Customer Reviews

The Pittsburgh Steelers: The Official Team History

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a nice effort by Abby Mendelson. Most enjoybable are the little boxes in the read, which speaks of "Why dancers at the Edison Hotel loved Art Rooney Sr." or "Bradshaw's Last Game". These stories tend to stick out in your head, and really give the true story of the Steelers as one of the classiest and most successful teams, if not THE most classy and successful team, in the NFL.

Mendleson's efforts compare with other great writings on the Steelers by Jim O'Brien and Roy Blount Jr.

Oh, there are nitpicks. When Mendleson writes that in "1947 (the Steelers) could have used (Bill Dudley)" on p. 33, let us remember that Dudley was traded for Bob Cifers. Cifers provided the blocking Dudley couldn't, hence the improvement of Pittsburgh's record from .500 in '46 to 8-4 in '47 and the club's first playoff birth. In fact, when Head Coach Jock Sutherland put Cifers in to the Steelers' single-wing in '47 in the season's fourth game, the Magarac Attack IMMEDIATELY went on a six game winning streak, the club's longest for 28 years. Even the first Super Bowl Champs of 1974 couldn't win six in a row.

However, covering 60 odd years of club history is going to cause some oversights. Overall, Mendleson really captures the flavor of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even with three years of football played since this printing, this book holds up well.

Here a book I recommend to any football fan.Before I read this book the only thing I know about them is Jack Lambert and the "Immaculate reception" of Franco Harris.With this book I discover an unbelievable team,Bradshaw,Stallworth,Blount and the team of the 70`s.The effort of the Rooney family to keep the Steelers in Pittsburg.The story from when the team name was "Pirates" to the first few years of the 90`s.Their association with the Philadelphia Eagles to form the Steagles.The rivalry with the Browns.And the most surprising for me,the number of championships and Superbowls this team appear.A must on your football books collection. If you want to learn more about this team this is the book I recommend to you.

A BOOK FOR NOTJUST STEELER FANS BUT FOR ALL FOOTBALL FANS. THIS BOOK TAKES US THROUGH THE HISTORY OF THE TEAM, COVERING THE ROONEY FAMILY, PLAYERS, COACHES, AND SEASON TO SEASON RESULTS. IT ALSO HAS MANY EXCELLENT PICS AND STATS AND A GAME BY GAME SCORE FOR EACH SEASON. THIS IS A MUST READ. A TON FOR THE PRICE. FROM THE EARLY DAYS TO THE TERRIBLE TOWEL (MOSTLY A CRYING TOWEL FOR THE OPPONENTS) THIS BOOK IS MARVELOUSLY FILLED WITH FACTS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE MOST DOMINANT TEAM OF ALL TIME.

Without a doubt of the most storied franchises in NFL History has to be the Pittsburgh Steelers. A rich tradition dating back to the earliest days of the National Football League, this legend continues to grow every day.

Mendelson's ability to make the pages come alive is only one of many things I enjoyed about this book. The pictures, the inserts and the stories are the others. From Art Rooney to Chuck Noll to Bill Cowher and so many others.

Take trip through the 70's and relive the four Super bowl victories that made the Steelers the Team of the Decade. Read about the trials of the new quarterback Terry Bradshaw and the raw power of men like Jerome Bettis.

Names like Swann, Stallworth, Harris, Blier, Joe Greene, Kevin Greene, Greenwood, Shell, Blount, Woodson, Ham and Lambert are but a short list of those who were lucky and fortunate enough to wear the Black and Gold.

Mendelson captures the flavor of the team and of Pittsburgh perfectly! The writing is wise and witty, and it made me want to read much more of Mr. Mendelson's opus!

If you are a true Pittsburg Steelers fan then this book is a must have. It goes back in time to the early days. I bought this book for my husband for his birthday and you would of thought I had bought him a cup of gold. Again, great history on the Pittsburg Steelers.

I gave this to my die hard Steeler fan brother for Christmas. He didn't put it down until dinner and even then stopped just long enough to eat!

Big Ben: 27-4 as a starter (2004-2005 seasons)---only losses (3 of which were injury-related): Patriots, 2004 AFC Championship game (if Plax holds on to sure TD pass, we are only down 7 with about 7+ minutes to go in that game; Ben did some good things and was battling thumb and toe injuries) and also in 2005 (if Randle El doesn't get `cute' and lateral that pass to Ward, we probably win; again, Ben did some good things), as well as the Bengals in 2005 (Ben has beaten Carson Palmer's Bengals 3 times: twice in 2004 and big-time in the AFC Wild-Card game in 2005; Ben had 3 TD passes in this lone defeat and was battling a thumb injury) and Indy in 2005 (as we know, he got revenge in the AFC Divisional Playoff game; Ben threw a TD pass to Ward in this Monday night defeat and was coming off an injury-induced layoff).

