- 19 hours ago
aging, injured, turnover prone, repeat champions
IG: aj_mckenzie416
Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
IG: aj_mckenzie416
Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
01:30They were the dominant team of the decade.
01:33In 1979, the Steelers had company at the top.
01:38That fall, the Pittsburgh Pirates won their second World Series title of the decade.
01:45Pittsburgh had become the city of champions, a place where winning it all had become expected.
01:50I think the greatest thing that we can all do this winter is to go wherever we're going in our
01:56travels and say proudly, we are from a city that has nothing but champions.
02:06The feeling in that town was just tremendous.
02:11You know, once you have a taste of victory, it's awful hard to give that up.
02:19The attitude was, we're going to win this every year.
02:23The Steelers will never lose.
02:26I knew nothing else than that.
02:28I came in in 74.
02:30My first year, we went to the Super Bowl, and the next year we went to the Super Bowl, and
02:35then a couple years after that, we went to the Super Bowl and won again.
02:37So I grew up in that.
02:39This is what we do.
02:41We went on the football field expecting to win every game that we walked out to.
02:46And that's the type of leadership we had.
02:48People that hated to lose.
02:54To win is very hard to beat.
02:57By 1979, the Steelers had become larger than life.
03:03Their roster was filled with future Hall of Famers, the most recognizable names and faces in football.
03:10Hey, kid.
03:10The whole world is smiling with me.
03:13Don't the color has light.
03:15Have a clap.
03:17Thanks, me and Joe.
03:19However, the Steelers didn't get caught up in their accomplishments.
03:23Instead, they focused more on the future than the past.
03:27We very rarely, as a team, wore Super Bowl licks.
03:32It was still the challenge of doing it again and not trying to live on what happened the year before.
03:42After winning our third Super Bowl in 78, I don't think Chuck gave us enough time to celebrate.
03:48He came right out and predicted we were going after it again, that he didn't feel that we had peaked
03:55as a team yet.
03:56And I can remember, you know, getting home and Jack Hamm calling me up and saying,
04:01Hey, you ready to go out and practice on Tuesday?
04:04Did you hear what Chuck said?
04:05For him to say that he thought we could be better, you know, and that meant something.
04:11And that meant that even though we won the Super Bowl, that we can hold our heads up just a
04:16little bit higher.
04:30$25,000 from playoff to Super Bowl.
04:35Well, then guys, that was more money than we made all year.
04:39So that was incentive for us to go out and win.
04:43We knew that in order for us to have our place in history, to be the first team to win
04:49four Super Bowls
04:50would set us apart from any other team that played the game to that point.
04:56I think that's on everybody's mind, you know, that four...
05:00Something about his player back in his day, was on the Browns, had a dynasty back in the
05:0740s and 50s, and he was on two of those championship teams in a row.
05:13He was their starting guard and linebacker.
05:33We arrived just in the nick of time to save the day and ride off into the sunset.
05:39I kind of like those kind of stories about folks that were not supposed to do anything,
05:44that the world saw them as maybe something less, and they felt within themselves that
05:50they were something better, and that they proved the world wrong.
05:54So I identify with that.
05:57The 1979 Steelers were filled with stories of men who had proven people wrong.
06:02Players like Vietnam veteran Rocky Blyer, quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who had overcome early career
06:09struggles to become an all-pro, and an undersized linebacker named Jack Lambert,
06:13who had grown into one of football's most intimidating defenders.
06:19But no player embodied that underdog spirit more than John Stallworth.
06:28As a child in Alabama, Stallworth contracted a virus that temporarily left him unable to walk.
06:35I was paralyzed for about two weeks in the hospital for about that length of time.
06:41I remember laying in my hospital bed and looking outside, and it was during the summer months,
06:45and in the normal circumstances, I'm out there running with the kids, and I can't do that.
06:51I thought about dying, and then for, gosh, about three, four years even.
06:57That was a constant thought of mine, that at one point, I'm going to die.
07:01I'm not going to be here.
07:02And that when that happens, then I'm going to be gone, and there'll be no memory of me at all.
07:13And so that motivated me to want to do something to be remembered,
07:18that I just wasn't going to go through this life and pass from this life,
07:23and people didn't remember me for something.
07:28By 1979, John Stallworth was becoming hard to forget.
07:39He was part of one of the most potent passing attacks in the league.
08:10One of the best defensive lines in history included Mean Joe Green, Dwight White,
08:15and a quiet pass rusher named L.C. Greenwood.
08:20But some wondered if age would catch up to the defense,
08:25in 1979, Greenwood, number 68, was in his 11th season,
08:31and half the Steelers' starters were at least 30 years old.
08:35We wasn't getting older.
08:36We were just getting more mature in what we were doing.
08:38You know, getting older stuff, that's, you know,
08:42if you got it in the heart, you know,
08:45then all that other stuff don't matter.
08:50In 1979, the Steel Curtain was being fortified
08:53with younger linemen like number 76, John Banaszak.
