History of the Pittsburgh Steelers

[8] Although football was popular in Pittsburgh at the time, the city had no fully professional teams due to Pennsylvania's puritanical blue laws, which prohibited athletic competition on Sundays because it was the Sabbath.

[31] It speaks to the stature of the professional game relative to college football that Neale turned down the Pirates' offer in order to take an assistant coaching position at Yale University.

[60] Other suggestions were Wahoos, Condors, Pioneers, Triangles, Bridgers, Buckaroos, and Yankees, along with such steel-centric possibilities as the Millers, Vulcans, Tubers, Smokers, Rollers, Ingots, and Puddlers.

Although the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 had instituted conscription in late 1940, the NFL was not significantly impacted until after the United States joined the war following Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941.

[99][100] The team lost several players who had filled key roles the previous year to the military, including quarterbacks Johnny Patrick and Rocco Pirro, leading runner Art Jones and budding tackle Joe Coomer.

[101] The team's first-round pick, Bill Dudley, intended as well to join the military rather than play football, but when he enlisted in September 1942 there was such a backlog of recruits that his induction was delayed by a few months.

[104] The "triple-threat" back also tallied 35 passes for 438 yards and 18 punts and was runner-up to Green Bay's Don Hutson for the Joe F. Carr Trophy which is awarded to the league's most valuable player.

Bobby Layne returned to the full-time starting quarterback position, and running back John Henry Johnson had the best season of his career with 1,141 yards (second in the NFL).

By the time Western Pennsylvania had also produced future Hall-of-Famers Joe Montana, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly, Bradshaw and his teammates had long since turned the Steelers from a laughingstock into one of the NFL's most successful and beloved franchises.

Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum knocked it away, but it was scooped up at ankle-height before hitting the turf by Franco Harris, who took it into the end zone for the winning touchdown and a 13–7 victory.

After defeating Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders with relative ease in the AFC playoffs, the Steelers met the Minnesota Vikings in New Orleans for Super Bowl IX.

Mel Blount was named AFC Defensive Player of the Year, Franco Harris had 1,246 rushing yards (second behind O. J. Simpson), and Lynn Swann caught 11 touchdown passes.

In the playoffs, Pittsburgh defeated the Baltimore Colts 28–10 in the first round, and survived a late scare from the Oakland Raiders (and a concussion by Swann) to win 16–10 in the AFC Championship.

Mark Malone and David Woodley split quarterbacking duties, with Frank Pollard taking over at running back and Offensive Rookie of the Year Louis Lipps shining at wide receiver.

The team's dominant running game, featuring Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley (acquired prior to the season in free agency), was bolstered by an efficient and often explosive passing attack led by Roethlisberger and receivers Burress, Ward, and Antwaan Randle El.

Jets kicker Doug Brien had two chances to win the game with a field goal in the final two minutes of regulation, but one kick hit the crossbar, while the other went wide left.

Injuries to Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley caused Willie Parker to become the Steelers' starter at running back, and he acquitted himself very well in two convincing wins against the Tennessee Titans (34–7) and Houston Texans (27–7) to open the season.

Charlie Batch was named the starter, and he provided victories over the struggling Green Bay Packers (20–10 on the road), and against their rust belt rival, the Cleveland Browns (34–21 at home), where during the game, wide receiver Hines Ward set the Steelers record for most career receptions (543), breaking John Stallworth's mark of 537.

A magnetic resonance imaging test revealed that both Palmer's anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments were torn by von Oelhoffen's contact, which also caused cartilage and meniscus damage.

After a scoreless third quarter, Cincinnati took the lead by getting a Willie Parker fumble and ending it with QB Carson Palmer completing a 66-yard TD pass to WR Chris Henry.

The regular season went well with the team winning twelve games and losing four, all to strong opponents, with their only losses going to the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Tennessee Titans (who had the best record in the league).

The Broncos behind Tim Tebow raced to a 20–6 halftime lead but despite an interception Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to tie the game 23–23 following a Willis McGahee fumble.

Bell, combined with up-and-coming receiver/kick returner Antonio Brown and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, formed the "Killer B's" trio of offensive players that would dominate the AFC North for the next few years.

During the final drive of the defense-heavy game, Ben Roethlisberger attempted a pass to Antonio Brown, who was knocked unconscious by a helmet-to-helmet hit from Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who had also inflicted a season-ending injury on Bell during the regular season.

Brown, despite reaching career highs in both receiving yards and touchdowns, was the subject of numerous controversies both in his personal life and on the field and frequently ran into conflict with the Steelers' media and coaching staff.

With the departures of both Bell and Brown, the "Killer B's" era unofficially came to an end, with some analysts noting that despite their success in the regular season, they were hampered in the postseason due to injury and bad luck.

Despite an NFL-record 47 completions by Roethlisberger,[131] Cleveland's lead was insurmountable as Pittsburgh lost 48–37, giving the Browns their first win at Heinz Field since 2003 and ending a once-promising season for the Steelers.

Their late-season woes continued into the playoffs where they were eliminated in the Wild Card round by the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens 28–14, resulting in the Steelers' sixth consecutive loss in the postseason.

They have participated in civic education and activity, sponsored countless philanthropic organizations and causes, helped to strengthen the local economy, and shaped the cultural identity of the city.

In the 2017 season, the Steelers-Patriots game ended in controversial fashion, as an apparent touchdown and go-ahead score for Pittsburgh with 28 seconds left was overturned due to the definition of a catch while the receiver is going to the ground.