1979 World Champions. An extended Family.
This week, the Mets are visiting the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pittsburgh's 10 Greatest Athletes
Honorable Mention to Pittsburgh Pirates in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but not otherwise in this Top 10: James "Pud" Galvin, Fred Clarke, Jake Beckley, Jack Chesbro, Vic Willis, Max Carey, Hazen "Kiki" Cuyler, Pie Traynor, Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner, Al Lopez, Arky Vaughan, Ralph Kiner, Bill Mazeroski and Bert Blyleven.
If Barry Bonds ever makes the Hall of Fame, he can be included on this list. At this point, your guess is as good as mine. But, as far as anybody knows, he wasn't using steroids while with the Pirates.
When
The Sporting News named its 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999, Bonds, then in the middle of his career but not known to be a steroid user, was ranked 34th. Waner was ranked 62nd, Kiner 90th.
Honorable Mention to players from the Negro Leagues' Homestead Grays in the Baseball Hall of Fame, whose statistics are woefully incomplete, and thus I can't put them in the Top 10. In chronological order: Smokey Joe Williams, Martin Dihigo, Jud Wilson, Oscar Charleston, Judy Johnson, Josh Gibson, Bill Foster, Willie Wells, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Walter "Buck" Leonard and Ray Brown.
Honorable Mention to players from the Negro Leagues' Pittsburgh Crawfords in the Baseball Hall of Fame: Charleston, Johnson, Gibson, Bell, and Leroy "Satchel" Paige. Not in the Hall of Fame, but should be, is Ted Radcliffe, known as Double Duty because he was a catcher and a pitcher.
Honorable Mention to Pittsburgh Steelers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but not otherwise in the Top 10. Actually, you could do a Top 10 of only Steelers, and still leave some important guys out. Here's the guys I'm leaving out: Bullet Bill Dudley, Ernie Stautner, Jack Butler, Bobby Layne, John Henry Johnson, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Mike Webster, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Rod Woddson, Dermontti Dawson and Jerome Bettis.
Think about this: When
The Sporting News named its 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, Blount was ranked 36th, Ham 47th, Webster 75th, Harrisn 83rd and Woodson 87th. When the NFL Network named its 100 Greatest Players in 2010, Harris was left off the list, but Woodson ranked 41st, Blount 44th, Ham 60th and Webster 68th.
Not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame, but almost certain to get in: Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu. Also with a chance: L.C. Greenwood, Alan Faneca, James Harrison, and the still-active Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown.
Honorable Mention to Connie Hawkins, the Basketball Hall-of-Famer who led the Pittsburgh Pipers to the 1967-68 ABA Championship, the league's 1st title.
Honorable Mention to Pittsburgh Penguins in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but not otherwise in this Top 10: Paul Coffey, Joe Mullen, Mark Recchi, Ron Francis. With a good chance: The still-active Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury.
In 1998, when
The Hockey News named its 100 Greatest Players, Coffey was ranked 28th. When the NHL named its 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players in 2017, Coffey and Francis were both named to it, although there were no rankings.
Now, the Top 10:
10. Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers, 2004-present. A 6-time Pro Bowl, he was the 2004 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and has won Super Bowls at ages 23 (making him the youngest Super Bowl-winning starting quarterback ever) and 26, and nearly another at 28. He is also the youngest quarterback to reach 50,000 career passing yards.
He has also gained a dark cloud over himself, almost certainly of his own doing. We may never know the full story, but if Kobe Bryant can get away with what he did, and still be considered a hero, maybe Big Ben can have people choose to forget as well.
I'm not saying that's a good thing.
9. Jaromír Jágr, right wing, Pittsburgh Penguins, 1990-2001. He'd rank a lot higher on this list if he'd stayed in Pittsburgh for his entire career, which, at age 46, he shows no signs of wanting to stop. With the Penguins, he scored 439 of his 766 career NHL goals, made 9 of his 13 All-Star Games, won the 1999 Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL Most Valuable Player, won all 5 of his Art Ross Trophies as leading scorer, and won both of his Stanley Cups, in 1991 and 1992. (He also reached the Finals with the 2013 Boston Bruins.)
