers to their second Super Bowl of this decade, and went on to win 27–23 against the Arizona Cardinals . 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 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
5544-676: 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. 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
5643-605: The Stogies defeated the Athletics 5-4 in front of just 250 fans at Wheeling. The Pittsburgh Pirates purchased McKechnie from Wheeling at the end of the season. However, to close out the 1909 season, the Pirates, who had just won the 1909 World Series , and the Central League champions played against each other in an exhibition game in Wheeling. The Stogies defeated the Pirates 9-1; however, the Pittsburgh club played many back-up players in
5742-531: The Wheeling Stogies. He also played in the infield and outfield when he didn't pitch and batted .257. Poole was then acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates and made his major league debut in October of that year. He was a member of the Pirates National League pennant winning team in 1901 . Under manager Bill Phillips , the club won Central League titles in 1909 and 1910. The Stogies' 1909 season featured Hall of Fame inductee, Bill McKechnie . The 1909 season also featured several memorable exhibition games. The first
5841-439: 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
5940-417: The end of the 19th century. Despite his talents, he received only 2.6% of the vote on his first and only ballot on the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1936. Some sources credit Glasscock as the originator of the term Charley horse . Glasscock returned to Wheeling and played on a minor league team run by Ed Barrow , winning the first pennant of his career; he remained in the minor leagues as
6039-445: The end of the 2021 season, Tomlin's record is 162–94–2 (.632), 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 , Ben Roethlisberger and Le'Veon Bell . Occasionally, the "Killer B's" has also included kicker Chris Boswell due to his ability to hit game-winning field goals. Prior to
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#17330850306406138-413: The first time. Over five seasons with the team he gradually improved his hitting, and in 1882 he was among the league's top ten players in home runs (4), doubles (27), slugging average (.450) and total bases (161) while also leading the league in assists (311) and tying Sadie Houck 's major league record of 40 double plays, set the previous year; Frank Fennelly set a new major league mark with 46 for
6237-462: The first to start an African-American quarterback (December 3, 1973, with Joe Gilliam ), the first team to boast of an African-American Super Bowl MVP (January 12, 1975, with Franco Harris ), the first to hire an African-American Coordinator (September 2, 1984, with Tony Dungy ), 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
6336-401: The franchise, while two of the brothers – Timothy and Patrick – wanted to further pursue racetracks 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
6435-414: The front and back of the helmets. The current uniform designs were introduced in 1968 . The design consists of gold pants and either black jerseys or white jerseys, except for the 1970 and 1971 seasons when the Steelers wore white pants with their white jerseys. In 1997 , the team switched to rounded numbers on the jersey to match the number font ( Futura Condensed ) on the helmets, and a Steelers logo
6534-413: The game. Following their 1912 season, the Central League revoked the Wheeling franchise, after the club experienced serious financial difficulty. During the 1912 season the Central League went to a 12-team league, and increased monthly salaries from $ 1,500 to $ 2,100. This caused only 4 of the league's teams to profit. As a result, Wheeling and the 5 easternmost teams were cut from the league. Wheeling and
6633-424: The infield for small stones, typically pocketing them, the practice helped him to avoid the bad-hop ground balls which more regularly afflicted other infielders; fielding averages of the era rarely exceeded .900 among shortstops. He played for the local Standard club in 1876, the Champion City club of Springfield, Ohio , in 1877, and the Pittsburgh Allegheny Base Ball Club of the International Association in 1878,
6732-404: 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
6831-449: The latter at third base. After Allegheny folded, he finished the season with Cleveland Blues . He broke into the National League with that club in 1879 , the first West Virginian in the majors, playing 80 games. After playing second and third bases as a rookie, he switched to shortstop permanently in 1880 with Fred Dunlap taking over at second. In 1881 he led the NL in putouts (105), assists (274) and fielding average (.911) for
6930-453: 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). 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
7029-423: The line-up the 1915 season, the team finished near the bottom of the standings. The following season Neale was sold to the Cincinnati Reds of the National League . The team finished in fourth place during the 1916 season. However, the team folded again in 1917 due to struggles associated with World War I. The Stogies once again took to the field in 1925, as a member of the Middle Atlantic League. During this time,
7128-496: 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
7227-435: The next two years, becoming team captain . In 1885 he set an NL record for assists (397), breaking Arthur Irwin 's 1880 mark of 339, and led the league in fielding average (.917); he also moved ahead of Davy Force to become the major league career leader in games at shortstop. In 1886 he hit .325 and was fifth in the league in doubles and sixth in hits, also breaking his own NL record with 43 double plays and again leading
7326-426: The number of teams in the two conferences of the newly merged league. The Steelers also received a $ 3 million ($ 23.5 million today) relocation fee, which was a windfall for them; for years they rarely had enough to build a true contending team. The Steelers' history of bad luck changed with the hiring of coach Chuck Noll from the NFL champion Baltimore Colts for the 1969 season . Noll's most remarkable talent
7425-470: The oldest team never to have won a league championship, the Steelers of the post- merger (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 for the most Super Bowl titles at six, and they have both played in (16 times) and hosted (11 times) more conference championship games than any other team in
7524-471: 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. Since 2008, the Rooney family 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 , and his son, Art Rooney II , president of the franchise, wanted to stay involved with
