Super Bowl XL Champions! The Steelers were established as the Pittsburgh Pirates (like the
baseball team) in 1933 by Art Rooney. Rooney invested his winning from amateur boxing and betting on horse racing into what would became the league'
s most legendary team. Changing their name to Steelers in 1941, the team struggled mightily for most of the their first 40 years of existance, despite having some hall of fame players like John Henry
Johnson and
Bobby Layne. Everything turned around in 1972. Pittsburgh shocked everyone by making the playoffs, but they appered to be destined to an early exit, trailing 7-6 to the Raiders with
time running out. But a miracle happened. Hall of fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw an errant pass. Runningback Frenchy Fuqua collided with Raiders' cornerback Jack
Tatum, the ball bounced up, and landed in the hands of hall of fame runningback Franco
Harris. Touchdown. The Immaculate Reception was born. The winning ways would continue with 8 straight playoff berths and
4 Super Bowl championships- Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, and XIV belonged to Pittsburgh. The 1970s teams are considered perhaps the greatest in history with hall of famers like Bradshaw,
Harris, receivers John Stallworth and Lynn Swann, defensiveback Mel Blount, linebackers Jack Lambert and Jack
Ham, among others. Were up and down in the 1980s with 4 playoff berths, but turned it around when Bill Cowher became coach in 1992, ratling off 6 straight playoff berths, but unfortunatly losing the Super Bowl in 1995. Have made the playoffs 4 times in the last 5 years. Last season, they embarked on an incredible run, winning Super Bowl XL after winning
3 straight road playoff games. This gave young quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Cowher, and legendary runningback Jerome Bettis their first titles. Pittsburgh'
s 5 Super Bowls have tied San Francisco and
Dallas for the most all
time. The Steelers are known for having amazing fans, who often travel to watch their team'
s road games.