When
The Hockey News named its 100 Greatest Players in 1998,
Jágr, only 26 years old, was ranked 37th. When the NHL named its 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players in 2017, he was named to it. The Penguins have not officially retired his Number 68, but have not given it back out since he left. Of course, if he doesn't retire, he'll never make the Hockey Hall of Fame.
8. Willie Stargell, 1st base, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1962-82. He helped the Buccos win 6 National League Eastern Division titles, and win the 1971 and 1979 World Series, in the latter becoming the "Pops" of "The Family." He shared
Sports Illustrated's 1979 Sportsman of the Year award with another Pittsburgh icon who won a World Championship that year, Terry Bradshaw.
He hit 475 career home runs, including the longest home runs ever measured at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, both Jarry Park and the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, and the 1st 2 homers hit out of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles -- but, strangely, did not hit the longest at either Forbes Field (Babe Ruth) or Three Rivers Stadium (Greg Luzinski, which is only fair since "Pops" hit the longest ever at the Vet).
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Pirates retired his Number 8, and made him one of the figures they honored with a statue outside PNC Park.
7. Sidney Crosby, center, Pittsburgh Penguins, 2005-present. Has it really already been 13 seasons? Yes. And he's not quite 31 years old, so we could be dealing with the twit for a long time to come.
He was the youngest player to have 100 points in a season, doing it before turning 19. He was the 1st rookie to have 100 points and 100 penalty minutes in a season, testifying to both his talent and his penchant for dirty play. He has made 7 All-Star Games, including becoming the youngest player ever voted to the starting lineup, 19.
He was the youngest winner of the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer, again at 19 in 2007, and won it again in 2014. He's also a 2-time winner of the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as leading goalscorer, in 2010 and 2017. He's not quite the youngest winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP, but he's won it in 2007 and 2014.
He's made 4 Stanley Cup Finals, losing in 2008, winning and becoming the youngest Cup-winning Captain in 2009, and winning both the Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP in 2016 and 2017. When the NHL named its 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players in 2017, he was named to it.
We'll never know what he would have achieved if he hadn't been Gary Bettman's golden boy, and the referees had been allowed to properly apply the rules. But he still might have been a future Hall-of-Famer. And it's highly unlikely that any Penguin will ever again wear Number 87, which isn't all that common a number in the NHL anyway.
6. Jack Lambert, linebacker, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1974-84. They called Joe Greene "Mean Joe," but Joe once said Jack was even meaner: "He's so mean, he don't even like himself." Anyone who saw the
Sports Illustrated cover of him, with his artificial front teeth removed, would believe it.
No, kids, this is not Hulk Hogan.
This is a real athlete.
But this isn't about how mean he was, it's about what he achieved for a Pittsburgh sports team. He was part of the Steelers' 1974 draft, often considered the greatest NFL Draft ever, as they selected 4 eventual members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Lambert, center Mike Webster, and receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth.
Lambert was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1974, made the 1st of his 9 straight Pro Bowls in 1975, and helped the Steelers win the Super Bowl both seasons. He was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1976 and 1983, and helped the Steelers win 2 more Super Bowls.
The Steelers named him to their 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, and have removed his Number 58 from circulation, although they have not officially retired it. In addition to the Hall, he was named to the NFL's 1970s and 1980s All-Decade Teams and the 75th Anniversary Team.
When
The Sporting News named its 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, he was ranked 30th. When the NFL Network named its 100 Greatest Players in 2010, he was ranked 29th, actually gaining a place with 11 additional years of players boosting their own credentials. As the man himself would say, "That'll cool your ass off!"
He appears not to be related to the Jack Lambert who starred at forward for London soccer team Arsenal in the 1930s, winning 2 Football League titles.