08:58Banaszak came to the Steelers in 1975,
09:01their second Super Bowl season,
09:02and by 1979, he was a starter.
09:06Still, he never imagined himself growing up to be a Steeler.
09:10I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.
09:14Everybody that I grew up with was a Cleveland Browns fan,
09:17all my friends and all my relatives and all my neighbors.
09:21I wasn't drafted in the 1975 draft,
09:25which made me a free agent coming out of college,
09:27and I was contacted by five teams,
09:30the Steelers being one of them.
09:32All my years of football,
09:34I never played on a championship football team,
09:36and I felt that if I signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers,
09:40my chances of playing on a championship team
09:43obviously were very good.
09:46And that night, I called my dad up,
09:48and I said,
09:48Dad, I've got great news for you.
09:51I've just signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers,
09:53and he hung up on me.
09:55I heard the click on the phone.
09:58I called him right back,
10:00and I said,
10:00Dad, I know that it had to be a bad connection
10:02that you didn't hang up on me,
10:04and then my dad started.
10:07He said,
10:07How am I going to tell your mother?
10:09How am I going to tell your six brothers
10:11and your sister that you signed with the hated Pittsburgh Steelers?
10:16But right before we hung up,
10:18he told me,
10:18he says,
10:18Well, I guess I've got to become a Steelers fan, huh?
10:21And I said,
10:22Yeah, if you want to see me play,
10:24you're going to have to become a Steelers fan
10:26because I'm going to make that team,
10:28and I want you to be at our games.
10:31And he did.
10:32He became a Steelers fan,
10:33a very proud Steelers fan.
10:35That's how you support your son.
10:40Who happened to go to three Super Bowls
10:42that wouldn't have happened if I signed with the Browns?
10:49The Steelers gained a new supporter,
10:51and Pittsburgh fans gained a player
10:53with whom they could identify.
10:58On a team filled with future Hall of Famers,
11:00no player represented the city's blue-collar image
11:03better than Banaszak.
11:05I really do feel that we had a connection.
11:09You know,
11:09they thought I carried my lunch pail
11:11to practice with me,
11:13and I did.
11:13I had to.
11:14I wasn't good enough
11:16to not practice well during the week.
11:19And I think the Pittsburgh fans appreciated that.
11:22You take a look at the stands in Pittsburgh
11:25and all the hard hats.
11:26Those guys are all steel workers.
11:28They had something that I grew up with.
11:32Both my grandparents were steel workers.
11:35My dad was.
11:35Talk about blue-collar.
11:38It extends from Buffalo
11:41all the way over to Chicago.
11:44Blue-collar workers.
11:46Like Detroit,
11:48Cleveland, Baltimore,
11:50obviously Buffalo, Pittsburgh.
11:53Blue-collar cities called the Rust Belt.
11:58He worked in the factory all his life.
12:02I can remember that picture of Bradshaw
12:05and Willie Stargell
12:06with the hard hats on
12:07at Sports Illustrated
12:08and thinking,
12:10you know,
12:11that's the perfect background for me.
12:13I'm in a steel town.
12:15I'm close.
12:15I have a relationship
12:16with these people.
12:19They made this big,
12:20huge banner,
12:21and it was like 40 yards long.
12:23And it said,
12:24we love the Steelers,
12:25the Banaszak bunch.
12:27And they hung it up in the end zone.
12:29The Steelers got upset about it
12:31and said,
12:31the sign's too big.
12:32It takes away from all the other signs.
12:34We can't have that sign anymore.
12:36And they had to sneak the sign
12:38into the game.
12:39It was pretty cool
12:41having all those guys
12:42be fans of mine
12:44for the reason of being
12:45just a guy who
12:47was very similar to them.
12:54The odds are against us.
12:56Maybe things are going to
12:58line up against us
12:59at some point.
13:02Teams that win the Super Bowl
13:04are usually teams
13:05that have the fewest injuries.
13:08Injuries just haunted
13:09the 79 Steelers team.
13:12We started the season
13:14bit by the injury bug.
13:16I mean,
13:17take the last five years.
13:27What I was saying earlier,
13:30you play 12 playoff games.
13:33You play two,
13:34three playoff games a year.
13:36Sometimes four
13:38before it's been in five years.
13:40You're going to have injuries.
13:41You're going to have
13:43breakdowns.
13:45Happy to Roger Staubach.
13:48He got put out
13:49in the 74 season.
13:53That's what happens
13:54to the great teams.
13:55This season without
13:55Rocky Blyer
13:56and Linz won.
13:58I mean,
13:59it just down the line.
14:01They would end the season
14:02without safety Mike Wagner
14:04and number 59
14:05Pro Bowl linebacker
14:06Jack Hamm.
14:08One of the greatest things
14:09that we did in 1979
14:11has to do with the depth
14:13that we had.
14:14A tremendous amount
14:15was expected
14:16out of our backup.
