10 greatest Pittsburgh Steelers of all time

Pittsburgh head coach Chuck Noll with wide receiver coach Lionel Taylor, Hall of Fame defensive tackle Joe Greene and defensive tackle Ernie Holmes, during the closing seconds of the Steelers 16-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sylvia Allen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of pro football’s most storied franchises.

From 1933-71, the Pittsburgh Steelers — originally dubbed the Pirates — played in a total of one postseason game. There was a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1947.

It’s safe to say that things have changed for the Black and Gold the last four-plus decades. No team has won more regular-season contests since the 1970 merger. No franchise has corralled more division titles while the organization is tied with the New England Patriots with a league-best six Super Bowl victories.

Since 1969, only Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin have been head coaches for the Steelers. The first two are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But this is a look at the 10 greatest players in franchise history. And it also doesn’t include a slew of superstars and even a few Hall of Famers who suited up for this club over the years who will be mentioned throughout.

10. John Stallworth, WR

He is one of three members of the team’s fabled 1974 draft class to be on this list. That year, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected four future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and did it all in the first five rounds. And they would add another in undrafted free agent safety Donnie Shell.

Talk about a haul? Wide receiver Lynn Swann was a first-round pick, middle linebacker Jack Lambert from Kent State came in the second and center Mike Webster was a fifth-round selection.

Of course, there was also wideout John Stallworth, a fourth-round pick from Alabama A&M. For quite a few years, he was the franchise’s all-time reception leader with 537 catches, good for 8,723 yards and 63 scores. These days, Hines Ward is the franchise’s all-time leader with 1,000 receptions and was Super Bowl XL MVP. But Stallworth and Swann (who retired after nine seasons) both came up big in the playoffs on numerous occasions. The former — who totaled 57 grabs for 1,054 yards and 12 scores in 18 postseason contests — would walk away from the game following the 1987 season.

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