5. Roberto Clemente, right field, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1955-72. This is how rich Pittsburgh's sports history is: A man known as "The Great One" -- a nickname he had after actor Jackie Gleason, but before hockey player Wayne Gretzky -- is only 5th on this list.
He was a 15-time All-Star, a 12-time Gold Glove, a 4-time NL batting champion, and the 1966 NL MVP. He played in 14 World Series games, and got a hit in every one of them, helping the Pirates win the 1960 World Series, and being named the MVP of the Pirates' win in the 1971 World Series, an event which raised him from Caribbean icon to American icon.
Although he played most of his home games at Forbes Field, whose dimensions were similar to the pre-renovation original Yankee Stadium, limiting him to 240 career home runs, his lifetime batting average was .317, his OPS+ 130, and he collected an even 3,000 hits.
We know how the story ends, on New Year's Eve 1972. It's worth noting that, in that season, at age 38, he batted .312, and had 10 home runs and 60 RBIs, despite missing most of July with an injury, and helped the Pirates reach their 3rd straight NLCS. He got hits in 21 of his last 31 games that season. He batted .341 the season before.
This was, at most, a first step toward age-related decline. He was selected for the All-Star Team in 1972, and it wasn't a gift to an aging player from a public unwilling to disappoint a proud man: He earned it. Hank Aaron and Willie Mays were both still legitimate All-Stars at age 40, and playing at 42. There's no reason to suspect that Clemente, barring the tragedy, wouldn't have matched them.
The Pirates retired his Number 21, erected a statue of him outside Three Rivers Stadium, moved it to PNC Park, and made the right field wall at that park 21 feet high in his honor. The 6th Street Bridge, connecting downtown Pittsburgh with the ballpark and the Steelers' Heinz Field, is named for him.
He was the 1st Caribbean-born player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and was the highest-ranking Hispanic player, Number 20, on
The Sporting News' 1999 list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. In 2003, George W. Bush posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
4. John "Honus" Wagner, shortstop, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1900-17. Pennsylvania has long been known for its large German -- or, as they would say, "Deutsch" -- community, which includes the Amish, a.k.a. the Pennsylvania Dutch. John Peter Wagner was a son of German immigrants, and was often called the German equivalent of John, "Hans." Somehow, this became "Honus." But despite being bowlegged, and looking less like a great athlete than perhaps any baseball player until Yogi Berra came along, he could run, and was known as "The Flying Dutchman."
It's now been over 100 years after his last game, and he is still regarded as the greatest shortstop who ever lived -- yes, Yankee Fans, ahead of Derek Jeter. With Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays, he's usually in the discussion for the title of "Greatest Baseball Player Who Ever Lived."
He helped his hometown Pirates win Pennants in 1901, 1902, 1903 and 1909, losing the 1st World Series to Cy Young's Boston Americans (Red Sox) in 1903, but winning the Series over Cobb's Detroit Tigers in 1909. He won more NL batting titles than anyone, 8 (a record since tied by Tony Gwynn); and led the NL in RBIs and stolen bases 5 times each.
His lifetime batting average was .329, his OPS+ 151, his career RBIs 1,732 (a record at the time), and he collected 3,430 hits. Remember the fuss made when Pete Rose broke Cobb's career record for hits? Well, somebody had to have the record before Cobb, and it was Wagner.
He was a great defensive player, too, appearing in 1,887 games at shortstop, 374 in the outfield, 248 at 1st base, 210 at 3rd base, 57 at 2nd base, and even twice on the mound, pitching 8 1/3rd innings, all scoreless. When poet and baseball fan Ogden Nash made out his "Lineup for Yesterday" in 1949, he wrote, "W is for Wagner, the bowlegged beauty. Short was closed to all traffic with Honus on duty."
He later coached with the Pirates, wearing Number 33 in this role, and it was retired for him. They also dedicated a statue of him outside Forbes Field, moving it to Three Rivers Stadium and now to PNC Park.
With Cobb, Ruth, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson, he was 1 of the 1st 5 players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. In 1999, 82 years after his last game and 44 years after his death,
The Sporting News placed him 13th on its 100 Greatest Baseball Players list, and fans voted him onto the MLB All-Century Team.