14:20With Joe Green
14:21and L.C. Greenwood
14:22injured early in the year,
14:24reserve defensive linemen
14:25needed to step in
14:26and learn quickly
14:27from the veterans.
14:28I'm going to just drive.
14:29These weren't regular
14:31injuries.
14:33You didn't just,
14:34you didn't just
14:36stub your toe
14:37or something like that.
14:41people get an eyelash
14:42in their eye
14:43and they're out
14:44for a game
14:45now.
14:48You have to really
14:49be hurt
14:50in the 20th century
14:52to get out
14:55part of a football game.
15:00You got to get some
15:01depth straight over.
15:02Yeah,
15:03that's what I'm saying.
15:03All you need to do
15:04is get everybody.
15:05No, you need more
15:06than that because
15:07you're going to be
15:07so forth to field.
15:08It's always great
15:09that you got guys
15:10that you can count on.
15:12If they can't step in
15:14and pick up the slack
15:16when you're there,
15:16then I don't think
15:17they should be there.
15:18And that's what we had.
15:21They didn't have
15:21the same talents
15:22or abilities
15:24that we had,
15:25but they were players.
15:26Then they wanted to play
15:27and they got a chance
15:28to play
15:29and they cashed in.
15:31Number 67,
15:32Gary Dunn,
15:33became a regular starter
15:34and had three sacks
15:36in the Steelers'
15:36season-opening win
15:37over the Patriots.
15:41The following week
15:42against Houston,
15:43Number 65,
15:44Tom Beasley,
15:45led the team
15:45with 11 unassisted tackles.
15:49In the 38-7 win,
15:51John Banaszak
15:52had two sacks
15:53and his only
15:53career interception.
15:59Banaszak
16:00in the patchwork line
16:01helped the Steelers
16:02field the AFC's
16:03top-ranked defense.
16:05Banaszak
16:06became the team's
16:07most consistent lineman
16:08over the first half
16:09of the season
16:09and the only one
16:11to start every game
16:12in 1979.
16:14Over the second half
16:15of the year,
16:16he split time
16:17with veteran Dwight White,
16:19but he still produced
16:20the best season
16:21of his career.
16:23I knew I was playing
16:24in a situation
16:25where I wasn't...
16:27They call that
16:28a German suplex.
16:30I'm going to be
16:30the showcase
16:32defense lineman.
16:34Heck, I was playing
16:35with the greatest
16:35players that ever
16:36played a game.
16:38And all I wanted
16:39to do was to
16:41be able to play
16:42well enough
16:43to get the respect
16:43of my teammates.
16:46That was very
16:47important to me.
16:49When you put
16:50that helmet on
16:51and you buckled
16:52your chin strap,
16:53he had to leave
16:54it all on the field.
16:57And in 1979,
16:59I left it all
17:00on the field.
17:05Like many of his
17:06teammates,
17:07Banaszak fought
17:08through a variety
17:09of aches and pains
17:10to make it
17:10through the season.
17:12During the season,
17:13you're going to get
17:13banged and bruised
17:14and beat up.
17:16You're going to have
17:17a knee and ankle
17:18and elbow.
17:19Unless it's real bad,
17:21you've got to play
17:22through that pain.
17:23And a lot of us
17:25did.
17:26Sam Davis had a bad
17:28leg who was playing
17:29on and Corson,
17:31of course,
17:31didn't play at all.
17:32Mullins was in there
17:33with an injury.
17:34So was John Kolb
17:35with an injury.
17:37And then Sam got hurt.
17:39And we had Peterson
17:40in there who also
17:41had an injury
17:42with less than 100%.
17:43So our offensive line
17:45really, you know,
17:46really was hurting.
17:48When injuries limited
17:49Franco Harris early
17:50in the year,
17:51third year back
17:52Sidney Thornton
17:53helped carry the Steelers
17:54to a 5-1 start.
18:02But even Pittsburgh's
18:04backups needed backups.
18:06Thornton also went down
18:08later in the year.
18:09Sidney hurt his ankle
18:11and he tried to recover
18:13as quickly as possible.
18:15unbeknownst to everybody,
18:18Sidney...
18:19It was unfair.
18:22But it was fair.
18:24It was unfair
18:25for their backups,
18:27a third string running back
18:29to be that fast.
18:32Back then.
18:34For their backups
18:36to be that good.
18:39They went 12-4 this season.
18:42Any other team,
18:43they should have been
18:44six and ten.
18:46Sidney goes back home
18:47to Louisiana
18:48and he gets hooked up
18:51with this healer down there.
18:54I think her name was
18:55Miss Rudolph.
18:56Miss Rudolph.
18:59And he comes back
19:00and he's starting to carry
19:02this bucket around with him.
19:04She gave Sidney
19:05a concoction
19:06that was full of
19:07vile kind of stuff.
19:10And it was something like
19:12horse urine,
19:14rubbing alcohol,
19:15vinegar,
19:17some kind of pepperweed,
19:20seaweed.