Ben's FIRST NFL game: 2004 Pre-season at Ford Field vs. the Lions...last game of 2005 season: 2/5/06 at FORD FIELD, SUPER BOWL XL VICTORY!!!


So Ben didn't play a superb game in Super Bowl XL and there was some controversy...

--Super Bowl IX, 1/12/75: Steelers win 16-6 over the Vikings---Future Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw is only 9 for 14 for 96 yards...BEN WAS 9 FOR 21 FOR 123 YARDS...Bradshaw threw a lone TD...BEN RAN FOR A LONE TD... Future Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton's numbers were putrid: 11 for 26 for 102 yards, 3 interceptions, NO TD's! We were only winning 2-0 going into the third quarter (on a safety); a boring game. The Steelers wore their white shirts and Terry had a beard (the other 3 Super Bowls: black-and-gold shirts, Terry clean shaven)...WE WORE OUR WHITE SHIRTS IN XL AND BEN HAD A BEARD...the game turned on a VERY controversial "fumble-that-wasn't" by the Steelers Larry Brown: the Steelers left the field dejected, the Vikings were in prime territory...then the officials ruled Brown was down before the ball came loose (no way!!!!!)...and the rest is history;

--Super Bowl X, 1/18/76: Steelers win 21-17 over the Cowboys---Future Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach almost pulled out another miracle comeback...Swann's great falling-to-the-ground acrobatic catch led to no points (!);

--Super Bowl XIII, 1/21/79: Steelers win 35-31 over the Cowboys---the Cowboys' Jackie Smith drops a SURE TD pass that would have tied the game AND our go-ahead TD was aided by a very controversial tripping penalty that cost Dallas 33 yards: Lynn Swann fell over Benny Barnes's ankles and, as Bradshaw has admitted, it shouldn't have been a flag...we were ahead 35-17 at one point...Staubach almost brought them back (35-31);

--GAME BEFORE SUPERBOWL XIV: AFC Championship game vs. the Oilers, 1/6/80: Steelers win 27-13---late in the third quarter, officials ruled that Oilers receiver Mike Renfro did not have possession of what appeared to be a game-tying TD (WRONG!!!! He was in bounds; bad, bad call)...and the rest is history...

---Super Bowl XIV, 1/20/80: Steelers win 31-19 over the Rams---Bradshaw threw 3 INTERCEPTIONS and we were losing for most of the game...until Lambert saved our butts by intercepting QB Vince Ferragamo's pass...and the rest is history
(Steelers in the 1970's: regular season---99-44-1; playoffs: 14-4)

NON-STEELER SUPER BOWL "LUCK"---
Super Bowl XXV, 1/27/91: Giants defeat Bills BECAUSE SCOTT NORWOOD BARELY MISSES A RELATIVELY EASY FIELD GOAL, one of the biggest blown plays ever!;
All 3 of the Patriots victories were by exactly 3 points...and the Eagles really blew it with poor clock management (sound familiar?)!;
Super Bowl XXXIV, 1/30/00: Rams defeat Titans, 23-16--- The Rams' Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line as time expired. Dyson would have tied the game; Super Bowl V, 1/17/71: Colts beat Cowboys, 16-13, via a field goal... Dallas' Chuck Howley, who picked off two passes, became the first defensive player and the first player from a losing team to be named MVP.



The Steelers have been in the Super Bowl in the 1970's. 1980's, 1990's, and in the new millennium (2000's)---
IX (1975), X (1976), XIII (1979), XIV (played in 1980), XXX (played in 1996), XL (2006)

Big Ben---ONLY QB to ever go to Championship game his first two years; youngest to win the Super Bowl (Steelers: first 6th seed to go/ win; only team to beat #1, #2, and #3 seeds on the road and win; three-way tie for most Super Bowl victories: 5, along with Dallas and San Francisco; tied for second with most Super Bowl appearances: 6, along with Denver [who have `only' won 2])...comparison to other Hall-of-Fame and/or outstanding QBs---
Jim Kelly: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Fran Tarkenton: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Dan Marino: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl;
Kenny Anderson: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl
Len Dawson: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Johnny Unitas: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Joe Theismann: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Brett Favre: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Kurt Warner: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Ken Stabler: won one Super Bowl
Joe Namath: won one Super Bowl;
Phil Simms: won one Super Bowl;
Steve Young: won one Super Bowl;
Also: John Elway: after FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE LEAGUE, won two...after losing 3 very badly!

BEST run in sports history (as confirmed by a Congressional resolution!): won 8 in a row---
Bears (who had an 8-game winning streak), Vikings on the road (who had a 6 game winning streak...and Cowher NEVER won in a dome stadium before!), Browns on the road, and Detroit on 1/1/06 (where, unbeknownst to us at the time, we were headed for 2/5/06!); Bengals on the road (#3 seed, previously beat us), Colts on the road (#1 seed, league's best record, heavily favored, dome stadium, previously beat us; the Fumble, the Tackle, and the Miss), Broncos on the road (#2 seed, favored, 10-0 at home)...and the #1 NFC seeded Seahawks "on the road" in another dome, Detroit's Ford Field (where Big Ben started his NFL career vs. the Lions in the 2004 pre-season!!!)