7623-571: The other five teams then formed the third Interstate League . However, flooding and financial hardship forced two of the league's clubs in Ohio to fold, and the league ended operations on July 21, 1913. The following season, Wheeling did not field a team. However, on February 22, 1915, the team was reorganized and was once again a member of the Central League. The new team featured Goat Anderson and future 1919 World Series winner and Philadelphia Eagles football coach, Greasy Neale . Despite having Neale in
7722-469: 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
7821-501: The past, most notably the Las Vegas Raiders , Dallas Cowboys , Denver Broncos , New England Patriots , and Tennessee Titans . They also have an intrastate rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles , but under the current scheduling the teams play each other only once every four years. The Steelers and Cleveland Browns have been divisional rivals since the two cities' teams began playing against each other in 1950. After posting
7920-513: The position. When he retired he ranked fifth in major league history in games (1,736) and at bats (7,030), seventh in total bases (2,630) and eighth in doubles (313). Jack Glasscock was born in Wheeling, West Virginia (then Virginia), to Thomas Glasscock (born 1830) and the former Julia Collette (born 1833), and dropped out of school in fourth grade to pursue his father's trade of carpentry . Nicknamed "Pebbly Jack" for his habit of scrutinizing
8019-472: 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 . 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
8118-544: The postseason, with the Steelers winning both times. The New England Patriots emerged as a prominent rival in league circles when the Patriots upset the Steelers in the 2001 AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field , though the two teams had met in the postseason twice before; the Patriots defeated the Steelers in 1996 28–3 while the Steelers won 7–6 in 1997 ; both times, the Patriots fielded players with Pittsburgh-area roots in Ty Law and Curtis Martin . Martin's final game with
8217-456: 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. 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 ),
8316-529: The rivalry. The Steelers and Bengals finished 2005 and 2006 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 and taking them out of contention in 2006 . The rivalry has become more intense again since
8415-566: The team consisted of brothers Dan and Art Rooney . Art, an outfielder , led the team in games played, runs scored, hits and stolen bases. However, he would be more famous for his efforts in football as the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League in 1933. He would become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964. Meanwhile, Dan played at catcher and would later change his name to Silas and become
8514-659: The team owners were approached by then- Iowa Hawkeyes Head Coach Hayden Fry 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 . Today, the Hawkeyes still retain the 1979 Steelers uniforms as their home, and away colors. The Pittsburgh Steelers have three primary rivals, all within their division: ( Cleveland Browns , Baltimore Ravens , and Cincinnati Bengals ). They also have rivalries with other teams that arose from post-season battles in
8613-530: 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 on February 6, 2011. However, the Steelers were defeated by the Green Bay Packers , 31–25. In the 2011 season, the Steelers made
8712-405: The team with the league-minimum 30%, the following made up the other investors at the time: Three minority investors in the Steelers have since became majority owners of other NFL teams: 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
8811-462: The top player at his position in the 1880s during the sport's bare-handed era. He led the National League in fielding percentage seven times and in assists six times; he was the only shortstop to lead in fielding percentage and total chances in a season three different times until Luis Aparicio matched him. Ozzie Smith eventually surpassed Glasscock's marks in the 1980s; Glasscock also led
8910-464: 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,
9009-452: The year of the players' strike , 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 in each of the next two seasons, Noll's last seasons. Noll's career record with Pittsburgh was 209–156–1. In 1992, Chuck Noll retired and
9108-399: The year, finishing with a .320 average and also with 100 RBI for the first time. The team finished only five games out of first place, the closest he would come to a league title during his major league career. He batted .280 in his last full season in 1894 , leading the NL in fielding for the last time with a .933 average, and ended his major league career in 1895 , splitting the year between
9207-433: 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 . They were meant to evoke the memory of the 1963 – 1964 era uniforms. The uniforms were so popular among fans that the Steelers' organization decided to keep them and use them as
9306-536: Was against a barnstorming team led by baseball great Cap Anson his semi-professional team, which he called "Anson's Colts". The Colts defeated the Stogies 10-4 with Anson going 1-5 and scoring a run for the Colts, while Bill McKechnie went 1-4 with a run for Wheeling. The Stogies also faced the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics that season, losing 7-2 and 3-0 respectively. However, on April 8, 1909,
9405-404: 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, pulling off the incredible feat of selecting five Hall of Famers in one draft year, Lynn Swann , Jack Lambert , John Stallworth , Donnie Shell and Mike Webster . The Pittsburgh Steelers' 1974 draft
9504-419: 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 , are one of only two teams in the National Football League to have the players' uniform numbers on both
9603-421: Was set up to conduct interviews for the head coaching vacancy. On January 22, 2007, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin 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
9702-473: 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, a feat that had been accomplished only by legendary coach Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns . In those first six seasons, Cowher coached them as deep as the AFC Championship Game three times and following
9801-435: Was their best ever; no other team has ever drafted five 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 Bowls in six years, as well as the first to win more than two. They also enjoyed
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