19:23It smelled.
19:24Nobody would walk around him.
19:27I didn't get close enough
19:28to smell it.
19:28I heard what everybody said.
19:30I didn't have any particular
19:31desire to see that,
19:32so I didn't get close enough.
19:34Sidney truly believed
19:36that if he stuck his foot
19:37in his bucket
19:38three times a day,
19:40that he would get
19:41onto the field quicker.
19:44He probably would have been
19:46back two weeks earlier
19:46had he not done that.
19:50The Steelers may not have
19:52believed in magic potions,
19:54but they had a perfect chemistry.
19:56He ran up five yards
19:58of carry that season.
20:02Maybe Frank O'Hara
20:04should stick his foot in there
20:06and Rocky Blair
20:08should stick his foot in there.
20:11No member of the 1979 Steelers
20:14ever played for another NFL team
20:16before arriving in Pittsburgh.
20:19They are the last NFL team
20:21to win a championship
20:22with entirely homegrown talent.
20:25I think we had,
20:26for that period of time,
20:28a Steeler-type player.
20:30The question to be answered,
20:32though, is did we draft him
20:33or did we make him?
20:36I think we had the ability
20:38to draft good players
20:40and some fit right away.
20:44But I think the true measure
20:46of why we were successful
20:47is that we were able
20:48to mold those people
20:50to be what we needed them to be.
20:59Coming off of their Super Bowl,
21:01I think that put a little
21:03added pressure on us.
21:06In October,
21:07the Steelers were in first place,
21:08but the focus in Pittsburgh
21:10had shifted to the team
21:12with whom the Steelers shared
21:13Three Rivers Stadium.
21:15They were only two doors
21:16down the hall from us,
21:18so we would come in
21:19from practice
21:20in the baseball players' locker room.
21:23They had a lot of food,
21:24so we'd go down there
21:25and sit and watch Stargell
21:26and Doc Ellis
21:27and Candelaria and those guys.
21:30We were all pretty good friends.
21:32I can remember going out on the field
21:34and do some running,
21:35and the Pirates would be out there
21:37practicing for their game
21:38that evening
21:39and Chuck Tanner would pull us over
21:41and say,
21:41come here,
21:42try this drill
21:42and then we'd go shag fly balls.
21:45Swan wants to play
21:46on the baseball team
21:47during the summer.
21:48He wants to be a pinch runner
21:49or hitter.
21:50Bradshaw tells me
21:51he can really throw the ball hard
21:53and they root for each other
21:54and just to give an example,
21:56it was right before
21:57two games of the goal
21:58of the season
21:58and the Steelers
21:59were coming through the hall
22:01and Bradshaw came up
22:03and he says,
22:03hey coach,
22:04go get them.
22:04He says,
22:05you guys can do it.
22:06He said,
22:06we're all for you
22:07and it really makes you feel good
22:09to know that these guys
22:10are really wanting you
22:11to do a job too.
22:13I went to the World Series game
22:15the Friday night
22:15and the Orioles beat them
22:17in game three.
22:18On Saturday,
22:19we traveled to Cincinnati
22:21but everybody's listening
22:23to the World Series game
22:26and the Pirates lose on Saturday.
22:29So all we're talking about
22:30in the locker room
22:31before the game
22:32against Cincinnati
22:34is the Pirates are down
22:36three games to one.
22:38Can they come back?
22:39And we're debating
22:41back and forth
22:42as to whether or not
22:43that can happen
22:44five minutes before
22:45we go out on the field
22:47to play the Bengals.
22:49And we go out on the field
22:51in Cincinnati
22:52and commit nine turnovers.
22:55Against the 0-6 Bengals,
22:57the Steelers were stunned
22:5934-10.
23:05The loss dropped Pittsburgh
23:07to five and two
23:08and into a first place tie
23:10with the Houston Oilers.
23:12The first thing we think
23:13about getting back
23:14in the locker room
23:14was whether the Pirates won.
23:16Chuck Knoll gathered
23:17everybody together
23:18and he said
23:19if he didn't know better,
23:21he'd have thought
23:22that we were throwing
23:23that football game.
23:23Chuck Knoll raised his voice.
23:26You know,
23:26it was just the tone of voice.
23:30You know,
23:30it was when you saw
23:32that he no longer had lips,
23:35his mouth was so tight
23:36that you knew
23:37he was really upset with you.
23:41It was almost like
23:42you did something wrong
23:43when you were a young kid.
23:45The worst thing you could do
23:46was disappoint your parents.
23:48the worst thing we could do
23:50as a football
23:53is to disappoint Chuck Knoll.
23:57Head coach Chuck Knoll
23:58saw a disappointing trend
23:59all season.
24:06Though the Steelers
24:07finished the year
24:08with the NFL's
24:09top-ranked offense,
24:10they also committed
24:11a league-high 52 turnovers.