YOU HAVE TO GET THE TWO-DVD SET "STEELERS: THE COMPLETE HISTORY" (2005; NFL Films), 1933-2004 (too bad they didn't wait a year haha!)---the main feature is 2 hours and 20 minutes long and covers 1933 up to and including Beg Ben's 2004 season; incredible. All the `lean years' (1930's-1960's; 1980's) are covered, NOT just the "glory seasons"---Kordell, Brister, Malone, Stoudt, Hanratty, etc. etc. etc. The bonus feautures are awesome, ESPECIALLY the 45-minute Jerome Bettis special-VERY IRONIC!! You will see Tommy Maddox with the Bus when they were both Rams in 1995...excellent miked-on-the-field comments, often funny, by Bus, Ward, and Cowher...Jan. 2005 AFC lowlights, Hines Ward crying, Jerome's reaction, and the tantalizing hint that Super Bowl XL wil be played in Jerome's hometown of Detroit...which makes what they did in 2005/2006 VERY story book! Also: the Bill Cowher, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Myron Cope, Dick Hoak, and Bill Saul segments/ specials are very entertaining, as is the Super Bowl XIII feature..get this...as well as the SUPER BOWL XL DVD---2005 season highlights included, as well as the 2006 playoffs!

With the Superbowl but a few weeks away, today's book review is The Pittsburgh Steelers- The Official Team History by Abby Mendelson. The Steelers have won six Superbowls, more than any other franchise in history.

I'm not a huge football fan; usually I read and cook dinner while the guys watch the games on Sunday. But one of my son's is a Steelers fan, and I do remember back in the 1970s when I was a kid, how exciting it was to watch Terry Bradshaw and the Steel Curtain play.

Mendelson was a sports reporter in Pittsburgh, and this book is pretty comprehensive. He starts out with a chapter on Art Rooney, called the Chief, the man who purchased the Steelers franchise (then called the Pirates, like the baseball team) for $2500 during the Great Depression.

The Rooney family still owns the Steelers, and Rooney's son Dan followed in his footsteps. Art Rooney became a beloved figure in Pittsburgh, but he retained his common man touch. If anyone needed a few dollars or a kind word, he gave it. Yet he was tough with his own children, believing in corporal punishment.

Mendelson paints a vivid portrait of the fascinating Rooney, interspersing photos and anecdotes throughout the text. He doesn't seem to meet an anecdote he doesn't like about Rooney, filling the text with several similar anecdotes about his various kindnesses to players and others. Less could have been more in this regard.

The Steelers are unique in that the same family has owned the franchise since 1933. That quality also extended to the coaches for the Steelers; they tended to stay a long time as well. Two successful coaches for the Steelers- Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher- are also profiled in great detail.

Although both coaches were successful, each winning Superbowls, they had very different coaching styles. Noll was a product of the 1950s, and he expected that his players would go out and do their job, without much praise from him. Noll "was all business; he came to get the job done, he came to win". He coached the Steelers from 1969-1991, through some disastrous seasons and some legendary years.

Cowher followed Noll in 1992, but he was a much more emotional coach. He believed in talking to the players, getting to know them. Like Noll, he believed that having a good work ethic was key, that practices were important, and getting the most of out each player would lead to success.

I particularly enjoyed the section on the 1970s Steelers, when they dominated the league with such incredible talent as Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, Mean Joe Greene, and Rocky Bleier. There is a very shocking photo of three linebackers- Andy Russell, Jack Ham and Jack Lambert- who each weighed about 220 pounds. Today, high school linebackers weigh 250+.

I also liked the section on the Steeler fans, especially on the bars near the stadium that cater to them, places like Froggy's and Owney McManus'. They are die-hard fans, and some of those anecdotes about them are priceless.

This is the fourth edition of the book, but it seems like the latest incarnation of the Steelers, who won the Superbowl XL in 2006, get short shrift. Mendelson does recap every game of that season, but the 2006-2010 Steelers only get one chapter. We don't really get to know Coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Ben Rothlisberger as well as their predecessors.

The Pittsburgh Steelers- The Official Team History overall does a great job documenting one of the most legendary franchises in all of sports. From their rocky start and many losing seasons to the record-breaking six Superbowl trophies, from the fascinating owner Art Rooney to incredible coaches Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher to unforgettable players like Joe Greene, Franco Harris and Ben Rothlisberger, this book covers it all with amazing photos, anecdotes and a storied history. It's a must-have not only for Steeler fans, but for all football fans.

Great book, wonderfully written by a very knowldgeable author. The soft cover version is quite a bargain. I would recommend this book to any football fan, and certainly to anyone who follows the Steelers