1970 Pittsburgh Steelers season

1970 Pittsburgh Steelers season
OwnerArt Rooney
Head coachChuck Noll
Home fieldThree Rivers Stadium
Results
Record5–9
Division place3rd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-ProsNone
Team MVPMean Joe Greene

The 1970 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 38th in the National Football League. They improved from a league-worst 1–13 record the previous year, finishing with a 5–9 record and third place in the newly formed AFC Central. The Steelers began the decade in a new conference and a new stadium with a new quarterback. After nearly 40 years in the NFL they shifted to the AFC, to complete the merger between the NFL and AFL. It was the NFL’s weakest division that season, as the Steelers finished three games behind the first place Cincinnati Bengals — a team that was only in its third year of existence.

Offseason

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Coach Chuck Noll's reshaping of the squad from the previous season continued for 1970.

Undoubtedly the greatest change that took place was Chuck Noll's trade of the team's lone superstar, Roy Jefferson. Although Jefferson was among the league leaders in receiving in 1968 and 1969, despite playing with mediocre quarterbacks for the worst team in football, he was sent packing after being publicly vocal in criticizing team management.[1] The trade sent Jefferson to Baltimore, where he earned a Super Bowl ring. Years later, Jefferson pinpointed what he had done to get traded.

"I was [in Baltimore] to make a statement. I wanted to show Pittsburgh they'd made a mistake in getting rid of me. I mean, I wasn't a “yes” man for coach Chuck Noll. If you cursed me, I cursed you back. I messed over the curfew rules a lot and, in training camp, I'd park my car in the coaches' spaces."[2]

Hence, 1970 brought change with Ron Shanklin emerging as a steady receiver for the next few years until John Stallworth and Lynn Swann joined the team in 1974.[3][4]

As a result of the NFL-AFL merger being finalized for the 1970 season, three teams from the "old" NFL were moved to the newly formed AFC alongside the former AFL teams. The Steelers agreed to be one of them after their archrivals, the Cleveland Browns, volunteered to join the AFL franchises in the AFC. The Browns mainly joined because of the possibility of an intrastate rivalry with the AFL's Cincinnati Bengals (now known as the Battle of Ohio), largely due to the animosity at the time between Browns owner Art Modell and Bengals owner and coach Paul Brown, who was fired from the Browns by Modell after the 1962 season. The Steelers joined the AFC in order to keep the Browns-Steelers rivalry alive on a regular basis, due to the proximity of the cities of Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

Another change came in the draft. For the first time since 1956, the Steelers owned the number one selection in the draft after winning a coin toss with the Chicago Bears for the top pick, as the two teams had identical 1–13 records in 1969. (The Steelers would have won the tiebreaker under the modern NFL tiebreaker rules anyway, since the Bears' one win was against the Steelers in week 8 of that season.)

1970 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 1 Terry Bradshaw *   Quarterback Louisiana Tech
2 28 Ron Shanklin *  Wide receiver North Texas
3 53 Mel Blount *   Cornerback Southern
4 80 Ed George  Tackle Wake Forest
5 105 Jon Staggers  Defensive back Missouri
6 132 Manuel Barrera  Linebacker Kansas State
6 155 Clarence Kegler  Tackle South Carolina State
7 157 Terry Brennan  Tackle Notre Dame
8 184 Dave Smith  Wide receiver Indiana (Pa.)
9 209 Carl Crennel  Linebacker West Virginia
10 236 Isaiah Brown  Defensive back Stanford
11 261 Calvin Hunt  Center Baylor
12 288 Rick Sharp  Defensive tackle Washington (St. Louis)
13 313 Billy Main  Running back Oregon State
14 340 Bert Askson  Linebacker Texas Southern
15 365 Glen Keppy  Defensive tackle Wisconsin–Platteville
16 392 Frank Yanossy  Defensive tackle Tennessee
17 417 Harry Key  Tight end Mississippi Valley State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

In the 1970 NFL Draft, only two Hall of Famers were selected in all seventeen Rounds and 442 Picks. These were 1st Round, 1st Pick selection Terry Bradshaw, and 3rd Round, 53rd Pick Mel Blount. Both were part of the 1970s Steeler Dynasty, and both inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989. In his 14-year professional career, Bradshaw got off on a bumpy start from 1970 to 1975, and threw a career-high 24 interceptions and only 6 touchdown passes in 1970. In wasn't until 1976 that Bradshaw's career began to peak. Blount's career was an overall consistent one. In 1975, he intercepted 11 passes for 121 yards.

