The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North Division. Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the seventh-oldest franchise in the NFL, and the oldest franchise in the AFC.
The ArenaBowl was the championship game of the Arena Football League. Originally hosted at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena based on home attendance during the inaugural 1987 season, save four years (2005–2008) the game was hosted by the team with the higher seed based on regular season performance. In 2005–2006 the league staged the game in Las Vegas, and in 2007–2008 New Orleans hosted the event. For the series final two games, regular season home attendance between the competing teams determined which would host.
Roderick Kevin Woodson is an American former professional football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Woodson was drafted in the 1987 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers and played his first ten years there, and was a key member of the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl XXXV championship team. He also had two shorter stints for the San Francisco 49ers and two seasons with the Oakland Raiders. Widely considered one of the greatest all-time defensive players ever, Woodson holds the NFL record for fumble recoveries (32) by a defensive player, and interceptions returned for touchdown (12), and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. His 71 career interceptions is the third-most in NFL history. He was an inductee of the Class of 2009 of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on August 8, 2009. Woodson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. He played most of his career as a cornerback then switched to safety during the later part of his career. Woodson was most recently the head coach of the XFL's Vegas Vipers.
Acrisure Stadium, formerly and colloquially known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Pittsburgh Panthers of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The stadium opened in 2001 as Heinz Field, following the controlled implosion of the teams' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium. In 2021, the H. J. Heinz Company declined to renew the stadium's naming rights. The City of Pittsburgh green-lit Acrisure's bid to purchase the rights in 2022.
Thomas Alfred Maddox is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also played one season each for the New Jersey Red Dogs of the Arena Football League (AFL) and the Los Angeles Xtreme of the XFL. In the XFL, Maddox became the league's sole MVP while leading the Xtreme to victory in its only championship.
Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr., nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Miami University, and was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft.
Pitt Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1925, it served primarily as the home of the university's Pittsburgh Panthers football team through 1999. It was also used for other sporting events, including basketball, soccer, baseball, track and field, rifle, and gymnastics.
Lynn Curtis Swann is an American former football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He served on the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition from 2002 to 2005. In 2006, he was the Republican nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania.
Antwaan Randle El is an American football coach and former player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He is currently the wide receivers coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He attended Indiana University where he played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers, and also played basketball and baseball as well. For a time, he was also a sideline reporter for the Big Ten Network for interconference games that the Indiana football team plays.
Leon Joseph Hart was an American professional football player who was an end for eight seasons, from 1950 to 1957, for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award playing college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1949.
The Backyard Brawl is an American college football rivalry between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the West Virginia University Mountaineers. The term "Backyard Brawl" has also been used to refer to college basketball games played annually or semi-annually and may also be used to refer to other athletic competitions between the two schools. It is a registered trademark for both universities, and refers to the close proximity of the two universities, separated by 75 miles (105 km) along Interstate 79.
Charles D'Donte Batch is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft and played 15 seasons in the NFL, most of it as a backup with his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he earned two Super Bowl rings. He played college football at Eastern Michigan.
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, faculty, and students. Pitt fields 19 university-sponsored varsity teams at the highest level of competitive collegiate athletics in the United States: the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for American football.
Darnell Joseph Dinkins is a former American football coach and tight end. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh. In the National Football League (NFL), Dinkins played for the New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and New Orleans Saints. He was most recently the tight ends coach for the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights football team.
Leon Searcy is an American football coach and former player. He currently works as a radio personality in Jacksonville, Florida.
Brett Keisel is a former American football defensive end who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Steelers in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Brigham Young University.
The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks.
Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball, hockey, and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Panthers football team, and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I Power Five conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States, in both football and basketball. Local universities Duquesne and Robert Morris also field Division I teams in men's and women's basketball and Division I FCS teams in football. Robert Morris also fields Division I men's and women's ice hockey teams.
The Pittsburgh Panthers football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Pittsburgh Panthers football program in various categories, including passing, rushing, receiving, total offense, defensive stats, kicking, and scoring. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. The Panthers represent University of Pittsburgh in the NCAA's Atlantic Coast Conference.
