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Home , Ben McGee, Buddy Dial, Calvin Hill, Chicago Bears, Chuck Noll, Dan Rooney

Faded Memories Memorable games of the 1960s that no one remembers by David Villiotti

ost Steelers fans, even those with sufficient tenure to have witnessed all six of the team’s Mwins, have never seen many of the franchise’s memorable games during the 1960s. There are many reasons why the history of the Steelers is relatively unknown prior to being hired in 1969. Football had not yet captured the imagination of the country like it would the following decade when nationally televised games brought the game to the masses. The organization’s meteoric rise to success and sustained hegemony in the attracted a legion of new fans that had not paid much attention to the fledgling franchise for the first three and half decades of its existence. Then, of course, there’s the simple fact that nearly half a century has passed since then—a much longer period of time than most fans have even been alive. One will notice I have selected a preponderance of games from the second half of the decade. That’s because this writer doesn’t remember games pre-1965. There are other reasons too though, which I try to touch upon intermittently. I did not see the first two selections on the list, including them instead for different but equally meaningful reasons. I did however wit- ness the remaining games, all but one as a cheering spectator at Pitt after having made the climb up the summit of De Soto Street. Those walks up and “Cardiac Hill” (fittingly dubbed for its forbidding incline) still hold a place in my heart and memory to this day, much like the games themselves. Some of these games are memorable for their impact, others for noteworthy individual performances (both famous and infamous), and some for their improbable and unusual

Maple Street Press Steelers Annual 2010 | 125 Steelers History turn of events. The reasons why may vary, but all occupy a of fourth quarter field goals however. The Steelers’ 11-yarder place in the recesses of this writer’s mind. gave them the lead momentarily, but it was matched by an 18-yarder from the Bears, producing the eventual stalemate. The Olde Ballyards Perhaps unbeknownst to them, legions of NFL fans Prior to the construction of cookie-cutter bowl-shaped have actually seen footage from this game, as all in the ’70s shared by football and squads highlight films seems to feature the clip of him running over, in Pittsburgh, , Cincinnati, and St. Louis, it was through, and around Steelers defenders on a play that led to often the case that a city’s gridiron entrant was a mere tenant the Bears’ tying . Ditka, the Aliquippa native and Pitt in the baseball stadium, with ends (“receiver” being relatively alum, caught seven passes for 146 yards on the afternoon. modern lingo) running their patterns through the infield dirt. There was ’s , County Stadium in December 15, 1963 Milwaukee, Municipal Stadium (“The Mistake by Giants 33, Steelers 17 the Lake”), , and ’s Metropolitan Heading into Week 14 of the 1963 regular season, the Stadium. Then of course, there was , home to the Steelers sported a record of 7–3–3. With just one game re- Steelers through the ’63 season, and , which maining on the schedule, Pittsburgh needed to beat the New the Football Giants occupied through 1973. York Giants in Yankee Stadium to claim their first conference championship in franchise history. They had pummeled the November 24, 1963 Giants in Week 2 by the score of 31–0, but the New Yorkers Steelers 17, Bears 17 were playing outstanding down the stretch, having won six of The late NFL repeatedly said their previous seven games heading into the rematch. that his greatest regret as commissioner was his decision to The prerecorded and locally produced studio pre-game proceed with a slate of games just two days after the assassina- show on Pittsburgh’s KDKA, Channel 2, featured Steelers tion of President John F. Kennedy. On the schedule that week receiver Buddy Dial, in suit and tie, which was standard TV was a match-up of the contending Steelers and the eventual garb for the era. At the show’s conclusion just minutes before league champions that season, the . kickoff, Dial excited the television audience when he lifted A crowd of 36,465 was in attendance for the next-to-last both wing-tips off of the floor and revealed a chalk scribbling Steelers game played at Forbes Field. With the assassination of “Go” “Steelers” on the right and left soles of his shoes. A of President Kennedy still fresh in their minds, fans filed into struggling Swissvale barber, watching at home, exclaimed to their seats expecting a much needed diversion, only to hear his roly-poly eight-year-old son, “If I had a hundred bucks, I’d news that Jack Ruby had just minutes earlier shot and killed bet on the Steelers.” assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. The atmosphere in the stadium that day was predictably somber and tense. In fact, the NFL’s first official cheerleading corps, the Steelerettes, was asked to attend but refrain from cheering. Accounts describe not a dry eye amongst the Forbes Field crowd

