The Pittsburgh Steelers are the most storied franchise in NFL history. Their greatness goes all the way back to the 1970s with the Steel Curtain defense and was continued by the success of players like Jerome Bettis and Ben Roethlisberger in more modern times. They almost always have a good team. 18 Steelers are enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and many more will join them.
This list was created by measuring each player’s Approximate Value, a Pro Football Reference statistic that’s used to “put a single number on the seasonal value of a player at any position from any year,” according to their website.
Who made the cut for the greatest Steelers of all time? Let’s find out below.
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Arguably the greatest center of all time, Webster was the anchor of the Steelers’ offensive line in the 1970s and ’80s. Iron Mike went to nine Pro Bowls, won four Super Bowls, and was enshrined into the Hall of Fame. He was a beloved Pittsburgh athlete whose toughness was a perfect representation of the blue-collar city.
Webster died of a heart attack at 50 years old. His brain was examined by Dr. Bennet Omalu, who discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and changed football forever. This story is told in the movie “Concussion” starring Will Smith.
Ham was a Pennsylvania guy–born and raised. He played high school in Pennsylvania, played college ball at Penn State and played his entire career with the Steelers. Ham was the brains of the Steel Curtain defense while Jack Lambert and Joe Greene were the brawn. His football IQ was through the roof. He was in the running for Defensive Player of the Year every season. Ham won four Super Bowls with the Steelers.
Today, Terry Bradshaw is a Steelers legend. It wasn’t always that way. He had to go through the ropes to succeed in the NFL. He was criticized early in his career for committing turnovers and for a perceived lack of intelligence because of his Southern background.
Eventually, Bradshaw overcame the adversity and led the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories. His best season came in 1978 when he won MVP and the Super Bowl. Bradshaw was enshrined into the Hall of Fame.
Lambert is the scariest-looking player in NFL history. He won his matchup before the ball was snapped, thanks to his intimidating aura. The fact that he was oddly tall and lanky for a middle linebacker (6-foot-4, 220) made him a quarterback’s worst nightmare. This is the last guy you’d want to get hit by. He was the heart and soul of the Steelers dynasty. He was the best linebackers of his era. Lambert lives a private life away from the media since retiring in the 1980s.
Harris caught The Immaculate Reception. The play was the birth of a dynasty. The bruising fullback was the Steelers leading rusher in the ’70s. He won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1972 and went to nine Pro Bowls. At one point, Harris was so dominant that he ran for 1,000 yards or more in six seasons in a row. The workhorse back carried the Steelers offense to four Super Bowl victories.
Blount was so good they had to change the rules to keep up with him. The Mel Blount Rule was put in place in 1978. It stated that you couldn’t make contact with a wide receiver before five yards downfield. It changed football forever and ushered in the passing era. As the seasons went by after the rule, the West Coast offense started to take over. Despite the rule change aimed at stopping Blount, his stats remained the same. Imagine being so dominant at a sport that they change the rules to stop you.
Dawson had big shoes to fill. He replaced Mike Webster as the Steelers starting center. He helped establish the tradition of great centers in Pittsburgh. It’s still going strong today. While he was undersized for a lineman (6-foot-2, 288), he made the Hall of Fame in spite of this. The guy was basically a brick wall in the 1990s. Yes, Dawson never won a Super Bowl, but they made it there in 1995, thanks to his world-class blocking.
