The Pittsburgh Steelers, under the leadership of the legendary Head Coach Chuck Noll, experienced unprecedented success in the 1970s. The organization, propelled to the top by Franco Harris and the Immaculate Reception in 1972, embarked on a remarkable journey of Super Bowl victories and the rise of numerous Hall of Fame players. The Steelers were a force to be reckoned with, boasting a formidable offense and a defense that stifled opponents. Terry Bradshaw, the quarterback with a gift for storytelling, often regales us with tales from that golden era.
In his book, It's Only A Game, Bradshaw shares the tale of his rise to two-time Super Bowl MVP, including all of the opponents they had to step over to get there. While they are your enemies during the game, there are some that you have more respect for than others. Bradshaw said that, as a quarterback, the most important skill he learned was to read defenses and respond, changing plays based on what he saw. He used this to help his team win, of course, and never regretted being good at it, until he did.
The Steelers were playing the Miami Dolphins at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The great Don Shula was the Dolphins' coach. Bradshaw said the Steelers were beating Miami by a bunch, but he had a lot of respect for Shula and didn't want to run up the score.
"Shula was a terrific coach and person, I loved him. We were winning by 20-something points, and the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass Shula by scoring again. Essentially, the game was over; there were less than four minutes left, and I was killing the clock with running plays. I was really enjoying myself."
That is a great time to be a quarterback, wrote Bradshaw. You know you have won the game; all you have to do is waste time on the field. You pick up a few yards at a time, as slowly as possible, until the clock hits zero.
Then something changed. Bradshaw said he got to the line of scrimmage, and the Dolphins weren't lined up how he expected. They were prepared to blitz, and Bradshaw said his mind went blank. Noll had prepared the offense for just this situation. Bradshaw was meant to throw a short pass.
"The ball was hiked, the Dolphins came at me, I threw a pass to Theo Bell, and as the ball is in midair, I see that I have called the perfect play; there isn't a defender between Theo and the end zone. This is going to be a touchdown. But I don't want it to be a touchdown. Bell catches it in mid stride and is gone. Gone! I started running down the field after him, 'No, Theo! Don't score! Stop!' As I am running downfield, Shula is running along the sideline right next to me, mother-blanking me every step of the way. 'You no good mother-blank--!'"
Bradshaw said he was yelling at Bell and Shula at the same time, trying to understand why Shula would send a blitz. Bell was ultimately tackled a yard or two short of the end zone, and Bradshaw said it was the only time he was happy not to score. The fans didn't appreciate it; he said he got booed for his conservative decision. He knew he'd have to find Shula and explain.
After the game, Bradshaw went to talk to Shula, and he was standing with an injured Bob Griese, their quarterback who was unable to play that day. Griese defended Bradshaw to Shula, trying to tell his coach he didn't understand.
"He didn't (understand)," said Bradshaw. "'$%#! you,' he said and walked away. That was the first time an opposing coach had cussed me out after we hadn't scored a touchdown."
For young folks who might not know Shula, he is still the winningest coach in NFL history, with a record of 347-173-6. He began as a player in the 1950s and transitioned to coaching after retirement. After paying his dues as an assistant, he became the Baltimore Colts head coach in 1963. He went to Miami in 1970 and stayed there until 1995, winning two Super Bowls and being named the AP NFL Coach of the Year four times.
Noll worked as an assistant for Shula when he was with the Colts and was a part of the team that lost Super Bowl III. It was perhaps the biggest upset in NFL history when the Colts lost 16-7 to Joe Namath and the New York Jets. Shula isn't responsible for Noll getting the head coaching job in Pittsburgh, but it did help make him hungry for success.
Should The Steelers Retire Terry Bradshaw's Number?
The Steelers have had so many exceptional players on their rosters throughout the decades that it would be impossible to retire all of their jersey numbers. There are only three officially retired numbers for the Black and Gold—Ernie Stautner (70), Joe Greene (75), and Franco Harris (32)—but a host of other numbers are unofficially out of circulation.
Some of the many unretired numbers that do not get used are 7 for Ben Roethlisberger, 36 for Jerome Bettis, and 12 for Bradshaw. The Steelers retiring numbers were recently thrust to the forefront when the team allowed Cordarrelle Patterson to wear 84, which was Antonio Brown's number. Brown was highly offended that his number would just be put back into circulation.
This led to speculation by a Steelers reporter that the team may decide to retire Bradshaw's number. Bradshaw left a mark on Pittsburgh as deep and memorable as his teammates Harris and Greene. He led the team with humor and humility and helped them win four Super Bowls.
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