after the playing of the national Photo this page: Robert Riger/Getty Images anthem. The game itself, despite its unsatisfying conclusion, was tightly contested throughout and entertaining for the grief stricken crowd in attendance. The first half in particular was compelling, with both teams scoring 14 points prior to intermission. The

second half produced just a pair The Steelers and Browns rivalry featured plenty of fierce battles in the 1960s. Photo on previous page: Robert Riger /Getty Images

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There were no pleasantries exchanged between the Bears and the Steelers during their 1963 match-up once the game began.

Thankfully dad was broke, because alas, Steelers Nixon was trounced in his first game at the helm; Bill Austin had gone on the wagon for the big blew a substantial fourth quarter lead but salvaged a tie in his game. Absent from his usual Wednesday night haunt, Brownie initiation; Chuck Noll, who still holds the Steelers’ record entered the game sober and proceeded to have a miserable for most losses in a season, began the ’69 campaign, his afternoon. Pittsburgh’s running game was humming, to the first, with a stirring victory. tune of 188 yards, and receivers were subsequently running free in the Giants secondary. But Brown misfired all day long, September 19, 1965 completing just 13-of-33 passes and throwing three costly Packers 41, Steelers 9 . The Packers, winners of NFL Championships in ’61 and The Giants, staked to an early 16–0 lead, benefited ’62 prior to the year-long suspension of Paul (Golden Boy) from a miraculous grab by in the second half Hornung, resumed their domination of the decade on after the Steelers had narrowed the deficit to 16–10. Three this September afternoon. Green Bay captured the NFL by New York’s proved too much Championship in ’65, then won Super Bowls I and II (simply to overcome and the Giants went on to meet the Bears in the the NFL-AFL Championship Game at the time) in ’66 and ’67. NFL Championship Game while the Steelers fell just short of The Steelers started the game and the season well, their first ever conference title. jumping out to an early 6–0 lead on a pair of field goals. The momentum then shifted when Herb Adderly Opening Day: Win, Lose, and Draw intercepted Steelers quarterback Bill Nelson and returned it The Steelers were led by three different head coaches in the for the game’s first . On his way in for the score, second half of the 1960s. All three had their Steelers coaching Adderly raced past the “Pay Dirt” signs at the ten yard line, debuts at . In hindsight, the results of all three with an arrow fittingly pointing him to the zone. The debuts provided a glimpse of what fans could expect while pick-six was one of three interceptions tossed by Nelson

Photo: Robert Riger/Getty Images they led the still floundering franchise. Hard-luck Mike during his putrid 7-for-26 passing performance.

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The Steelers were able to temporarily steady the ship, when a third Clark field goal staked the Steelers to a 9–7 halftime lead. It was a different story after intermission, however. The Packers owned the second half, highlighted by a pair of Elijah Pitts touchdowns, much to the chagrin of the Opening Day crowd of 38,383. The ‘65 Steelers would go on to lose their first five games, failing to register a single scoring pass in the process.

