Author and sports historian David Finoli's inside look at the 50 greatest male and female athletes in Pittsburgh history. Greatness in sport is both undefinable and immediately recognizable. Though it is rare, Western Pennsylvania has been graced with a long history of athletes who embody the essence of greatness. They have proudly represented the region in sports such as boxing, golf and track; carried their collegiate teams to victory; and worn the black and gold of the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins. Pittsburghers still recall how Mario Lemieux glided effortlessly through an opposing defense before befuddling the goalie or Arnold Palmer's unique swing that made the everyday duffer feel like he was one of them. Fans debate whether Terry Bradshaw or Ben Roethlisberger is the better quarterback and what the legacy of Barry Bonds is, while keeping Roberto Clemente among their most cherished icons. Take a deep dive into all of that and more and re-discover the best of the best in Pittsburgh sports history.
Summer afternoons at Forbes Field, playoff Sundays with the Steelers, winter nights at the Igloo cheering for Mario and the Penguins: Pittsburgh Sports captures all that and more. With stories from sports fans, historians, and former athletes, Pittsburgh Sports mixes personal experiences with team histories to capture the full range of what it means to be a sports fan—in Pittsburgh, or, by extension, anywhere. A book that can be read cover-to-cover, or in bits and pieces, Pittsburgh Sports includes chapters on the ill-fated Pittsburgh Pipers, who won the American Basketball Association’s first championship, then folded four years later; the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays, perennial Negro League powerhouses; Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Jim Kelly, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, and other legends of western Pennsylvania high school football; boxing’s illustrious past in the Iron City; football reminiscences by a former Steelers punter; and the ups and downs of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pittsburgh is synonymous with winning. From the Penguins and Steelers to the Pirates and Panthers, the Steel City knows championships. There must be something special in the water to make Pittsburgh so particularly gifted with its sports teams. The most famous teams in the city's history would most likely be the 1970s Steelers, known as the Steel Curtain for obvious reasons, and the Penguins who raised the Stanley Cup five times. Names such as Lemieux, Crosby, Roethlisberger, Bradshaw, Clemente and Stargell are legends of American sport and members of Pittsburgh's most cherished franchises, but for every sports legend and multi-million dollar franchise, there are a dozen more talented players and long-past teams that have been forgotten to history; the Negro League's Crawford and Homestead Grays are too often overlooked in the city's sports history but were as talented as any team that has played there. Author Dave Finoli ranks the fifty greatest teams that won trophies, brought glory and lifted the hearts of Pittsburgh's devoted sports fans.
A new preface updates this richly detailed look at the major role sport played in shaping Pittsburgh's black community from the Roaring Twenties through the Korean War. Rob Ruck reveals how sandlot, amateur, and professional athletics helped black Pittsburgh realize its potential for self-organization, expression, and creativity.
The great moments and stories in the history of a legendary franchise, including the players, teams, games, and coaches, presented in brilliant images and informative text.
Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls and presided over one of the greatest football dynasties in history, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the '70s. Later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his achievements as a competitor and a coach are the stuff of legend. But Noll always remained an intensely private and introspective man, never revealing much of himself as a person or as a coach, not even to the players and fans who revered him. Chuck Noll did not need a dramatic public profile to be the catalyst for one of the greatest transformations in sports history. In the nearly four decades before he was hired, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the least successful team in professional football, never winning so much as a division title. After Noll's arrival, his quiet but steely leadership quickly remolded the team into the most accomplished in the history of professional football. And what he built endured well beyond his time with the Steelers—who have remained one of America's great NFL teams, accumulating a total of six Super Bowls, eight AFC championships, and dozens of division titles and playoff berths. In this penetrating biography, based on deep research and hundreds of interviews, Michael MacCambridge takes the measure of the man, painting an intimate portrait of one of the most important figures in American football history. He traces Noll's journey from a Depression-era childhood in Cleveland, where he first played the game in a fully integrated neighborhood league led by an African-American coach and then seriously pursued the sport through high school and college. Eventually, Noll played both defensive and offensive positions professionally for the Browns, before discovering that his true calling was coaching. MacCambridge reveals that Noll secretly struggled with and overcame epilepsy to build the career that earned him his place as "the Emperor" of Pittsburgh during the Steelers' dynastic run in the 1970s, while in his final years, he battled Alzheimer's in the shelter of his caring and protective family. Noll's impact went well beyond one football team. When he arrived, the city of steel was facing a deep crisis, as the dramatic decline of Pittsburgh's lifeblood industry traumatized an entire generation. "Losing," Noll said on his first day on the job, "has nothing to do with geography." Through his calm, confident leadership of the Steelers and the success they achieved, the people of Pittsburgh came to believe that winning was possible, and their recovery of confidence owed a lot to the Steeler's new coach. The famous urban renaissance that followed can only be understood by grasping what Noll and his team meant to the people of the city. The man Pittsburghers could never fully know helped them see themselves better. Chuck Noll: His Life's Work tells the story of a private man in a very public job. It explores the family ties that built his character, the challenges that defined his course, and the love story that shaped his life. By understanding the man himself, we can at last clearly see Noll's profound influence on the city, players, coaches, and game he loved. They are all, in a real sense, heirs to the football team Chuck Noll built.
This title introduces readers to the Pittsburgh Steelers, providing exciting details about today's stars and going deep inside the key moments of the team's history. The title also features informative "fast facts," a timeline, and a glossary. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing Company.
The 50 Greatest Players in Pittsburgh Steelers History examines the careers of the 50 men who made the greatest impact on one of the NFL's most iconic and successful franchises. The author ranks, from 1 to 50, the top 50 players in team history. Quotes from opposing players and former teammates are provided along the way, as are summaries of each player's greatest season, most memorable performances, and most notable achievements.
Drawn from personal interviews with the players themselves, a chronicle of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, who won an unprecedented and unmatched four Super Bowls in six years.
