The Pittsburgh Steelers and winning go hand in hand in 2023. Since the AFL-NFL merger, the Steelers have only had nine losing seasons in 52 tries. Pittsburgh has only had one losing season this century and they have not played a regular season game mathematically eliminated from the playoffs in a decade. It took Art Rooney a long time to get the right formula but since the Immaculate Reception, there is no denying that the Steelers are the gold standard of how a franchise should be run.
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Steelers Franco Harris in Super Bowl IX
The Steelers won their first Super Bowl after the 1974-75 season against the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in a game dominated by the defense and Franco Harris. Terry Bradshaw was still fighting for his life as the Steelers starting quarterback, but after getting his job back from Joe Gilliam he helped ice the game with a clutch touchdown pass to Larry Brown who was still a tight end at the time in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers would go on to win four Super Bowls in six seasons, but it almost did not happen. The World Football League was formed in 1974 and they were hoping to use the AFL as a blueprint for success by challenging the NFL directly. Gary Davidson, who was a key figure in the formation of the ABA and WHA who successfully merged into the NBA and NHL, was hoping to challenge the NFL and started signing pro football stars to big contracts.
Post Gazette Archives
Steelers LC Greenwood
In 1974 the NFL was on the verge of serious labor strife. Players were upset with what they were getting paid and a short labor stoppage before the season was staged. The WFL stepped in and offered large contracts to Ken Stabler, Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka and the Steelers’ star defensive end LC Greenwood.
Greenwood signed a contract with the Birmingham Americans in June of 1974 and was due to leave after what would be Pittsburgh’s first Super Bowl Championship season. Steelers RB John “Frenchy” Fuqua and WR Dave Williams also signed WFL contracts. Andy Russell, who was making more from his real estate business than his football salary was not surprised by the move.
“We are going to miss him, but at least LC will be here for the 1974 season,” Russell told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “I am certain he will go all out for the Steelers. He has a lot of pride, and he will help the club in his last season.”
Matt Freed Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Steelers Royalty Joe Greene, Andy Russell, Lynn Swann and Mel Blount
The Steelers’ defensive end was a quarter of the now-established Steel Curtain defense and was the best pass rusher in the group. Greenwood was more than just a piece of the group, his yellow shoes earned him the nickname “Hollywood Bags” and he kept the group loose. Dan Rooney, who was trying to negotiate a new contract, was well aware of Greenwood’s value.
“I was extremely sorry to hear that LC is leaving us,” Rooney was quoted. “He is a fine young man, as well as a great football player. He was good for team morale, very witty, and easy to get along with at all times.”
The former HBCU star was drafted in 1969 in the same NFL draft as Joe Greene. The pair formed half of the Steelers defensive line that terrorized the NFL and in 1974-75 they were just reaching the pinnacle of their powers. Greenwood was a money player in Super Bowls, and he batted down two of the elusive Fran Tarkenton’s passes during Super Bowl IX that helped key the victory.
The fledgling WFL signed 60 players to future contracts and the biggest stars were signed to personal service contracts that guaranteed payment whether the league survived or not. Most of the contracts guaranteed players would arrive after the 1974 NFL season, but the fledgling league folded halfway through the 1975 season. The WFL struggled towards the end of the 1974 season, so Greenwood elected to remain in Pittsburgh and never played a down in Birmingham.
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Steelers LC Greenwood sacks Roger Staubach
The history of the Steelers might be very different if he had taken his talent to Birmingham and the WFL. Greenwood was in the midst of four consecutive Pro Bowl selections and two consecutive first-team All-Pro selections. His performance in Super Bowl X might be the greatest individual defensive performance in Super Bowl history. He sacked the Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach four times and arguably should have been the MVP of the game.
Steelers LC Greenwood Deserves Passionate Advocate For The NFL Hall Of Fame
Unofficially, he is credited with 78 career sacks for the Steelers. That would have been the All-Time Steelers record that James Harrison and Cam Heyward have since eclipsed. Greenwood was at his best in the playoffs with 12.5 sacks in the postseason. He posted five sacks in four Super Bowls, ironically all on Staubach in Super Bowls X and XIII. He was a member of the 1970s All-Decade team and a Hall of Fame finalist six times.
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Steelers LC Greenwood's famous yellow shoes
The NFL holds grudges and Greenwood’s exclusion is nonsensical at this point. Stabler despite Hall of Fame credentials had to wait until after his death in 2016 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after being a finalist three times. Greenwood passed in 2013 and it has been nearly half a century since he defied the NFL and signed a contract with the WFL. It has been long enough; the NFL should do the right thing and give the man with the yellow shoes a golden home in Canton.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Is the NFL still punishing Greenwood for signing the WFL contract so many years ago? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
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