September 11, 1966 Steelers 34, Giants 34 The Opening Day gathering of 37,693 at Pitt Stadium was greeted by the Steelers’ new “Batman” jersey, minus striping but featuring gold shoulders to signify the renewed zest and energy of “The Golden Triangle,” Pittsburgh’s downtown. These resplendent new uniforms had just a two-year shelf Mike Ditka and the Bears tied the Steelers, 17–17, at Pitt Stadium life before being replaced by the current Steelers just days after the assassination of JFK in 1963. jersey. For those clamoring to see the old unis donned once again, forget about it—no less an authority than Steelers had to have felt like they had blown a golden op- has proclaimed that the Steelers will never again portunity to win their 1966 season opener. wear the batman jerseys on the field of play. The first half was a seesaw affair, with neither team September 21, 1969 able to build more than a seven-point lead. Heading into Steelers 16, 13 halftime, the Giants led 17–14, but Pittsburgh would score A crowd of 51,366 turned out to see Chuck Noll’s first game. 17 unanswered points after the break to reclaim the lead. They were not disappointed. After the Lions took a 13–9 lead A field goal by the Giants cut the Steelers lead to 31–20 on a fourth-quarter score, the Steelers drove the length of the at the onset of the final quarter of play. With the Giants field, scoring with under two minutes remaining on rookie pinned back at their own two yard line following a masterful ’s six-yard run around left end, during which Frank Lambert , the Steelers seemed poised to win Bill he broke several tackles en route to zone. The new Austin’s coaching debut for the Black and Gold. The tables season, under the new coach, had new hope. These Steelers were turned, though, when former Steeler , who though, would not win again, losing their final 13 games, a previously had connected with Pittsburg, TX native Homer mark of futility that has to this day not been matched by a Jones on a 75-yard scoring strike, found Jones once again for Steelers squad, even since the NFL expanded its schedule to a huge 98-yard touchdown that took the life right out of the 16 regular season games. stadium. Jones then did something heretofore unseen in the NFL. Wins of the Bill Austin Era He spiked the . The two touchdown grabs were the only Bill Austin accrued only 11 wins during his three-year stint as catches of the day for the cousin of future Steelers nemesis of the Steelers, so one might assume that any win Joe “Turkey” Jones. The Steelers kept their composure of this era was an upset. Three games though, stand out from however and seemingly had taken back control of the game the rest. with a time-consuming offensive series. But disaster struck once more when the Giants returned a Steelers 72 November 6, 1966 yards for the go-ahead score. The Steelers, however, tied the Steelers 16, Browns 6 game at the final gun on a 34-yard field goal by Mike Clark. After starting the 1966 season 1–0–1, the Steelers dropped By game’s end, Austin’s squad had held the Giants to 32 yards five consecutive games prior to their tilt against the defending rushing and eight first downs while amassing 25 first downs Eastern Conference at Pitt and an impressive 404 yards of . Much like what Stadium. The Browns rolled into town with a 5–2 record

happened on several occasions during the 2009 season, the having won their previous four, including a 41–10 drubbing of Photo: Robert Riger/Getty Images

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the Steelers just four weeks earlier. The now 11-year-old, ro- at the game’s most crucial juncture. Mike Clark ly-poly kid from Swissvale, holding a cardboard sign that read put the game out of reach when he connected on a 42-yard “Bomb the Browns,” was watching busses filled with invaders field goal, his third of the day. The crowd of 36,690—or at from the shores of Lake Erie climb uncertainly up Cardiac least those who did not have a long ride back to Cleveland— Hill. Hanging from the windows, all with what looked like went home happy with an upset win. red, bulbous, alcohol-induced noses, the Clevelanders were a frightful bunch. This “Turnpike Rivalry” was marked by November 13, 1966 drinking establishments in the respective visiting city, most Steelers 30, Cardinals 9 prominently Chiodo’s Tavern in Homestead among Steelers The high-flying Redbirds came into Pitt Stadium with a bars, sponsoring road trips to the enemy venue. A $20 bill 7–1–1 mark to take on the 2–5–1 Steelers fresh off their win typically entitled the participant a game ticket and all the beer over the rival Browns. St. Louis jumped out to an early 9–0 one could drink coming and going. It was not at all unusual lead behind three first-quarter field goals from . for some inebriates to never exit the bus, thereby having all The failure to pierce the though would prove fatal, the beer they could drink, coming, going, and there. It was as the Steelers took a 13–9 halftime lead thanks to a blocked also not unusual for there to be fights in the stands, fires in punt return by Andy Russell, recently reunited with his team- the stands, or to see and Dock Ellis of the mates after a two-year stint in the Army. The Steelers defense wrapped in fur coats, sharing swills from a remained stingy in the second half, holding the Cardinals bottle of wine in a paper bag. scoreless. The offense put the game out of reach in the fourth The Browns opened the scoring in the second quarter quarter with two touchdowns, including a nifty 42-yard half- when Frank Ryan connected with Gary Collins for a 24-yard back option pass from to . touchdown strike. Browns kicker Leo “The Toe” Groza un- The Steelers, winners of two home dates in a row over characteristically missed the extra point. After a pair of Mike conference powerhouses, the third of three consecutive Clark field goals leveled the score at 6–6, Steelers quarterback home games to the Cowboys the following week. They then Ron Smith found Gary Ballman for an eight-yard touchdown took to the road for the final four games of the 1966 season, pass to put the Steelers ahead in the fourth quarter, 13–6. The beginning with a rematch against St. Louis just two weeks Browns responded immediately, threatening to score inside after beating them at Pitt Stadium. The Steelers would lose the Steeler red zone at the 19 yard line. 6-3 in the second match-up with the Cardinals, as well as A ragged fan near the front of the upper end zone section the following week back east in Philadelphia. The Steelers rose to calm the crowd. “Don’t worry,” he said. Steelers rebounded nicely though and concluded their ’66 season with , former Wilkinsburg and Pitt star , a flourish. In the final two weeks of the season, Pittsburgh made the fan look prophetic moments later, snagging a diving scored 105 points, fully one-third of their season’s output. They won both to finish the season 5–8–1.

