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.
James Edward Finks was an American football and Canadian football player, coach, and executive.
Darren Ray Woodson is an American former professional football player who was spent his entire career as a safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) from 1992 to 2003. He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, and was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft with the 37th overall pick.
Paul Vernon Hornung, nicknamed "the Golden Boy", was an American professional football player who was a running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 to 1966. He played on teams that won four NFL titles and the first Super Bowl. He is the first Heisman Trophy winner to be selected as the first overall selection in the NFL Draft, play pro football, win the NFL most valuable player award, and be inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame. Packers coach Vince Lombardi stated that Hornung was "the greatest player I ever coached."
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.
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team but caught by a player of the team on defense, who thereby usually gains possession of the ball for their team. It is commonly seen in football, including American and Canadian football, as well as association football, rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, as well as any sport by which a loose object is passed between players toward a goal. In basketball, a pick is called a steal.
Charles Cameron Woodson is an American former football player who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers. He played college football at the University of Michigan, winning the Heisman Trophy and the 1997 AP national championship as a junior. To date, he is the only defensive player to win the Heisman.
Earl Roy Gros was an American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. Born and raised in Louisiana, he played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge.
Gregory Lenard Lloyd Sr. is an American former professional football player who was an outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams.
Ernest Alfred Stautner was a German-American professional football player and coach. He played as a defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also served as a coach for the Steelers, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Boston College. Stautner was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969.
Walter Andrew Kiesling was an American football guard and tackle who spent 36 years as a player, coach, and aide with National Football League (NFL) teams. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and was named to the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team in 1969.
Carnell Augustino Lake is an American former professional football player and coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL). He was a safety and cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He is a member of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was the cornerbacks coach for the UCLA Bruins under head coach Rick Neuheisel in 2009 before leaving after one season for family reasons. He was the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive backs coach until February 2018.
Darren Perry is a former collegiate and professional American football player from Chesapeake, Virginia. Perry played free safety at Penn State University from 1988 to 1991. After graduating, he was taken in the eighth round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played in the NFL for eight seasons, seven with the Steelers, but also with the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, and New Orleans Saints. Perry retired from playing in 2000.
Gordon Scott Appleton was an American football defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) for the Houston Oilers, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. He played college football at the University of Texas, which won the national championship in 1963. Appleton was a consensus 1963 All-American and won the Outland Trophy.
The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league paid a base salary of $100 per game and had 36 players on each active roster.
Robert Earl Walden was an American professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Walden played for 17 seasons, 14 of which were played in the NFL from 1964 to 1977. Previously, Walden had played three years in the CFL from 1961-1963. Walden was a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl X winning teams.
Richard Earl Shiner is a former professional American football quarterback who played in eleven National Football League (NFL) seasons from 1964 to 1974 for the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, and New England Patriots.
William Neal Saul was an American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, and Detroit Lions. He played college football at Penn State University. Saul was the first player to be outfitted with a wireless microphone worn during an NFL game by Jack Newman of NFL Films, the league's in-house filmmaking division.
Several organizations give out NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards that are listed in the NFL Record and Fact Book and Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. The Associated Press (AP) has been giving the award since 1972; Pro Football Writers of America/Pro Football Weekly since 1970; and Sporting News has announced winners since 2008. The Newspaper Enterprise Association was the originator of the award in 1966. However, it became defunct after 1997. Also going defunct was the United Press International (UPI) AFC-NFC Defensive Player of the Year Awards that began in 1975.
