All of the Pittsburgh Steelers legends from the 1970s are currently in their 70s. And with Franco Harris unexpectedly passing away a few days before his number retirement ceremony in December of 2022, many would like to see Terry Bradshaw, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Mel Blount honored as soon as possible.
Former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown recently expressed that he would like to see Bradshaw’s No. 12 jersey retired.
“Retire #12 @steelers. Terry Bradshaw is 75. What we waiting on?” Brown wrote on X.
No one has donned No. 12 since Bradshaw retired following the 1983 season, but it hasn’t been officially retired. Ernie Stautner (70), Joe Greene (75) and Franco Harris (32) are the only former Steelers players to have their numbers officially retired.
“Truth be told how the @steelers only got 3 retired jerseys at this point. Should have 5 plus just off Steel Curtain. I’m still a Steeler for life but damn. Retire #12 #43 and after HOF #7 already so they families can enjoy it,” Brown added.
Longtime Steelers insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks the Steelers will eventually retire Bradshaw’s number. He didn’t specify when that could happen, however.
“They will do it. And, if they don’t, shame on them,” Dulac wrote in his latest Q&A.
Bradshaw has not always been on good terms with the organization, but he won four Super Bowls with the franchise as the starting quarterback. He was the MVP for two of the Super Bowls. He threw a touchdown in the fourth quarter in all four Super Bowl wins. He’s also the last Steeler to win League MVP, which was in 1978. How does Bradshaw not have his number officially retired?
In a column in February, Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette blasted the Steelers for not having Bradshaw’s No. 12 jersey retired already. He thinks Ben Roethlisberger will have his number officially retired someday, but there’s no way he should get it before Bradshaw.
“It’s actually embarrassing that the Steelers have not retired Bradshaw’s jersey. Name me another football city in America that wouldn’t officially retire the number of a quarterback who went 4-0 in Super Bowls and won two Super Bowl MVP awards,” Starkey wrote.
“Only three Steelers (Ernie Stautner, Joe Greene, Franco Harris) have had their jerseys officially retired. Arguments could be made for several others from the legendary 1970s teams and beyond — Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Mel Blount, Mike Webster, etc. — but Bradshaw was the most important player. He was the quarterback, right?
“Those teams were so great they probably would have won a Super Bowl with you are I behind center, but there’s no way they come close to four without Bradshaw, who was the greatest clutch deep-ball passer of all-time. This guy wasn’t West Coast dinking and dunking his way down the field. He was launching legendary missiles in each of the final three Super Bowl wins. ”
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