December 17, 1967 Steelers 24, Packers 17 Going up against his former boss at , Bill Austin’s charges became the last team to defeat a Lombardi-coached Packers squad. The Steelers defen- sive line registered a pair of scores as Ben McGee returned an interception 21 yards, and Chuck Hinton scooped up a fumble and rumbled 27 yards in the Even though the Steelers lost out on the rights to O.J. Simpson in 1969, the Steel fourth quarter to complete

Photo: George Gojkovich/Getty Images Curtain would keep him under wraps throughout the next decade. the Steelers scoring.

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Top Draft Pick at Stake not ten yards deeper at the back of the end zone like today. One game was much-publicized with the #1 draft pick hang- With still not introduced to the rulebook, the Eagles ing in the balance. The other would yield the top pick, though only hope of winning the game was by taking the gamble. it was not readily evident at the time. They did, and they lost. Eagles fans were outraged by what unfolded, flooding October 27, 1968 Philadelphia’s with “Joe Must Go” buttons. Steelers 6, Eagles 3 They got their wish at the end of the year, when Kuharich The Steelers and Eagles, both winless through six games, was sacked after an unremarkable five-year stint coaching the faced off in what was dubbed the “O.J. Simpson Bowl.” The Eagles. In Kurharich’s final game, the Philly fandom, legend- loser was of course expected to have first dibs at drafting ary for their vitriol, booed Santa Claus. the USC phenom. The Eagles got on the board first with The Steelers, in a bit of a mid-season run, won in Atlanta a field goal, and the slim margin would hold up until the the following week, and then eked out a tie in St. Louis. The fourth quarter when Steelers kicker Booth Lusteg success- Eagles would lose their first 11 games before winning two in fully booted a tying 34-yard kick for the home team. Facing a row near season’s end. Thus, neither the Steelers nor Eagles fourth-and-1 from their own ten yard line with just over a would finish with ’s worst record. That dubious minute remaining, Eagles coach went for the distinction went to the , who snagged Simpson first down rather than punting—a strategic decision that in the 1969 draft. Even though the Steelers lost out on the would have gotten him fired these days. The Steelers defense opportunity to draft the future Hall of Fame , held, turning the ball back over to the offense well within the organization was about to embark on an unprecedented easy field goal range. Lusteg, who had been preparing on the run of success building a through the draft. by kicking paper cups, was true with the 18-yard, At season’s end, Bill Austin joined his cross-state counter- game-winning attempt. It was the first of just two Steelers part in the bread line. The Steelers had become progressively victories that season. worse during Austin’s three seasons, with the coach being In retrospect, was it that bad a call, or so unnecessarily marginalized in a locker room showdown with recalcitrant risky? If the Eagles converted the fourth-and-1, they would receiver Roy Jefferson. “Lord Jeff,” who still holds a Steelers have retained possession for one last push towards a game- record with four touchdown catches in a single game (versus winning score. If they punt, the Steelers are set up inside or Atlanta in ’68), would last one year under the incoming coach near midfield with sufficient time to traverse the 25 yards before being dispatched to Baltimore for . or so needed to put them in game-winning field goal range. The new man in charge was Charles Henry Noll. Noll, Remember, in this era, goalposts were set up on the goal line, a Cleveland native, boasted a sparkling football pedigree, having played for and assisted some of the game’s legendary coaches. He was a messenger guard with ’s Cleveland Browns, and coached under the tutelage of in and in Baltimore. On Noll’s second day on the job, the Steelers would make a deci- sion that influenced the direction of the franchise for the next decade and ultimately helped bring four Super Bowl championships to Pittsburgh. With the fourth choice in the 1969 NFL Draft, the chose North Texas State “Mean” . The next day, the Pittsburgh dailies ran the and the Cowboys ran their way past the Steelers during Pittsburgh’s headline, “Joe Who?” When Noll

