1978 Pittsburgh Steelers Season
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1978 Pittsburgh Steelers Season
The 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League (NFL). The season concluded with the team winning Super Bowl XIII to become the first franchise in the NFL to win three Super Bowl titles. The championship run was led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw and the team's vaunted Steel Curtain defense. This team is regarded as one of the greatest defensive teams of all time and one of the greatest teams in NFL history. Bradshaw put together the best year of his career to that point, becoming only the second Steeler to win the NFL MVP award. Ten Steelers players were named to the Pro Bowl team, and four were judged as first-team All-Pros by the AP. Head coach Chuck Noll returned for his tenth season—moving him ahead of Walt Kiesling as the longest tenured head coach in the team's history to that point. The Steelers entered the season as defending champions of the AFC Central Division, coming off a 9–5 record in . Their two loss ...
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American Football Conference Central Division
The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL season, when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. This is the only division in the NFL in which no member team has hosted a Super Bowl in their stadiums. Formation The AFC North currently has four members: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The original four members of the AFC Central were the Browns, Bengals, Steelers and Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans). The AFC North is the only AFC division that does not contain a charter team from the original American Football League. However, the Cincinnati Bengals were an AFL expansion team in the 1968 AFL season (the Steelers and Browns joined the AFC in 1970), although the Bengals joining the AFL was c ...
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Donnie Shell
Donnie Shell (born August 26, 1952) is a former American Football strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League between 1974 and 1987. Shell was a member of the Steelers famed Steel Curtain defense in the 1970s. Shell retired as the NFL strong safety career leader in interceptions with 51. He started 11 consecutive seasons for the Steelers and was selected to the Steelers All-Time Team, the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2020), and to the NFL Silver Anniversary Super Bowl Team. Early life Shell grew up in the town of Whitmire, South Carolina. He played on the Whitmire High School football team, where in his senior season as a linebacker, his team did not allow a single touchdown by opponents. Shell played college football for Willie Jeffries at South Carolina State University, where he was teammates with future New York Giants and Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson and earned All-American and all conferen ...
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List Of Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coaches
The Pittsburgh Steelers franchise has had 16 head coaches throughout its history. Founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates in , the name was changed to the Steelers prior to the season to celebrate the city's heritage of producing steel. Joe Bach served two separate terms as head coach and Walt Kiesling served three separate terms. During the and seasons, due to the number of players who fought in World War II, the Steelers combined their team with Philadelphia and Chicago, respectively. During these seasons, Kiesling shared coaching duties with Greasy Neale and Phil Handler, who have not been included within this list. Struggling for much of the franchise's early years, the team's first season with more wins than losses was coached by Jock Sutherland in . In , under Sutherland, the Steelers played their first playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Ten of the 16 head coaches spent their entire professional coaching careers with the franchise, including Kiesling, John McNally, ...
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Walt Kiesling
Walter Andrew Kiesling (May 27, 1903 – March 2, 1962) 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. A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Kiesling played college football at the University of St. Thomas where he was selected as an all-state player in 1923, 1924, and 1925. He then played 13 years as a guard and tackle in the NFL with the Duluth Eskimos (1926–1927), Pottsville Maroons (1928), Chicago Cardinals (1929–1933), Chicago Bears (1934), Green Bay Packers (1935–1936), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1937–1938). He was a first-team All-Pro in 1929, 1930, and 1932, a second-team All-Pro in 1931, and played for the Packers' 1936 NFL championship team. Kiesling also spent 25 years as a coach or aide for NFL teams, including seven years as head coach of the Pit ...
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1978 All-Pro Team
The 1978 All-Pro Team is composed of the National Football League players that were named to the Associated Press, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Pro Football Writers Association, and Pro Football Weekly All-Pro Teams in 1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go .... Both first- and second- teams are listed for the AP and NEA teams. These are the four All-Pro teams that were included in the ''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League''. Teams Key * AP = Associated Press first-team All-Pro * AP-2 = Associated Press second-team All-Pro * NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association first-team All-Pro team * NEA-2 = Newspaper Enterprise Association second-team All-Pro team * PFW = Pro Football Weekly All-Pro team * PFWA = Pro Football Writer ...