24:15I don't know
24:16that we ever got
24:17to a point
24:18where we said,
24:18okay, this...
24:19Know how much
24:2152 turnovers is.
24:25That's
24:26three
24:27and a quarter
24:28a game.
24:30This is why this is happening.
24:32We know now
24:33why it's happening
24:33and we can make the correction.
24:35I don't think that we,
24:37you know,
24:38made the correction.
24:39I mean,
24:39through the Super Bowl
24:40we didn't make the correction.
24:42You know,
24:42after a while
24:43it was almost expected
24:44that, you know,
24:45Bradshaw was going to throw
24:4627 touchdown passes
24:47but he was going to throw
24:4825 interceptions too.
24:50And that was okay with us.
24:53The Steelers usually
24:54could overcome
24:55their quarterback's
24:56inconsistency.
25:02But when Terry Bradshaw
25:04threw five interceptions
25:05in San Diego,
25:07the Steelers were blown out
25:0835 to 7.
25:11That's pretty embarrassing.
25:12You know,
25:13they just annihilated us out there.
25:15We were,
25:15we were stunned
25:17because they had beat us
25:19before we knew
25:20what was going on.
25:21The Steelers never dropped
25:23out of first place
25:24but Chuck Knoll's team
25:25appeared vulnerable
25:26and there were questions
25:28as to whether
25:29the Steelers could join
25:30their neighbor Pirates
25:31as champions.
25:41After Super Bowl XIII,
25:44you know,
25:44there was still some talk
25:46from the Dallas headquarters
25:48that they were cheated
25:50out of that game.
25:51They were the Dallas cryboys.
25:53They were America's team
25:55but in Pittsburgh
25:56they were the Dallas cryboys.
25:59They still cannot accept
26:01the fact
26:02that they got beaten
26:03Super Bowl XIII.
26:05Well, it's over.
26:07Let's make this
26:07perfectly clear.
26:08You got beaten
26:09Super Bowl XIII
26:11and if you think
26:12you had any chance
26:13to beat us
26:13the following year,
26:14we put that to bed.
26:17In week 9 of 1979,
26:20the Cowboys looked to avenge
26:21their Super Bowl loss.
26:23They were talking
26:24a whole bunch of trash
26:26about what they were
26:26going to do
26:27and all that
26:28and they were coming
26:29into Pittsburgh.
26:30Bad mistake.
26:39The Steelers always enjoyed
26:41proving that brute force
26:42could beat Dallas finesse.
26:46Elsie Greenwood
26:47laid a lick
26:48on Roger Staubach
26:49that I could still hear
26:51inside of my ears.
26:54And Roger just slumped over
26:56and was out of it
26:57with a serious concussion
26:59that took him out
27:00of the ball game.
27:02Cowback really took a shot.
27:03Elsie Greenwood
27:04is the man who hit him,
27:05I believe.
27:07I'm going to blame Roger
27:09for that because
27:09I thought he was going down.
27:11I'm coming from the other side
27:12and I'm flying.
27:14And I said,
27:15Roger, get down.
27:16I'm saying that to myself.
27:18Get down.
27:19And as soon as he broke out,
27:20I just ran right through him.
27:24We didn't go out there
27:26with the intention
27:26of trying to hurt anybody.
27:29But, you know,
27:30it's just,
27:30you know how football is.
27:31Heck, if, uh...
27:32Roger, Roger Staubach
27:34would, like,
27:35hold the ball, like,
27:36forever, it seemed.
27:39Forever.
27:42If he couldn't find anybody.
27:45And he got hit a lot.
27:49He got laid out a lot.
27:52If your mother is on another team
27:54and she's coming out to play
27:56and you got to, uh,
27:58you got to play against her,
27:59then you're going to hit mama
28:00and try to,
28:02and try to win the football game.
28:05It was Staubach's last game
28:06against the Steelers.
28:08The quarterback retired
28:09following the season.
28:11The next year,
28:12I was down in Dallas
28:14and I'm in the end zone
28:15loosening up,
28:16so I hear this voice
28:18in the background,
28:19Elsie,
28:20my kids hate you.
28:22I look around,
28:24it's Roger.
28:25And he says,
28:26Elsie,
28:26my kids hate you.
28:28I said, why?
28:29Because their dad
28:30is not playing anymore.
28:31Well, Roger's
28:33almost 50 years old now.
28:34You know,
28:35it's time to...
28:36It's time to hang it up.
28:38You know?
28:39Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
28:46Elsie Greenwood
28:47may have forced
28:48more than a few
28:48quarterbacks
28:49into retirement.
28:52During the 70s,
28:53he was one of the most
28:54feared pass rushers
28:55in the game.
28:57Yet,
28:57when his career began,
28:59the former
29:0010th round draft pick
29:01was often overshadowed
29:02by teammate Joe Green.
29:04During the game,
29:06the PA announcer
29:07would call out
29:09the first on the tackle.
29:12Joe Green on the tackle.
