Steelers Legendary Tough Guy Jack Lambert Ran Screaming In Sheer Terror During Training Camp Prank

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been holding training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA since 1966. That is an eternity in the NFL and while the location remains the same, it bears very little resemblance to the two-a-day practices that Chuck Noll put his players through every summer. Cellphones and social media were not available to Noll’s players for entertainment. They had to look at each other or more specifically prey on each other with outrageous pranks to break the monotony.

Pittsburgh's star players were not immune from being the victims of training camp shenanigans in the days of yesteryear. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the pay gaps between stars and the other players on the roster were not as pronounced as they were today. It is hard to imagine a player making the veteran minimum pranking a star player in the modern NFL who might make 20 to 50 times more than them in salary.

Tom Beasley was drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 1977 NFL Draft from the Virginia Tech Hokies. He played for the Steelers until 1983 and then spent three years playing for what are now the Washington Commanders. He started a carer high 14 games for the 1983 Steelers and earned two championship rings. He played 79 games while wearing black and gold and started 44. He wasn’t a star, but he was a very good friend of one of the most iconic Steelers of all time, Jack Lambert.

Tunch Ilkin recalled a story of a training camp prank by Beasley that drove Lambert to the brink in his book, In The Locker Room. Ilkin, who was an offensive lineman and a long-time broadcaster for the Steelers, described the defensive lineman's scheme to put one over on his good friend and quite possibly the most feared man in the history of the NFL.

“Tom Beasley and Lambert were real good buddies,” Ilkin begins. “They always pranked each other. Tom came up with the best gag pulled on anyone in all my years of training camp. Tom had a buddy come to camp and he brought a rattlesnake with him in this box.”

It is doubtful that the wine and cheese brigade at the NFL offices would approve of a garden snake, never mind a rattlesnake in today’s safety-conscious environment.  This was a radically different time in NFL locker rooms so no one batted an eye.

“We went to practice, and Tom’s buddy left,” Ilkin continued. "Before he did, he put the rattlesnake in a different box. He took the box everyone saw and gave the snake to Tom after everyone left. That night everybody went out to meetings and Tom put that open box in Jack’s room. Mike Webster also took a giant black rubber snake and put it under Jack’s pillow. Jack the recluse that he was, stayed on the third floor by himself.”

Steelers Legends Mike Webster And Jack Lambert's Oklahoma Drill Matchups Spawned Rivalry

Mike Webster and Lambert had their own training camp rivalry that revolved around the infamous Oklahoma drills in the 1970s. The rivalry started in 1974 when they were both part of the greatest draft class in NFL history. Lambert accused Webster and every other offensive lineman of holding him during the drill. Webster’s assistance was vital to Beasley’s plan of pranking Lambert. The legendary center was all too eager to oblige.

“Jack came running out around 10:45 screaming, 'ATTEMPTED MURDER, BEASLEY, YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL,'" Ilkin described. “Chuck heard it, and he came up to the third floor. Jack went nuts again. He was yelling ‘YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL, BEAS. I’M GOING TO FILE A COMPLAINT!’

“Relax Jack, what’s wrong,” Noll asked.

“BEASLEY’S TRYING TO KILL ME,” Lambert yelled. “THERE’S A RATTLESNAKE IN MY ROOM!”

The idea of the man dubbed The Emperor by Myron Cope, trying to calm down his enraged middle linebacker sounds more like a scene out of a football movie comedy than an actual NFL training camp. The sheer audacity of Beasley to pull the prank and not bail out while Lambert was screaming for the police was the level of commitment that helped bring Lombardi Trophies to Pittsburgh.

“How do you know there is a rattlesnake in your room,” Noll asked as he entered.

“Because this afternoon there was a rattlesnake in that box,” Lambert retorted. “Now that box is empty in my room.”

“Noll backed out of the room,” Ilkin wrote. “Beasley said as Lambert cooled down, ‘Oh come on. You know it’s just a gag.'”

The All-Pro leader of the Steelers’ defense finally relaxed enough that the players and coaches all headed back to the first and second floors to turn in. Webster’s contribution to the prank was still hiding under Lambert’s pillow when Lambert turned in.

“Lambert got into bed,” Ilkin concluded. “He put his hands under his pillow and found the rubber snake. Then he started screaming and everybody else started cracking up.”

If you had the privilege of watching the 1970s Steelers teams and particularly the snarling ball of intimidation that was Lambert, it is hard to picture him squealing and screaming about a snake. Pittsburgh opponents who played against him would probably bet on him biting the snake not running from it. Lambert was the face of the defense for a reason and until Greg Lloyd came along, he was easily the scariest man to wear the black and gold.

Beasley and Webster’s decision to pick on Lambert and then maintain their composure while he panicked and then contain their laughter as the stoic Noll tried to calm him down and then slowly escape the room is Academy award-worthy acting. It is also the kind of thing that just wouldn’t happen in 2023. If it did, it would probably result in a six-game suspension. More’s the pity.

What do you think Steeler Nation? Are you shocked someone had the guts to prank Lambert? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.

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