National Football League

Vote for the greatest Steeler

Published Jul. 1, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Terry Bradshaw

As fairytales go, Louisiana kid becomes four-time Super Bowl champ and helps turn Pittsburgh into an NFL powerhouse is as good as it gets. Bradshaw’s 14 seasons with the Steelers are loaded with highlights: No. 1 pick in 1970 draft, two-time Super Bowl MVP, 1978 NFL MVP and member of 1970s All-Decade team. Bradshaw threw for 27,989 yards and 212 touchdowns during his storied tenure and joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Bradshaw is currently an analyst and co-host of FOX NFL Sunday.

Franco Harris

This Steelers great, responsible for “The Immaculate Reception,” needs no introduction. During the 1970s, Harris helped lead the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories — including Super Bowl IX MVP honors — while rushing for 11,950 career yards and 91 touchdowns with the club. Harris was also a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and seven-time All-Pro selection before retiring in 1984. Harris was the 13th overall pick in the 1972 draft out of Penn State, where he served primarily as a blocker, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1990.

Joe Greene

A legend with the nickname “Mean,” Greene was the leader of the Steelers’ “Steel Curtin” defense during their dominate run of the 1970s. A two-time Defensive Player of the Year and considered by some as the greatest defensive lineman of all-time, Greene spent his entire career (1969-1981) with Pittsburgh and recorded 78.5 sacks. A member of both the Pro Football (1987) and College Football (1984) Halls of Fame, Greene was also a five-time All-Pro selection and part of one of the best Super Bowl commercials to date.

Jack Lambert

Many critics said Lambert was too small to play linebacker in the NFL when the Steelers drafted him 46th overall out of Kent State in 1974. Eleven seasons, four Super Bowl titles and a 1990 Hall of Fame induction later, Lambert and his famous toothless smirk had the last laugh. At middle linebacker for the “Steel Curtin” defense, Lambert recorded 1,479 career tackles, 23.5 sacks and 28 interceptions. He was also named 1974 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and then, two years later, became the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Mike Webster

Considered by some as the greatest center of all-time, Webster started 150 games from 1976-86 and anchored the Steelers’ offensive line en route to four Super Bowl victories. A 1997 Hall of Fame inductee, Webster is a member of the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, the NFL’s 1970s and 1980s All-Decade Teams and Pittsburgh’s 75th Anniversary All-Time team. Sadly, Webster, a fifth-round pick out of Wisconsin in 1974, suffered greatly in his post-football life while dealing with amnesia, dementia, depression and acute bone and muscle pain. Webster, a nine-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection, died in 2002 at the age of 50.