A night to celebrate greatness

Oct 19, 2024 at 08:07 PM

Teresa Varley

Steelers.com

It was a night to celebrate, share stories, re-connect with old teammates, and remember those who are no longer around.

There was laughter and tears, handshakes and hugs, as members of the Steelers Super Bowl IX team gathered for a family reunion like no other.

It was all part of the Steelers 2024 Alumni Weekend Dinner, presented by UPMC, UPMC Health Plan & U.S. Steel, at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. The dinner, which benefits the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program, was a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1974 season and Super Bowl IX. The team will be honored at halftime of Sunday night's game against the Jets.

The Steelers won their first Super Bowl following the 1974 season, defeating the Minnesota Vikings, 16-6, in Super Bowl IX at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

As players chatted with each other, the memories of the game made it seem like it was only yesterday, but it was also hard for them to believe it's been 50 years since that glorious time.

"A lot has happened since then," said Hall of Fame receiver John Stallworth. "It's hard to believe because those memories are still fairly fresh in my mind about what we went through. The struggles of that season, changing quarterbacks and trying to find an identity with a single quarterback and then settling in and eventually getting to New Orleans.

"I remember those things. But to think that it's 50 years, it's kind of tough."

The room was packed with members of the 1974 team, but there were those who were missing as well, players and coaches no longer with us, like Franco Harris, Mike Webster and Andy Russell just to name a few who are gone to soon, as well as Coach Chuck Noll and Art Rooney Sr., 'The Chief.'

"I was talking with Joe Greene, and we were talking about the game, and then we started to talk about all the people that are no longer with us during that Super Bowl, talking about players and coaches and owners," said Hall of Famer Mel Blount. "It's an occasion to celebrate, reminisce. And then at the same time, a little bit of sadness too because of all the great players and men that are no longer with us.

"One of the things we're going to do this year for the annual roast that I have for my youth home is reflect, reminisce and celebrate the lives from the Super Bowl IX team that are no longer with us and the ones that are here, with Terry Bradshaw coming in to emcee it. It's a great milestone to honor this weekend and moving forward, it's just unfortunate a lot of people that would play such major roles in it are no longer with us."

The 1974 season had its ups and downs.

But it started on a high note, the 1974 NFL Draft, which produced five Hall of Famers for the Steelers, and kicked off a dream season for the black and gold.

Those players selected by the team in the draft might have been names that didn't excite the masses back in 1974, but they are now household names for Steelers Nation, and beyond.

Lynn Swann. Jack Lambert. John Stallworth. Mike Webster. All four players were selected by the team in the first five rounds of the NFL Draft in 1974, and then Donnie Shell was signed as an undrafted free agent. What Noll was able to do was take that group of rookies and blend them with other stars who were already on the team, players like Franco Harris, Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Jack Ham, and the list can go on.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated the 50th anniversary of Super Bowl IX during the Alumni Weekend Dinner at Acrisure Stadium benefitting the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pa. (Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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"I came to the team in 1970, along with Terry Bradshaw and Ron Shanklin, and Joe Greene came in '69, and they won one game in '69," said Blount. "We won five games my rookie year of '70. You kept seeing things trending in the right direction.

"Of course, the 1974 Draft. It was historical. That got us over the hump, but the foundation was being laid. We got the influx of players in '74, five Hall of Famers out of that draft. We really took off.

"There was such a competitiveness. The will to compete in practice and everybody just wanted to get better and wanted to be a great player. When you get a group of guys who want to compete and have talent, it's a beautiful thing to see it all come together."

While it all came together, it wasn't as easy as it sounded.

The 1974 season started with a player strike during training camp that put Joe Gilliam in the driver's seat at quarterback, especially after an injury to Terry Bradshaw in the preseason. There would be some back and forth at the spot, with Gilliam starting six games, then Bradshaw and Hanratty at the helm, before Bradshaw took over and led them to the Super Bowl.

"It's one of the things that brought us together," said Stallworth. "When you go through difficult times and you weather that storm, especially when you weather them as a group, you don't give up because of the difficult times, rather you are bonded together in a deeper way.

"I think it speaks a lot to the success of that year."

Donnie Shell, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, Joe Greene and Mel Blount at the Alumni Weekend Dinner. pic.twitter.com/nWNSSTNJCa
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 20, 2024

And watching the players interact on Saturday night, they were still together, still just as much of a family as they were in 1974.

"That's what's so unique, that there's such a brotherhood," said Blount. "You might not see a guy for 10 years, but when you see him, it's like you never missed a beat because of the bond that we have. It's something special.

"We were on a journey together. It's not always the destination. It's the journey, the ups and downs, the joy, the fun, the disappointments and all of that during that season that got us to the Super Bowl. And then when we got there, we went out and took care of business.

"I think that's the beauty of any team winning the Super Bowl because it is so hard. You put in so much work and so many aches and pains and when you get to the mountaintop, that's beautiful. But when we look back at the journey, that's what you remember."

The Super Bowl itself was filled with amazing moments, but there is one thing each player points to when they talk about the game and the memories.

'The Chief.'

"I think because we hadn't won a championship in 40 years, to see the expression on Mr. Rooney's face, 'The Chief,' that was the best," said Hall of Famer Donnie Shell. "He didn't really want to accept the trophy, but he reluctantly took it. He had a big smile on his face.

"He was an NFL owner, but he was a very humble man. He treated everybody the same. Every day you would walk in the Steelers office, he greeted you with a smile and asked how you were doing, how your family was doing. He was just a special person."

Seeing Art Rooney Sr. receive the Lombardi Trophy from then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, and then linebacker Andy Russell present Rooney with the game ball, is what will forever be etched in their memories.

"I think about after the game in that little locker room, being a rookie and not knowing what's supposed to happen in events like that, particularly coming from a small school," said Stallworth. "We're in the locker room and Rozelle's there and he's presenting the trophy to Art Rooney, Sr.

"I'm a rookie, and I'm thinking this is pretty special, but I can't imagine looking back on that what was going through Mr. Rooney's head after having gone through 40 years of not being thought of as a really great football club. But here he is, the team that he started is the king of professional football in 1974.

"We all have those memories. We share those memories, and it seems like it's not that far in the past that we were actually living those memories. When you think about, it's been 50 years, but the memories are still fresh."