An illustrated portrait of the storied Pittsburgh Steelers football team looks at their remarkable accomplishments during the years from 1975 to 1980, during which the team won four Super Bowls and changed the course of professional football history. "Whenever I run into people all over the country, they remember our team. Many of them watched us during their own formative years, whether they rooted for us or against us. Some of the names may have been forgotten, along with some of the games, but what they remember is that the Steelers were one of the all-time great teams." —From the Foreword by Rocky Bleier "The Pittsburgh team from the seventies is probably the best of all time. Cumulatively, between offense and defense and special teams, and the coaches and owners, I put them up against any team. . . . They not only had the power and the grit, but they had the flash and the great talent and athletic ability. . . . Defensively, they had no weaknesses." —Vince Ferragamo, L. A. Rams quarterback, Super Bowl XIV "Yes, we won a lot of games. But I don’t think that’s what developed a fan base and almost a cult following that we had then and even to this day have. It wasn’t so much that we won a lot of games, but it was the way we won the games. You knew that when you came into Pittsburgh, what you wanted to do was get out of here alive. . . ." —Dwight White, Steelers 1971–1980 Pittsburgh s Three Rivers Stadium was not particularly alluring just another cookie-cutter ballpark with artificial turf. But during the seventies the thought of visiting Three Rivers unnerved even the NFL s best teams. Pittsburgh is built on the Three Rivers a point where the Allegheny and Monongahela meet to form the Ohio. For most of the 20th century the city was a hard area inhabited by blue-collar workers who preferred their football to be played by hard men. Unfortunately, the Steelers brand of hard football had never amounted to much in the way of winning. All that began to change in the seventies. Steel Dynasty is the remarkable story of how Chuck Noll took a perennially underachieving franchise and turned it into one of the most fearsome and successful in the history of the NFL. Built around a legendary defense comprised of future Hall of Famers and incredible personalities, the Steelers, from 1974 to 1979, romped to a dazzling 67 20 1 regular-season record going 38 6 at home while nearly doubling the points total of their opponents (2,075 1,189). Along the way they won an unprecedented four Super Bowls. So dominant was the Steelers defense, famously dubbed the "Steel Curtain," that the NFL felt compelled to institute rules changes designed to give offenses a fighting chance. In this book, defensive stalwarts Jack Ham, "Mean Joe" Greene, Mel Blount, and everyone who made up the luminous Steel Curtain share their memories, perspectives, and best stories. The Steelers, however, were not all about defense. The collection of talent on the offensive side of the ball was just as impressive. Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, Mike Webster, and John Stallworth are all in the Hall of Fame, and they contributed to an offense that was fundamentally sound and highly effective. They too share their unvarnished and insightful thoughts about the era when Pittsburgh was the most feared destination in the league. Evocative, entertaining, and full of fresh stories and anecdotes, Steel Dynasty is more than just the tale of a great football team it is a revealing yet nostalgic look back at one of the signature decades in the history of the NFL. Bill Chastain spent 12 years as a sportswriter for the Tampa Tribune and is now a staff writer for MLB.com. His byline has appeared in numerous national publications, and he has written three other books: The Steve Spurrier Story: From Heisman to Head Ball Coach; The Streak; and Payne at Pinehurst: The Greatest U.S. Open Ever. Chastain lives in Tampa with his wife, Patti, and their two children, Carly and Kel. Used Book in Good Condition