29:15Well,
29:16I've gotten up,
29:17I was getting up
29:18off from the tackle
29:19and I look around
29:20and Joe wasn't there.
29:23Behind him.
29:24An injury to his ankle
29:25helped Greenwood
29:26finally get noticed
29:27on the field.
29:29The doctor suggested
29:30I wear high top shoes
29:32and at that time,
29:33there were no high top shoes
29:35in the league
29:35so they went around
29:36and they got these
29:37old black high top shoes
29:39and I talked to the trainer
29:40into changing the color
29:42of the shoes
29:43and he wanted to paint them
29:44white and I says,
29:45no,
29:45I don't want white shoes
29:47because Joe Namath
29:47wear white shoes.
29:49He said,
29:49well,
29:49let's leave them black,
29:50ugly black shoes.
29:51No,
29:51I don't want them black.
29:52So he says,
29:54why don't I paint them gold?
29:55So,
29:56just kidding,
29:56I said,
29:57yeah.
30:00And I thought
30:00they was the ugliest thing
30:01and I said,
30:02wow,
30:04I can't wear these.
30:07The gold shoes grew on him
30:08and for the rest
30:09of his career,
30:10Greenwood stuck out
30:11in the crowd.
30:13I would make the tackle
30:14and I'd roll over
30:15where my feet was in the air
30:16so that the PA announced
30:18and knew that it was
30:19Elsie Greenwood
30:19on the tackle
30:20and not Joe Green.
30:25And I noticed
30:26at that point,
30:27that's when they realized
30:28that I was on the football field.
30:32There was Elsie Greenwood
30:33on the tackle.
30:35And that's how
30:36you get yourself
30:37some credit.
30:38I mean,
30:40with these documentaries,
30:42everything
30:42the guys
30:44on here say
30:45is backed up
30:46by film
30:46if it's on film.
30:50Seriously.
30:53He made
30:54gold shoes
30:55look pretty good
30:56out there.
30:58After he retired,
31:00he had gold
31:00golf shoes,
31:01he's got gold
31:02dance shoes,
31:03he has gold
31:04everything.
31:05And he makes it work.
31:06There's not too many people
31:08that can say that
31:09fashion-wise,
31:10Elsie makes it work.
31:17Even in the disco
31:18crazed 70s,
31:20Greenwood's flair
31:21for fashion
31:22was hard to top.
31:25But the outfit
31:27he always looked
31:27most impressive in
31:28was his number 68 jersey.
31:30and in 1979,
31:32his ability to rush
31:33the passer
31:34never went out of style.
31:36In week 13
31:37against the Browns,
31:39Greenwood reported
31:40four and a half sacks,
31:41all in the fourth quarter
31:43in overtime.
31:44They couldn't block him.
31:46It was incredible.
31:47That was the finest
31:49performance
31:50that I've ever seen
31:51a defensive lineman have
31:53in 15 minutes
31:54of football.
31:56Greenwood's
31:57extraordinary effort
31:58helped Pittsburgh erase
31:59a 10-point fourth-quarter
32:00deficit.
32:03The overtime win
32:04raised the Steelers'
32:05record to 10-3
32:06and kept them
32:08in a first-place tie
32:09in the AFC Central.
32:11The snap,
32:11the ball is down.
32:12Barr kicks it.
32:13Long enough,
32:14high enough.
32:15It is good!
32:16It is good!
32:17The ball game is over.
32:20It's sudden death.
32:26There you go.
32:29The public's perception
32:30of who the receiver
32:31was with the Pittsburgh
32:32Steelers
32:33was always Swan.
32:34I've gotten the question,
32:35oh, you played with Swan?
32:37And I always wanted to respond,
32:38no, Swan played with me.
32:40I felt that I was
32:41always competing
32:42with that.
32:43And that was a
32:44motivating factor for me,
32:45to make sure that
32:46people understood
32:47that I was as good
32:48or better.
32:49I do remember a game
32:51what I called
32:51one pass
32:52during the course
32:53of the game
32:53and came into
32:54the locker room
32:55and the next day
32:56Chuck comes in
32:57and he said,
32:57well, John,
32:58we won the football game.
32:59How do you feel?
33:00And my words to him
33:01was Chuck,
33:02I told him
33:02I was pretty pissed off.
33:04And he says,
33:05why?
33:05I said,
33:05well,
33:05I only caught one pass.
33:07And he said,
33:08but, John,
33:08we won the football game.
33:09Which would you rather have
33:11winning the football game
33:12or catching a lot of passes?
33:13And my response was Chuck,
33:15I'd like to think
33:16we can do both.
33:19It's a joke.
33:22Swan was considered
33:23better than Stallworth.
33:25Better in what category?
33:27Nobody can ever answer
33:29the question
33:29if it's brought up.
33:3279,
33:33John Stallworth
33:34finally became
33:34the centerpiece
33:35of Pittsburgh's
33:36passing attack.