1–13 season in 1969. opened training camp, other draftees Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images

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new on the scene included Notre Dame quarterback , a local favorite from Butler, PA, , a strapping young tackle from Oklahoma State, and a lanky, un- heralded defensive lineman named L.C. Greenwood from A, M & N, an obscure institution in the Sun Belt. The dawn of a new era was underway.

November 9, 1969 Bears 38, Steelers 7 Why was a match-up between the 1–6 Steelers and the 0–7 Bears at so compelling, particularly one that turned out to be a ? Unlike the previous The fiercely competitive and Chuck Noll helped the Steelers reverse year when the O.J. Simpson Bowl their fortunes permanently during the 1970s. yielded the Trojan star to neither participant, the 1969 contest between the Steelers and the performance that remains unmatched by any Pittsburgh Bears did ultimately determine the destination of quarterback. , a second year product out of the Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw, the consensus #1 pick of University of Texas, threw seven interceptions in defeat. Sure, the upcoming draft. Wade was making his first NFL start, but even in today’s pass- The Steelers lost the game in embarrassing fashion as happy NFL, that number is hard to comprehend. Wade was both , Terry Hanratty and , were finally relieved in favor of Bill Nelson, who kept the theme of sacked for safeties. The safeties were just two of the eight the game alive by throwing a pair of interceptions of his own. sacks that the Bears registered on the day. That number might Three of the nine errant passes were returned for touchdowns have been even higher if the Bears hadn’t controlled the by the Eagles. clock so effectively with their running game. Chicago (271) Seven picks usually earns you a spot on the bench the outrushed the Steelers (31) by 240 yards in the lopsided affair. following week, but Coach Nixon named Wade the starter Both teams finished the season with equally futile 1–13 for the season finale in Washington the following week. The records, but the Steelers won a pre-draft coin toss with the Steelers lost, 35-14. Having lost their final seven games, the Bears, giving them the rights to the top overall pick. The Steelers concluded the ’65 campaign with a sorry 2-12 record. Steelers claimed the Blond Bomber, who would eventually For the season, Tommy Wade logged 13 interceptions in 66 bring a quartet of Super Bowl trophies back to Pittsburgh passing attempts, including four more against the Redskins before calling it a career. following his seven pick disaster the week before. The ’65 A quick question—being that the team with the worst season finale would be the final NFL game for both he and record is awarded the top draft choice, should not the team his head coach, . This Nixon, unlike the 1968 that lost the coin toss been able to pick first? presidential nominee, was not “The One.” He was dispatched into the Pittsburgh night after but one season. Oddball Occurrences One involved a passer, another a kicker, the third the march- September 24, 1967 ing band; Pitt Stadium was home to the wild and the wacky. Cardinals 28, Steelers 14 The Steelers, playing before another large crowd of 45,579 December 12, 1965 at Pitt Stadium in the second game of the 1967 season, fell Eagles 47, Steelers 13 to 1–1 after losing to St. Louis in a game that featured a rare The 1965 home finale for the 2–10 Steelers was witnessed feat by a field goal kicker. Cardinals kicker Jim Bakken, who by an understandably small crowd of just 22,002 at Pitt made three field goals in a losing effort against the Steelers