In 1966, the NFL agreed on a merger with the rival AFL (American Football League). In 1970, the merger became final, as a result of the merger, the AFC (American Football Conference) featuring all the AFL teams and the NFC (National Football Conference) featuring all the "old" NFL teams. Two teams from the NFL were asked to join the AFL in the AFC, the Baltimore Colts, and the Cleveland Browns (the Browns owner, Art Modell asked the NFL Commissioner, Pete Rozelle if he could join to play the Cincinnati Bengals in the Battle of Ohio). Upon hearing this, Art Rooney (Steelers Owner) asked Rozelle if he could join to keep the Steelers-Browns rivalry alive. So, the Steelers would begin playing in the AFC and would leave the Eagles rivalry and many others they had had playing the NFC teams. Also, the Steelers moved into the then state-of-the-art, Three Rivers Stadium and left Pitt Stadium. The new Three Rivers was one of the many "cookie-cutter" stadiums across the league and became an icon to Pittsburgh.

The opening of Three Rivers ended their relatively brief stay at Pitt Stadium, where they had only been playing on a full-time basis for six years. Before that, the Steelers played most of their home games at Forbes Field, with occasional games being played at Pitt Stadium to take advantage of the larger capacity. The Steelers later returned the favor to the University of Pittsburgh in 2000 when the Pitt Panthers football team moved into Three Rivers for one season as an interim home before Heinz Field was ready in 2001. Pitt would also play their Backyard Brawl games against West Virginia in years Pitt hosted the game during the existence of Three Rivers.

WTAE-TV sportscaster Myron Cope joined the Steelers radio network as color commentator for the 1970 season. Cope remained a fixture of the Steelers radio network through the 2004 season and became beloved by fans due to his enthusiasm and catchphrases behind the announcing booth. In 1975, Cope invented the Terrible Towel, originally conceived as a gimmick in the Steelers playoff game against Baltimore and now a staple among Steelers fans.

Personnel

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Staff / Coaches

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1970 Pittsburgh Steelers staff

Front office

  • President – Arthur J. Rooney
  • Vice president – John R. McGinley
  • Vice president / General Manager – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Director of player personnel – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
  • Public relations director – Ed Kiely
  • Ticket manager – Joseph H. Carr
  • Traveling secretary – James A. Boston
  • Publicity director – Joe Gordon
  • Office manager – Terrence Jacobs
  • Ticket office assistant – Arthur Laughlin
  • Assistant director of player personnel – Bill Nunn

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive line – Walter Hackett
  • Defensive backfield – Charlie Sumner


Strength and conditioning

  • Strength coach – Louis Riecke
  • Team physician, orthopedic – Dr. John Best
  • Team Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber
  • Team dentist – Dr. Robert Gray
  • Trainer – Ralph Berlin
  • Assistant trainer – Robert Milie
  • Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi
  • Field manager – Jack Hart

[5]


Roster

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1970 Pittsburgh Steelers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad


[5] [6] [7] Reserve

Rookies in italics
49 active, 0 reserve, 5 practice squad

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record
1 September 20 Houston Oilers L 19–7 0–1
2 September 27 at Denver Broncos L 16–13 0–2
3 October 3 at Cleveland Browns L 15–7 0–3
4 October 11 Buffalo Bills W 23–10 1–3
5 October 18 at Houston Oilers W 7–3 2–3
6 October 25 at Oakland Raiders L 31–14 2–4
7 November 2 Cincinnati Bengals W 21–10 3–4
8 November 8 New York Jets W 21–17 4–4
9 November 15 Kansas City Chiefs L 31–14 4–5
10 November 22 at Cincinnati Bengals L 34–7 4–6
11 November 29 Cleveland Browns W 28–9 5–6
12 December 6 Green Bay Packers L 20–12 5–7
13 December 13 at Atlanta Falcons L 27–16 5–8
14 December 20 at Philadelphia Eagles L 30–20 5–9
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1

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1 234Total
• Oilers 7 723 19
Steelers 0 007 7
  • Date: September 20
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium
  • Game attendance: 45,538
  • Game weather: 65 °F or 18.3 °C, relative humidity 68%, wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Referee: Walt Fitzgerald

Scoring drives:

The Steelers played their first regular season game at the brand new Three Rivers Stadium. Terry Bradshaw made his NFL debut, but struggled, going 4 for 16 for 40 yds. Bradshaw was also sacked for a safety, the first of three consecutive games in which this would happen. With the loss, the Steelers dropped to 0-1.

Week 2

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1 234Total
Steelers 0 1030 13
• Broncos 7 090 16
  • Date: September 27
  • Location: Mile High Stadium
  • Game attendance: 50,705
  • Game weather: 49 °F or 9.4 °C, relative humidity 54%, wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
  • Referee: Jack Vest

Scoring drives:

With the loss, the Steelers fell to 0–2.

Week 3

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1 234Total
Steelers 0 700 7
• Browns 2 0130 15
  • Date: October 3
  • Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
  • Game attendance: 84,349
  • Game weather: 54 °F or 12.2 °C, relative humidity 66%, wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
  • Referee: George Rennix

Scoring drives:

With the loss, the Steelers fell to 0–3.

