The Pittsburgh Steelers Legends team represents the franchise's best players from the pre-1970 era. The team was chosen by a small group of Steeler officials and journalists and presented as a part of the Steelers' 75th season celebration in 2007. The club also presented an updated and expanded All-Time team at the same time, which was determined on the basis of fan voting.[1]

While the All-Time team represented the top 33 players in the team's first 75 years,[2] club officials recognized that the All-Time team was selected by fans who had a natural bias toward choosing more recent players due to the team's poor record prior to 1970, and the fact that many Steelers fans would never have seen the older players perform.

As such, many noteworthy players from the team's first four decades were overlooked. The Legends team was created to address this oversight,[3] with Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney saying "There were a lot of great Steelers prior to 1970 who were as good as today's superstars, but fewer people got to see them play. We are looking forward to welcoming the Legends Team and having today's fans see some of the great Steelers from the pre-1970 era."[3]

The eight-person selection committee that named the Legends team included Dan Rooney, Steelers Vice President Art Rooney Jr., team scout Bill Nunn, former long-time coach Dick Hoak, long-time Steelers broadcaster Myron Cope, former sports editor of the Pittsburgh Press Roy McHugh, and former team officials Joe Gordon and Ed Kiely. This panel chose the top 24 players in the club's pre-1970 history: eleven on offense, eleven on defense, one punter, and one placekicker.[3]

Offense

PositionJersey No.PlayerYears on Team# of Pro BowlsHall of FameHonorsRef.
Quarterback22Bobby Layne1958–19626Yes1950s All-Decade Team[4]
Running back42Dick Hoak1961–19711No[5]
Running back35John Henry Johnson1960–19654Yes[6]
Wide receiver87Roy Jefferson1965–19693No1969 Steelers MVP[7]
Wide receiver25Ray Mathews1951–19592No[8]
Tight end81Elbie Nickel1947–19573No[9]
Center21Chuck Cherundolo1941–1942, 1945–19482No[10]
Guard62Mike Sandusky1957–19651No[11]
Guard66Bruce Van Dyke1967–19731No[12]
Tackle71Charlie Bradshaw1961–19662No[13]
Tackle74Frank Varrichione1955–19605No[14]

Defense

PositionJersey No.PlayerYears on Team# of Pro BowlsHall of FameHonorsRef.
Defensive tackle76Eugene Lipscomb1961–19623No[a][15]
Defensive tackle70Ernie Stautner1950–19639Yes1950s All-Decade Team[16]
Defensive end60Ben McGee1964–19722No[17]
Defensive end84Bill McPeak1949–19573No[18]
Linebacker60Dale Dodrill1951–19594No[19]
Linebacker66Myron Pottios1961, 1963–19653No[20]
Linebacker33Jerry Shipkey1948–19523No[21]
Defensive back80Jack Butler1951–19594Yes1950s All-Decade Team[22]
Defensive back35Bill Dudley1942, 1945–19463Yes1946 NFL MVP
1940s All-Decade Team		[23]
Defensive back11Howard Hartley1949–1952-No[24]
Defensive back28Clendon Thomas1962–19681No[25]

Specialists

PositionJersey No.PlayerYears on Team# of Pro BowlsHall of FameHonorsRef.
Placekicker17Armand Niccolai1934–1942-No[26]
Punter18Pat Brady1952–1954-No[27]

Notes

Names in bold indicate the player spent his entire playing career with the Steelers.
a Finalist in 1970 & 1977[28]

References

  1. ↑ Dvorchak, Robert (October 25, 2007). "Steelers name 33 players who stand above rest to its All-Time Team". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  2. ↑ "Steelers Announce All-Time Team as Part of Club's 75th Season Celebration". Steelers.com. October 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 "Steelers Announce Legends Team as Part of 75th Season Celebration Twenty-Four Honored as Best Pre-1970's Players in Club History". Steelers.com. October 2007. Archived from the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ↑ "Bobby Layne bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  5. ↑ "Dick Hoak bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  6. ↑ "John Henry Johnson bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  7. ↑ "Roy Jefferson bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  8. ↑ "Ray Mathews bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  9. ↑ "Elbie Nickel bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  10. ↑ "Chuck Cherundolo bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  11. ↑ "Mike Sandusky bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  12. ↑ "Bruce Van Dyke bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  13. ↑ "Charlie Bradshaw bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  14. ↑ "Frank Varrichione bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  15. ↑ "Eugene Lipscomb bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  16. ↑ "Ernie Stautner bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  17. ↑ "Ben McGee bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  18. ↑ "Bill McPeak bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  19. ↑ "Dale Dodrill bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  20. ↑ "Myron Pottios bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  21. ↑ "Jerry Shipkey bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  22. ↑ "Jack Butler bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  23. ↑ "Bill Dudley bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  24. ↑ "Howard Hartley bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  25. ↑ "Clendon Thomas bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  26. ↑ "Armand Niccolai bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  27. ↑ "Pat Brady bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  28. ↑ "Hall of Famers: Yearly Finalists". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
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