Steelers' Captain Made A Big Mistake In 1982 With Obscene Gesture To Mike Webster And Ended Up Flat On His Back On The PA Turnpike

The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s were an eclectic group of men who came together under the leadership of the Rooney family and Chuck Noll. The cast of characters who littered the roster became a tight-knit family that gave rise to the greatest six-year run in NFL history. The Steelers won four Super Bowls from 1974-1979 and if not for virtually every skill position on offense getting injured in 1976, it might have been five.

The Steelers drafted Gary Dunn in 1976 in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. Dunn was a defensive lineman from the University of Miami before the days of Howard Schnellenberger. He played with the Steelers for 11 seasons, won two Super Bowls and was a defensive captain for four seasons. Dunn was a starting defensive tackle in Super Bowl XIV and was one of the Steelers who played during the dynasty years and then into the late 1980s when Steelers football sank to its lowest point since the merger.

In 1982, the Steelers were transitioning away from the 4-3 Steel Curtain defensive line to a 3-4 defense and Dunn was asked to move into the nose tackle role. He had played five seasons as a defensive tackle and was coming off his best year as a pro with 8 sacks in 1981. Dunn was probably a better fit as a 3-4 end, but in 1982 you played where you were told to play and if Noll thought you could do it, there was no question you were going to get it done or die trying for the legendary coach.

The transition wasn’t easy, but Dunn had cultivated friendships with many of the offensive linemen and was a popular teammate. The Steelers veteran asked his friend and All-Pro Mike Webster, who was in his ninth season as the Pittsburgh center if he could give him a little help during a Saturday scrimmage to make him look good for the coaches.

According to the book Tales from The Pittsburgh Steelers Sideline by Dale Grdnic, Dunn recalls the incident in vivid detail and was hoping that Webster would do him a solid as he learned a new position.

“I went up against Webby every day,” Dunn said. “In the four-three, I was lined up on the guards but when we changed, I went up against Webby. Everybody knows that he was one of the best centers in the league. I said to Webby, 'you’re an All-Pro, how about taking it easy on me?' I was friends with him and thought I could ask him that, he said 'I’ll take it easy today.' I was so glad to hear it.”

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Webster had started every game at center for the Steelers since taking over for Ray Mansfield in 1976 and would not miss a game until 1986. He played 150 consecutive games and was a member of all four Super Bowl teams in the 1970s. Webster is on both the 1970s and 1980s All-Decade teams and played more seasons as a Pittsburgh Steeler than anyone not named Ben Roethlisberger.

Webster had a well-earned reputation for having a high motor and in retrospect, Dunn probably should have suspected the easy answer to concede.

“On the very first play, Webby drove me back to our linebackers and threw me on Jack Lambert’s feet,” Dunn recalled. “Lambert told me ‘Hey, Dunn, if you can’t play the position, get off the field.’ Webby pushed me all over the field so I was dejected when I left that day. I got in my car and drove back to Pittsburgh. I was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, here comes Webby driving past me and he waves.”

Webster was a very popular figure in Pittsburgh and with his teammates. He was known for giving his all both personally and professionally and few players have ever been as beloved as Webster. There wasn’t a malicious bone in his body but there wasn’t any quit either and it was Dunn’s fault for believing he would get anything less than Webster’s best effort as a friend.

“I shot him a bird, and he pulled me over,” Dunn continued. “He asked me ‘What’s wrong? I told him that he made me look silly. I was terrible, they are going to cut me.”

“No, you did good,” Webster replied.

“He had a cooler,” Dunn concluded. “He pulled out a couple of beers from there and gave one to me and we sat there and talked about practice. Then he got up and showed me what I was doing wrong with my hands. Before you know it, we are doing drills on the side of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.”

“Come on Dunny,” Webster smiled. “Push me back to my truck. (After Dunn did) That was great! Let’s go again.”

“We lined up and fired off,” Dunn remembers. “He picked me up and drove me over the guard rail and then waved goodbye and said, ‘Have a nice day’. That was Webster, he was something else.”

The idea of two veteran NFL players stopping along a highway in 2023 and sitting down to have a beer and then running full-contact drills is almost unthinkable. The year 1982 is a distant memory and it was a different era. Free agency was still a decade away and players had to fight tooth and nail to stay in the league. The team that drafted you was your family and if your brother needed help, even tough love, you gave it to him.

The NFL has always been and always will be a brotherhood, but the current iteration of billion-dollar television deals and players who are set for life after signing a rookie contract is different. The modern NFL can be related more to a country club that players like Dunn and Webster would not recognize or want to belong to.

What do you think Steeler Nation? Are you surprised that two NFL players turned a stretch of highway into a practice field on the way home? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.