Glen Edwards (born July 31, 1947) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

for the

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 Steel ...

from 1971 to 1977, and for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

from 1978 to 1981. Edwards became a full-time starter with the Steelers as a free safety in 1973, and in 1974 won the award as the team's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. Edwards won two

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 ...

s ( IX and X) and was named to two

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

(1975, 1976) while with the Steelers.

Early life

Edwards was a standout player at Gibbs High in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

before attending

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

Professional career

Edwards made two key plays in his Super Bowl appearances. In Super Bowl IX, he laid a hit on

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

receiver

John Gilliam John Rally Gilliam (born August 7, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He has owned a number of businesses, and for two years he worked for a radio station in ...

just as Gilliam caught a pass near the goal line. The ball popped out of Gilliam's hands and into the arms of Steelers

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

Mel Blount Melvin Cornell Blount (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted in ...

for an interception. In Super Bowl X, he sealed a victory for Pittsburgh by intercepting a pass from

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

quarterback

Roger Staubach Roger Thomas Staubach (, -; , -; born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America", and "Captain Comeback", is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for ...

in the end zone as time expired in the game. Edwards was a member of Pittsburgh's famed

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 si ...

defense, and he also returned punts and kickoffs for the Steelers. He was traded to the

Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

for a 1979 6th round pick in August 1978. With the Chargers he recorded an interception in their famous 1982 AFC playoff victory known as

The Epic in Miami The Epic in Miami was the National Football League AFC divisional playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins that took place on January 2, 1982 in the Miami Orange Bowl. The game, won by the Chargers in overtime, 41–38, is ...

. He finished his playing career with the

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...

in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

in 1983. As a professional with the Steelers, Edwards was well known for his dirty play and consistent attempts to injure opposing players. For example in 1974 Edwards hit Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson late out of bounds with an unnecessary and brutal blow to the head. Edwards was immediately penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected from the game. Edwards finished his 11 NFL seasons with 39 interceptions, which he returned for 961 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also recovered 13 fumbles, returned 104 punts for 959 yards, and gained 257 yards on 13 kickoff returns.

Later years

After his football career, Edwards dealt with tax problems and held numerous jobs. He retired around age 60 after working in construction. Edwards battled a

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

addiction until around 2000. During that time, he lost both of his Super Bowl rings. He gave his Super Bowl X ring to a drug dealer as collateral for a $20 loan, which he failed to repay. Edwards' ring from Super Bowl IX went missing after he entrusted it to a friend while recovering from his drug addiction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Glen Living people 1947 births American football safeties Pittsburgh Steelers players San Diego Chargers players American Conference Pro Bowl players Florida A&M Rattlers football players Players of American football from St. Petersburg, Florida Tampa Bay Bandits players