3. Terry Bradshaw, quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1970-83. If you only know him as the jocular, intellectually-challenged redneck on
Fox NFL Sunday, you should know what he did as a player: The "dummy" put up a very smart legacy. He was named to 3 Pro Bowls, and was NFL MVP in 1978. He shared
Sports Illustrated's 1979 Sportsman of the Year award with another Pittsburgh icon who won a World Championship that year, Willie Stargell.
He got the Pittsburgh Steelers into 4 Super Bowls, won them all, and was named MVP in 2 of them. The Steelers have never given his Number 12 back out. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,
The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players (44th), and the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players (50th).
2. Mario Lemieux, center, Pittsburgh Penguins, 1984-2006. He's not the only player whose fans have said he "saved the franchise," but he has done it twice -- and the 2nd time, it was close to being literally true. Except for George Halas of the Chicago Bears, no one in the history of North American major league sports has had as much impact on a team as both a player and an owner.
This isn't about the 3 Stanley Cups in 4 trips to the Finals as an owner, however: It's only about his playing. 690 goals. The 1985 Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. 10 All-Star Games, including 3 MVP awards. 3 Hart Trophies as NHL MVP. 6 Art Ross Trophies as leading scorer. The 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cups, both times winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP.
The 1993 Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, for his comeback from what could have been a fatal illness. The 2000 Lester Patrick Trophy, for contributions to hockey in America. Election to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
When
The Hockey News named its 100 Greatest Players in 1998, he was ranked 4th -- and he hadn't yet come out of retirement. When the NHL named its 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players in 2017, he was named to it. The Penguins not only retired his Number 66, but had the address of the Civic Arena (since demolished) changed to 66 Mario Lemieux Place.
But when you think of Pittsburgh sports, you think of football. When you think of Pittsburgh football, you think of the Steelers. When you think of the Steelers, even Terry Bradshaw admits you think of defense. And when you think of Pittsburgh Steeler defensive players, one name stands out:
1. Joe Greene, defensive tackle, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1969-81. His name is actually Charles Edward Greene. I can't find a reference as to why he was called Joe. But his college team, North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) had a team that was called the Mean Green (actual name, the Eagles), and the nickname drifted over to him: "Mean Joe Greene."
He was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1969, and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1972 and 1974. It's been said that the 1st sign the Steeler players had that something special was beginning was in a 1971 game with the Chicago Bears, when Joe got into a kick-return tussle with the man then considered the meanest player in the game, Bears linebacker Dick Butkus. "This is gonna be the greatest fight in the history of the National Football League!" yelled Steeler center Ray Mansfield. But Butkus just walked away, not interested in getting a piece of the big Texan. (He was dealing with a nasty knee injury, so that was probably it.)
He made 10 Pro Bowls, and was the leader of the Steel Curtain defensive line also including L.C. Greenwood, Dwight "Mad Dog" White and Ernie "Fats" Holmes that paved the way for the Steelers to win Super Bowls IX, X, XIII and XIV. (He is now the last survivor of that front four.) He later coached on the staffs of the Steelers, the Miami Dolphins and the Arizona Cardinals, and worked in the Steeler front office. Outside of the Rooney family, he is 1 of 4 people to get rings for all 6 Steeler Super Bowl wins.
He was named to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, and to the NFL's 1970s All-Decade and 75th Anniversary Teams. North Texas has retired his Number 75. So have the Steelers, which is a big deal, as they've only officially retired 1 other number, the 70 of another defensive tackle, 1950s star Ernie Stautner. When
The Sporting News named its 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, he came in 14th. When the NFL Network named its 100 Greatest Players in 2010, he actually went up a notch, to 13th.
Like Los Angeles Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo in this photo from Super Bowl XIV, I'm not in a position to argue with him about it. Nor am I going to tell him I prefer Pepsi to Coke.
You want a Coke, Joe? Really, you can have it.
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