Week 4

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1 234Total
Bills 3 070 10
• Steelers 3 7310 23
  • Date: October 11
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium
  • Game attendance: 42,140
  • Game weather: 59 °F or 15 °C, relative humidity 85%, wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
  • Referee: Bernie Ulman

Scoring drives:

The Steelers won their first game, improving to 1–3.

Week 5

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1 234Total
• Steelers 0 700 7
Oilers 3 000 3
  • Date: October 18
  • Location: Houston Astrodome
  • Game attendance: 42,799
  • Game weather: indoors (domed stadium)
  • Referee: Bob Finley

Scoring drives:

With the win, the Steelers improved to 2–3 and split the regular season series with the Oilers.

Week 6

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1 234Total
Steelers 0 770 14
• Raiders 7 1770 31

Scoring drives:

In the first of what would become many regular and postseason games between these two teams, the Steelers would lose their very first game to the Raiders as the team dropped to 2–4.

Week 7

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1 234Total
Bengals 0 730 10
• Steelers 0 7014 21

Scoring drives:

The Steelers won the very first game between them and the Bengals and the teams' record improved to 3–4.

Week 8

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1 234Total
Jets 3 077 17
• Steelers 7 770 21
  • Date: November 8
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium
  • Game attendance: 50,028
  • Game weather: 46 °F or 7.8 °C, relative humidity 74%, wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
  • Referee: Walt Fitzgerald

Scoring drives:

With the win, the Steelers improved to 4–4.

Week 9

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1 234Total
• Chiefs 3 7714 31
Steelers 0 077 14
  • Date: November 15
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium
  • Game attendance: 50,081
  • Game weather: 42 °F or 5.6 °C, relative humidity 89%, wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
  • Referee: John McDonough

Scoring drives:

The game is infamously known for Dave Smith dropping the ball while attempting to score a touchdown. With the loss, the Steelers fell to 4–5.

Week 10

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1 234Total
Steelers 0 070 7
• Bengals 6 7714 34
  • Date: November 22
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium
  • Game attendance: 59,276
  • Game weather: 47 °F or 8.3 °C, relative humidity 56%, wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
  • Referee: Jack Reader

Scoring drives:

In their first ever game in Cincinnati, the Steelers would lose it by 27 points as the team dropped to 4–6.

Week 11

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1 234Total
Browns 3 330 9
• Steelers 7 777 28
  • Date: November 29
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium
  • Game attendance: 50,214
  • Game weather: 45 °F or 7.2 °C, relative humidity 97%, wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith

Scoring drives:

With the win, the Steelers improved to 5–6 and finished 3–3 in their division.

Week 12

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1 234Total
• Packers 6 077 20
Steelers 3 063 12
  • Date: December 6
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium
  • Game attendance: 46,418
  • Game weather: 23 °F or −5 °C, relative humidity 74%, wind 22 miles per hour (35 km/h; 19 kn), wind chill 7 °F or −13.9 °C
  • Referee: Norm Schachter

Scoring drives:

Week 13

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1 234Total
Steelers 6 1000 16
• Falcons 7 3107 27

Scoring drives:

Week 14 (Sunday December 20, 1970): Philadelphia Eagles

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1 234Total
Steelers 7 733 20
• Eagles 6 14010 30
  • Date: December 20
  • Location: Franklin Field
  • Game attendance: 55,252
  • Game weather: 44 °F or 6.7 °C, relative humidity 62%, wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
  • Referee: Bob Finley

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Fuqua 72 run (Watson kick) PIT 7–0
  • Philadelphia – Hawkins 21 pass from Snead (kick failed) PIT 7–6
  • Philadelphia – Dirks recovered blocked kick in end zone (Moseley kick) PHI 13–7
  • Pittsburgh – Fuqua 85 run (Watson kick) PIT 14–13
  • Philadelphia – Ballman 19 pass from Snead (Moseley kick)PHI 20–14
  • Pittsburgh – FG Watson 21 PHI 20–17
  • Pittsburgh – FG Watson 17 T 20–20
  • Philadelphia – FG Moseley 18 PHI 23–20
  • Philadelphia – Watkins 1 run (Moseley kick) PHI 30–20

John Fuqua would run for 218 yards

Standings

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AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cincinnati Bengals 8 6 0 .571 3–3 7–4 312 255 W7
Cleveland Browns 7 7 0 .500 4–2 7–4 286 265 W1
Pittsburgh Steelers 5 9 0 .357 3–3 5–6 210 272 L3
Houston Oilers 3 10 1 .231 2–4 3–7–1 217 352 L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

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  1. ^ ""How the Steelers Traded Roy Jefferson"". Football Perspective.
  2. ^ "Catching Up With Former Colt Roy Jefferson". The Baltimore Sun. November 7, 2013.
  3. ^ "Ron Shanklin Career Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  4. ^ ""The Legend of Ron Shanklin"". Still Curtain.
  5. ^ a b 1970 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  6. ^ 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers Preseason Prospectus.
  7. ^ "1970 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
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