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1979 Pro Bowl
The 1979 Pro Bowl was the NFL's 29th annual all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1978 season. The game was played on Monday, January 29, 1979, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California before a crowd of 38,333. The final score was NFC 13, AFC 7. Bum Phillips of the Houston Oilers lead the AFC team against an NFC team coached by Los Angeles Rams head coach Ray Malavasi. The referee was Jerry Markbreit in his second year as a referee. Ahmad Rashad of the Minnesota Vikings was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Players on the winning NFC team received $5,000 apiece while the AFC participants each took home $2,500. As of 2019, this was the last Pro Bowl to be played on a Monday, and the last one to be played in Los Angeles. It was the last one to be played outside Hawaii until the 2010 Pro Bowl which was in Miami Gardens, Florida. This was also the first Pro Bowl to have players sport their respective team helmets, a custom that ...
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National Football League Most Valuable Player Award
The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is an award given by various entities to the American football player who is considered the most valuable in the National Football League (NFL) during the regular season. Organizations which issue an NFL MVP award include the Associated Press (AP) and the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). Since the 2011 season, the NFL has held the annual NFL Honors ceremony, which recognizes the winner of the Associated Press MVP award. The first award described as a most valuable player award was the Joe F. Carr Trophy, presented by the NFL from to . Other organizations that previously issued an MVP include ''Sporting News'' and United Press International (UPI). The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) awarded the Jim Thorpe Trophy. List of winners See also * American Football League Most Valuable Player Award * Bert Bell Award * * National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award * National Football Leag ...
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Steel Curtain
The Steel Curtain was the defensive line of the 1970s American football team Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). The line was the backbone of the Steelers dynasty, which won four Super Bowls ( IX, X, XIII, and XIV) in six years. The Steelers began their 1976 season 1–4 and lost their quarterback, Terry Bradshaw. For the nine games remaining in the season, the Steelers recorded five shutouts (three of them uninterrupted), and only allowed two touchdowns (both in a single game), and five field goals. The defense allowed an average 3.1 points per game and the team had an average margin of victory of 22 points. Eight of the Steelers' starting eleven defensive players were selected for the Pro Bowl that year, and four would be selected to the Hall of Fame. Lineup The Steel Curtain included: * No. 75 "Mean" Joe Greene – defensive tackle 1969–1981, 4-time Super Bowl champion ( IX, X, XIII, XIV), 10-time Pro Bowl selection ( 1969–1976, 1978, 1979), ...
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Quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually considered the leader of the offense, and is often responsible for calling the play in the huddle. The quarterback also touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and is almost always the offensive player that throws forward passes. When the QB is tackled behind the line of scrimmage, it is called a sack. Overview In modern American football, the starting quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, and their successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of their team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified, scrutinized, and highest-paid positions in team sports. '' Bleacher Report'' describes the signing of a starting quarterback as a Catch- ...
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Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game is played on the second Sunday in February. Prior Super Bowls were played on Sundays in early to mid-January from 1967 to 1978, late January from 1979 to 2003, and the first Sunday of February from 2004 to 2021. Winning teams are awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach who won the first two Super Bowls. Due to the NFL restricting use of its "Super Bowl" trademark, it is frequently referred to as the "big game" or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. The day the game is played is often referred to as "Super Bowl Sunday" or simply "Super Sunday". The game was created as part of a 1966 merger agreement between the NFL and the competing American Football League (AFL) to have their best teams compete for a champi ...
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National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week In sport, a bye is the preferential status of a player or team that is automatically advanced to the next round of a tournament, without having to play an opponent in an early round. In knockout (elimination) tournaments they can be granted eit .... Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three wild card teams) advance to the p ...
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Pittsburgh Steelers
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 , the Steelers are the seventh-oldest franchise in the NFL, and the oldest franchise in the AFC. In contrast with their status as perennial also-rans in the pre- merger NFL, where they were the oldest team never to have won a league championship, the Steelers of the post- merger (modern) era are among the most successful NFL franchises, especially during their dynasty in the 1970s. The team is tied with the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl titles at six, and they have both played in (sixteen times) and hosted (eleven times) more conference championship games than any other team in the NFL. The Steelers have also won eight AFC championships, tied with the Denver Broncos, but behind the Patriots' record eleven AFC championships. The team i ...
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