Fun Facts

Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC ... 7th oldest in the NFL

Started out as Pittsburgh Pirates (1933-1939) and were a part of the original NFL (Century Division) .. after the merger with the AFL in 1970, they were realigned in the AFC Central (Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Oilers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals) for the next 25 years

ONLY team to have just THREE head coaches from 1969 to 2026 (57 years) .. the Steelers' three different coaches: Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin ... SIX Super Bowls between them. Mike McCarthy starts a new chapter as head coach to start the 2026 season (considering he's 100 years old, a lengthy tenure doesn't seem likely)

Cheerleaders .. from 1961 to 1969. To this day, they were the only cheerleaders the team had in their history.

Steeler Fight Song - Renegade by Styx .. since 2002 .. played near the end of the 3rd qtr or the start of the 4th

In 1995, Jacksonville Jaquars were added to the division as an expansion team (Pittsburgh, Houston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Jacksonville)
In 1996, Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Ravens (Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Houston. Baltimore)
In 1997, Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee as the Tennessee Oilers (Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Baltimore)
In 1999, Cleveland Browns rejoined the AFC Central as an expansion team (Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Tennessee (now the Titans), Cincinnati, Baltimore, Cleveland)
In 2002, the AFC North was born (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Cleveland) .. Jacksonville, Tennessee moved to AFC South

1933 (September 20) - first game .. the Pittsburgh Steelers played their first-ever regular season game on September 20, 1933, as the Pittsburgh Pirates. In that inaugural matchup, the Pirates lost to the New York Giants by a score of 23–2 at Forbes Field
1933 (September 27) - The first win .. came in the fourth quarter with star athlete Paul Moss catching an 11-yard pass from Bill Tanguay
1933 (September 27) - The first ever touchdown in Pittsburgh Steelers history occurred during their second game of the inaugural 1933 season against the Chicago Cardinals. Defensive back Martin "Butch" Kottler scored on a 99-yard interception return, sparking a 14-13 victory for the franchise (then known as the Pittsburgh Pirates (the only non-return touchdown longer than that? James Harrison's 100-yard pick-six in the 2008 Super Bowl win over the Arizona Cardinals. Something about the Cardinals, I suppose.)
1933 (September 27) - The first offensive touchdown .. came in the fourth quarter of the game with star athlete Paul Moss catching an 11-yard pass from Bill Tanguay
1933 - first "Specialist" in NFL History: Signed Mose Kelsch in 1933, who is widely considered the first player designated exclusively as a placekicker.
1938 - first "Big Money" Player: Founder Art Rooney made Colorado All-America halfback Byron "Whizzer" White the highest-paid player in the NFL in 1938 with a historic contract of $15,800. White later became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
1942 - Draft: first overall (number one): Bill Dudley (RB/Halfback)
1956 - Draft: first overall (number one): Gary Glick (DB/Saftey)
1957 - first African American Assistant Coach: Hired Lowell Perry.
1964 - first Steeler to Rush for 200 Yards in a Game: John Henry Johnson, 200 yards vs. the Cleveland Browns, 10/10/64
1970 - Draft: first overall (number one): Terry Bradshaw (QB)
1972 - first playoff win in franchise history (1972 AFC Divisional Playoff vs Raiders December 23, 1972) ... just look up the "Immaculate Reception" (The "Immaculate Reception" is considered one of the most iconic and controversial plays in NFL history and is often cited as a key moment in the Steelers' rise to dominance)
1973 - first team to EVER start an African-American quarterback in the NFL.
1975 - first African American Super Bowl MVP: Franco Harris, who secured the award after an MVP performance in Super Bowl IX.
1979 - the Steelers were the first team to be entirely home grown. Every player on the Steelers’ roster was either drafted by the Steelers or was signed as an undrafted free agent. That means that not a single player on the Steelers’ roster that year had worn another NFL uniform before. (in today's NFL, that would NEVER happen)
1980 - 4 Titles in 6 Seasons: From 1974 to 1979, they became the first (and only) NFL franchise to win four Super Bowl titles in a six-year span!
1980 - first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice!! (1974-75 and 1978-79)
1984 - first African American Coordinator: Hired Tony Dungy as defensive coordinator.
2002 - first Woman Full-Time Athletic Trainer: Hired Ariko Iso as an athletic trainer
2004 - first AFC team to have 15 wins in a single regular season
2004 - Ben Roethlisberger was first to lead Pittsburgh to 13 consecutive victories, setting an NFL record for the most wins by a rookie quarterback that stood until 2016
2005 - first team to enter the playoffs as the #6 seed (Wildcard) and to beat #1, #2, and #3 seeds to reach the Super Bowl .. and then WIN IT!
2006 - Roethlisberger, at 23 years and 340 days old, became the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl (Super Bowl XL Feb. 5, 2006)
2006 - Longest RUSHING Touchdown (75 yards) in Super Bowl history .. Willie Parker (Super Bowl XL Feb. 5, 2006)
2007 - Roethlisberger became the first quarterback in NFL history to have two perfect passer rating (158.3) games in the same regular season
2008 - first team to win SIX Super Bowls! (IX 1974, X 1975, XIII 1978, XIV 1979, XL 2005, XLIII 2008)
2008 - Roethlisberger breaks the (then) NFL record for the most wins (51) by a quarterback in his first five NFL seasons (2004-2008)
2009 - Longest INTERCEPTION return for TD (100 yards) in Super Bowl history .. James Harrison (Super Bowl XLIII Feb. 1, 2009) .. dubbed the "Immaculate Interception"
2014 - Roethlisberger became the first NFL quarterback to pass for 500+ yards twice in a career
2014 - Roethlisberger became the first (and ONLY) NFL quarterback with consecutive games of 6+ TD passes (Colts & Ravens)
2021 - 500+ yards passing 4 times (Ben Roethlisberger, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2021)
2021 - Most completions in a playoff game (47, Ben Roethlisberger vs Browns)
2025 - Most consecutive non-losing seasons to begin coaching career (19, Mike Tomlin)

The Steelers logo is based on the Steelmark logo belonging to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). ... They also represent the three materials used to produce steel: yellow for coal, orange for iron ore and blue for steel scrap ... When the team introduced the new design (1962), they had gold helmets instead of the current black ones. Because they didn’t know how the logo would look with the all-gold helmet, the franchise put it on only one side (right) for a test run ... the team finished 9-5 and qualified for the playoffs, the winning-est season in franchise history to date ... so it stuck and stayed forever on the right side of the helmet.

A little about the Steelers

Firsts, Records, Etc

What's so special about the Steeler helmet?

What do you call Steeler Fans?

What do the Steelers Chant?

What do the Steelers Wave?

What's the Steeler Mascot?

Steeler Logos over the Years

Steeler Logos over the Years (slide)

1933-1939

1940-1942

1943

1944

1945-1961

1954

1962-1968

1969-2001

2002-xxxx

work in progess …