33:40With Swan bothered
33:41by injuries,
33:42Stallworth took over
33:43as the Steelers'
33:44number one target.
33:50His 70 catches were,
33:52at the time,
33:53a franchise record.
33:54And his teammates
33:55voted him the Steelers'
33:57most valuable player.
33:58He's breaking down
33:59field to 20,
34:00the 10,
34:01the 5,
34:0275-yard strike
34:03to Johnny Stallworth.
34:05Going through
34:06so many years
34:07of asking questions
34:08about who's the best,
34:11I think for me
34:12to have those guys
34:13and vote me the MVP
34:14was a confirmation
34:16that, yeah,
34:17they thought I was good
34:18at what I did.
34:19It just gave me
34:20a great deal of confidence
34:21that they had
34:21some faith in me.
34:23Stallworth helped
34:24the Steelers finish
34:2512-4
34:25and win their
34:26sixth straight
34:27division championship.
34:31In Pittsburgh,
34:32playoff time
34:33had become
34:33a holiday tradition.
34:35Deck three rivers
34:36with opponents
34:37rivers
34:37fa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.
34:40But if it's Miami,
34:41they'll cry for their mammy!
34:42fa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.
34:45Give us greasy
34:46deck him easy!
34:47fa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.
34:54In their opening
34:55playoff game
34:56against Miami,
34:57Stallworth
34:58and the Steelers
34:58jumped to a
34:5920-0
35:00first-quarter lead
35:01and rolled
35:02to an
35:02easy win.
35:13The victory set up an AFC Championship rematch
35:16against division rival Houston.
35:21Bradshaw with plenty of time
35:22lets it go down the middle there.
35:24And Storrs for the touchdown.
35:27Listen to this crowd.
35:28Look at those terrible guys playing you bitchin'.
35:34Try a whole world?
35:36Hey, the Pittsburgh Pirates, Willie Stargell,
35:39he came in disguise as a Houston Oiler fan.
35:42You know where his heart is, right here in the Steel City.
35:45Well, I've known it as the city of champions.
35:48The champions held a 17-10 lead.
35:58Late in the third quarter,
36:00Houston appeared to tie the game.
36:03And here's the quick shot as they throw it out to the far side.
36:06And it is cut out of bounds.
36:08I think he had two feet in.
36:10I've got to say what I'm seeing.
36:11And he scored a touchdown on that.
36:14I don't see two feet in.
36:15Renfro is upset.
36:17Nobody is called to play.
36:19It's a touchdown.
36:20It's in.
36:21It was in.
36:24It was in.
36:32I don't see the ball.
36:32He does.
36:33It is a touchdown.
36:34It is a touchdown.
36:35No question about it.
36:36The officials do not have the luxury that we enjoy of seeing that instant replay.
36:41The man on the spot didn't see it, so he couldn't call it.
36:44And now, the Oilers are denied a touchdown.
36:53The Oilers settled for a field goal and trailed 17-13.
36:58You know, looking back on it, it appeared to me also that he was in.
37:03Yeah, just from the standpoint of, did he get both feet down?
37:06And I think he did.
37:09So what?
37:10If he catches the ball, he just ties up the game.
37:13But then we go down and score a couple times after that.
37:18Against the Blyer.
37:19Blyer should.
37:19But see, this is the stupidity of the refs.
37:24Even the other team knew he scored.
37:27Everybody knew he scored except the refs.
37:30Except the people responsible for deciding whether to rule the touchdown or not.
37:43The Steelers were headed to their fourth Super Bowl in six years.
37:54For many outside Pittsburgh, however,
37:56this championship would be best remembered for its most controversial play.
38:01It didn't matter to us whether or not he caught or didn't catch the football.
38:06There was no way that, even if they would have called that a touchdown,
38:11that he'll ever convince me that we would have lost that game.
38:16Dennis is a better Steelers team in a year before.
38:20Yeah.
38:21Well, let's put it this way.
38:23They're no slouch.
38:24They're as good as they've ever been.
38:26And they'll win the Super Bowl.
38:32After the Pirates had won the World Series,
38:36the City of Champions was on the verge of another title.
38:41The Steelers entered Super Bowl XIV as heavy favorites over the Los Angeles Rams.
38:47But in 1979, nothing had come easy for Pittsburgh.
38:51And nothing would change this day.
39:01Terry Bradshaw threw three interceptions in the game.
39:04I can remember seeing Chuck Knoll smiling as he was running off the field.
39:15It gave me a feeling of confidence that we're behind 13 to 10,
39:20but there's our head coach running off the field smiling like,
39:25hey, fellas, we got them right where we want them.
39:30What Knoll and the Steelers didn't want was an injury to one of their star receivers.
39:38Early in the second half, Lynn Swan left the game for good.
39:42The Steelers now had to rely more heavily on John Stallworth.
39:47Trailing by two in the fourth quarter,
39:49the Steelers faced a critical third and eight and called Stallworth's number.