Photo: Fred Roe/NFL Photos/Getty Images Stadium. Those in attendance were treated to a record-setting the year before, made sure his team would prevail this time

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their running game, turned the ball over on downs, and suffered their 11th straight loss. Shiner was not one of the returning let- termen to open the 1970 season. Neither was Henderson. Neither were a few others whose names appeared in the Pearl Harbor Day box score. Roy Jefferson caught six passes for 97 yards against the Cowboys and added his final pair of touchdowns in black and gold the following week in the Steelers’ Pitt Stadium finale. He would be wearing a Baltimore Colts uniform the following year. Journeyman Earl Gros who ran for three touchdowns in his final game as a Steeler two weeks later would not be back. Longtime defensive stalwarts Paul Martha, , and had played their final Steeler season. All told, 18 members of this one-win squad would not be on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster when the One of Pittsburgh’s final games of the decade was an October, 1969 sun came up on the 1970 season. The match-up against ’s Washington Redskins. would continue as Chuck Noll built his team, culminating in the Super Bowl season of around by more than doubling his total. Bakken kicked 1974. That squad would include only a quartet of the veterans seven three-pointers, the longest from 33 yards out. Bakken’s whom the coach had inherited, along with the foursome from record would not be surpassed until 40 years later when the his initial draft class. It also included one other player who kicker was true on eight field preceded Coach Noll but missed the coach’s maiden Steelers goal attempts. voyage. Weeks earlier, on October 26, 1969, the annual Steelers December 7, 1969 alumni game was held against Vince Lombardi’s Washington Cowboys 10, Steelers 7 Redskins at Pitt Stadium. Among the aging veterans wel- On the rain-swept 28th anniversary of the attack on Pearl comed onto the field before the game was a young man of 23 Harbor, a crowd of 24,990 dedicated, if not imbalanced years whose hobble was far more pronounced than that of his fans, gathered atop Cardiac Hill. The parade of errors that elderly colleagues. The young man walked with the assistance plagued Steelers Sundays during this single-win season was of a cane and drew the loudest ovation. The young man was not limited to the football team. As the Cowboys were about . to kick off to begin the game, the Sto-Rox High School The following year brought the quarterback. The ’71 Band came marching onto the field. Realizing the conflict, draft was only exceeded by the legendary draft class of ’74. the band engaged in an early-day moonwalk and exited the , the missing ball carrier, arrived in ’72. The field, marching in reverse. Only as Cowboys kicker, ex-Steeler Steelers exited Pitt Stadium, and , for brand new Mike Clark approached the ball for the second time, did the on the , overlooking the officials realize that they were about to preempt the national confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. anthem. The die was cast for a decade of unparalleled success: The The “Star-Spangled Banner” was played, followed by the Steelers of the ‘70s, the best team ever. MSP game. Butler’s Hanratty, making his fifth start of the ill-fated season, had completed only 3-of-17 passes, for a mere 17 A lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers disciple since attending his first game in yards, and the Steelers had not registered on the scoreboard 1965, David Villiotti is one of those Pittsburghers that really did see the through three quarters. Dick Shiner replaced the rookie in from his seat inside Three Rivers Stadium. He has self-published two books about the Steelers: We’re from the Town with the the fourth quarter and hit on 9-of-14 passes for 145 yards, Great Football Team: A Pittsburgh Steelers Manifesto and We Cheer the including a 29-yard scoring toss to Jon Henderson. Crossing Pittsburgh Steelers: The ‘70s. David lives with his wife, two children, and

midfield late, however, the Steelers inexplicably went back to his pet rabbit, named Bettis. Photo: Nate Fine/NFL

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