In the 11th round of the 1980 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Frank Pollard out of Baylor University. Pollard was not a star at Baylor, and they only posted a winning record during his senior season. Pollard was not a big part of the offense and was best known for setting a high school record at the Texas state track championships and being mentioned in “The Faces of The Crowd” in Sports Illustrated June 14, 1976. The article stated:
"Frank Pollard Jr., 19, a senior at Meridian High, a class B school, became the highest scorer in the history of the Texas high school track meet, winning the discus (154'9"), the shot (56'3"), the 100 (9.9) and the 220 (21.8). His sprint-relay team also placed fourth."
Today, the draft ends after round seven and he would have been an undrafted free agent able to sign with any team, but it is hard to envision Pollard in any uniform other than the black and gold. He made the team in 1980 against long odds but managed to become a special teams contributor for the 9-7 club. He was buried deep on the bench in the running back depth chart and only got four carries during the season.
Topps Football
The 1981 Steelers were showing signs of decline as they managed only an 8-8 performance as Franco Harris fell 13 yards short of 1,000 yards for the only time in his career when he appeared in 14 or more games for the Steelers. Part of the reason he fell short was that as Pollard took over for Rocky Bleier. He was surprisingly effective rushing for 570 yards on 123 carries and starting 10 games for Pittsburgh. It appeared that they may have found another late round gem. Harris was aging, but he and Pollard made a dynamic team.
1982 was Terry Bradshaw’s last gasp as the Steelers quarterback and in the strike shortened season, the Steelers were 6-3 and a face all too familiar to Pollard joined the Steelers running back rotation. Walter Abercrombie was the top back at Baylor during his senior season and Pittsburgh had spent a first round draft pick on him in the 1982 NFL Draft. The Steelers appeared to be back on track for playoff success, but the Steel Curtain bent and allowed the San Diego Chargers to overcome a 28-17 deficit in the fourth quarter and lost 31-28.
BALTIMORE - NOVEMBER 13: Linebacker Jack Lambert #58 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during a game against the Baltimore Colts at Memorial Stadium on November 13, 1983 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
1983 saw Bradshaw play in one last game for the Steelers who were in position to make the playoffs as Bradshaw had spent most of the season mending from elbow surgery. He appeared for the last time on December 10, 1983, but reinjured the elbow in a 34-7 drubbing of the New York Jets and his career was over. Harris had his last 1,000-yard season and Pollard and Abercrombie combined for another 1,000 yards behind him with Pollard holding a 200-yard edge despite only 23 more carries.
The Steelers were shellacked by the Los Angeles Raiders 38-10 in the playoffs and the dynasty was over. The 1983 offseason saw Pittsburgh say goodbye to Jack Lambert, Mel Blount, Bradshaw, and Harris. It is almost unfathomable to imagine losing that kind of talent at the same time. It was a new era in Pittsburgh and former first round pick, Mark Malone, and the Miami Dolphins most recent Super Bowl quarterback, David Woodley, who had been replaced by a young Pitt Panther named Dan Marino, were set to lead the team forward.
I was a sophomore in high school during the Steelers 1984 season. It seemed everyone was a Los Angeles Raiders fan. They had just thumped the Washington Redskins 38-9 in the Super Bowl and Howie Long and Marcus Allen were bona fide superstars. The Steelers were supposed to be rebuilding, but the Pollard-Abercrombie duo was surprisingly effective. However, on December 2, 1984, the Steelers fell to the 3-13 Houston Oilers in overtime 23-20 and at 7-7, it looked like a long shot that the rebuilding team would even make the playoffs.
The 1984 AFC Central was not very good, so when the Steelers managed to beat the Cleveland Browns in Week 15 to get to 8-7 and cling to a precarious one game lead against the red-hot Cincinnati Bengals, the season was still very much in doubt. The Bengals won their 1pm game 52-21 against the Buffalo Bills and they were looking like the team nobody wanted to play. The Steelers had a date with the defending Super Bowl champions, the 11-4 Raiders who would have liked nothing more than to humiliate the Steelers again like they had in the 1983 playoffs.
Rick Stewart/Getty Images
The Raiders were seven and a half point favorites heading into the game. Abercrombie and Pollard were like a battering ram that day. Abercrombie outgained Pollard with 111 yards, but Pollard scored the games only touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the Steelers up 10 to 0. The Steelers would add another field goal a few minutes later to go up 13 to 0 and Jim Plunkett made it interesting late, but the 1984 Steelers were on to the playoffs as they had shocked the NFL.
The following week looked like even more of a foregone conclusion as the Pittsburgh train had to travel to Denver to meet the 13-3 John Elway led Broncos. The NFL was excited for the potential Elway vs Marino dream matchup or the Elway vs the defending champions matchup, but the victory over the Steelers was assumed. It was the last mistake the Broncos would make that season.
The Broncos jumped out 7 to 0 and the crowd celebrated like the route was on, but someone forgot to tell Malone, Pollard, and Abercrombie. The trio went to work and pulled the Steelers into range for a Gary Anderson field goal. When they got the ball back, Pollard punched it into the end zone to give the Steelers a 10-7 lead at the half. The Broncos roared back during the third quarter to score 10 unanswered points to take a 17-10 lead and the lights were dimming on a great season.
Malone walked out onto the field in his best game as a Pittsburgh Steeler and led them back finding Louis Lipps to tie the game 17-17 late in the quarter. The fourth quarter belonged to the Steelers as in true unheralded Pollard fashion, he finished off the Broncos rushing for 99 yards and his second touchdown of the game to put them ahead 24-17 and finish the scoring for the day. The team that looked dead just a few weeks prior was one win away from the Super Bowl in a rebuilding year.
Chuck Noll was hailed as a genius as the Steelers headed for the Dolphins and a game that haunts the fans and the organization to this day. The ghost of Marino was born that day and nearly 40 years later, it perhaps gave us Kenny Pickett. Malone and John Stallworth did their best to stay in the game, but three costly interceptions and the stout run defense ended the miracle run in Miami losing 45-28.
Pollard nearly gained 1,000 yards in 1985, but Malone regressed, and the team slipped to 7-9. Pollard hurt his knee playing basketball in the offseason prior to the 1986 campaign and he was never the same. He played until 1988, but started just 13 games over his final three seasons. He left football after that and finished his career as the third leading rusher in franchise history.
Pollard’s heroics did not compare to his predecessor’s or those who would come after him, but as a young boy in New Jersey, his back-to-back performances against the Raiders and Broncos and those three touchdowns were so important to me. I loved the Steelers of the 1970’s, but as young boy, you don’t always appreciate what you are seeing. Four Super Bowls in six seasons was something so special, but as a kid, you think it will last forever.
I knew what I was seeing in 1984 and how great it felt to shut up dozens of yapping fair weather Raider fans. I felt the elation when Pollard rammed it home for the win and sent Elway to the scrap heap. If Elway wins and the Broncos meet the Dolphins in 1984, does it change football history? Maybe Marino and Elway both learn how to win, and the AFC doesn’t get dominated for a decade. Thanks to Frank Pollard, we will never know.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Do you remember the gritty Pollard? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