39:54It was 60 prevent, slot, hook, and go.
39:58During the course of the week, we hadn't completed that pass.
40:02For whatever reason, it hadn't worked in practice.
40:08I didn't hear the play and think, oh, yeah, this is it.
40:11This is the one.
40:20Bradshaw calls out the signals.
40:22Remember, Pittsburgh, the most dangerous fourth quarter team in the NFL.
40:26And Bradshaw dropping back.
40:28It was a perfect pass, drops it over, and the guy, like, dives out.
40:36Stallworth, touchdown.
40:38Bradshaw pumping, firing downfield.
40:39There goes Stallworth.
40:41He pulls it in at the 30, the 20, the 10, the 5,
40:45and it's a touchdown from Pittsburgh.
40:47On the ball to Stallworth.
40:50My initial read on the ball, my initial thoughts, and this is exactly what I thought, and I said, damn
40:56it, Bradshaw, you've overthrown me.
40:59And really turned away from the ball and just started to run.
41:05Swan lost for the ball game, but you've still got to join Stallworth to come through and make the nifty
41:10catch and go all the way.
41:15On the Steelers' next possession, Stallworth came through again.
41:19And Bradshaw has to fly down the middle.
41:21There goes Stallworth again.
41:24And he has it.
41:25Does he hold it?
41:26He does.
41:27Score.
41:28Beats the coverage again and takes it.
41:31Same exact route that we had before.
41:33I don't even know who 49 was, but he got killed.
41:38And I said, Bradshaw, you've underthrown me.
41:40I'm more open this time than I was last time.
41:44Had Terry thrown it out further, I think I would score it again.
41:50They went straight down the middle on the ball.
41:53And Johnny Stallworth on the receiving end.
42:08Stallworth's incredible catch set up the touchdown that put the game away.
42:12Harris slashes off on a strike for a touchdown.
42:15Franco Harris slashing off on a strike for a Steeler touchdown.
42:20And Bradshaw comes to the sideline with his arms up in the air.
42:24Hucked by John Banozak.
42:25The Pittsburgh Steelers are the champions of the National Football League for the fourth time.
42:33The Steelers had made history.
42:35And their quiet receiver had saved the day.
42:38Just like the heroes he used to read about.
42:43Come up with a big play.
42:44The pressure's on.
42:46And yes, I was able to come up with that.
42:48And I see myself in those books coming through in the air.
43:00It was kind of unbelievable that we stand on top for the fourth time.
43:10Guys go through their career and most never stand there.
43:14Some stand for one.
43:17If you're very fortunate, you stand for two.
43:21But here we are.
43:22And we stand on top for four years.
43:25How is Lynn Swan, his condition after he left the game?
43:28Lynn got a bump on the head.
43:29It was kind of dizzy initially.
43:31And Doxler felt he shouldn't go back in the game.
43:33Luckily enough, we didn't need him in there.
43:35Did you know that the pressure then was on you?
43:38You were going to have to carry the load?
43:40I felt like it was going to be on me.
43:42It was no different than the beginning of the season when Lynn was hurt initially.
43:45And we played about four or five games without him.
43:48And I started catching a few more passes.
43:50It's nothing I hadn't done all year.
43:52And I was up to the task today.
43:53Take some time off now.
43:56Press the wheels.
43:57Oh, I can't wait.
43:58I can't wait.
43:59I'll be going to party tonight.
44:03I know for you, the big thrill was being able to deliver to the city of champions,
44:09your beloved Pittsburgh, this trophy.
44:18In Pittsburgh, yet another season ended with a victory celebration.
44:26No one's changed a bit in 25 years.
44:29It's amazing.
44:30Look at them.
44:31Same as they were.
44:37I can look back.
44:39It's fun reminiscing when I'm around people like this.
44:42You know, you all won four Super Bowls.
44:44Yep.
44:45You all the first one won it for you.
44:47Yep.
44:47That's great.
44:50L.C. Greenwood played until 1981 and left the game as the Steelers' all-time leader in
44:56sacks.
44:57After 1979, John Stallworth played eight more seasons in Pittsburgh.
45:09He retired as the Steelers' all-time leading receiver, finishing with over 200 more catches
45:14than fellow Hall of Famer, Len Swan.
45:20Unlike his more celebrated teammates, John Banaszczak never set records and never was all-prone.
45:27Yet he may have best exemplified the spirit of the 1979 Steelers.
45:36This was a team that relied on blue-collar players as much as black and gold legends, and each
45:43could be equally proud to be part of one of pro football's greatest dynasties.
45:51After your career is over with, and you look back and you see all of the great football
45:58players that never played in a Super Bowl game, and you look at all the great players that
46:03never won a Super Bowl game, and for me to be part of three of them is something that
46:09certainly I'll always remember, and I will always be part of history.
46:13I will always be part of the game in the National Football League, and for my grandchildren to
46:19see, and that's something that is pretty special.
46:28And your great-grandchildren.
Comments