Pittsburgh Steelers Legend Terry Bradshaw

No team in the National Football League has won more Super Bowl games than the Pittsburg Steelers. In fact, they have been one of the most prolific franchises in the League since their founding in 1933. With more AFC title wins and more AFC title games played than any other team, they are definitely one of the top franchises in the NFL. And unlike other teams that have had periods of greatness followed by long periods of mediocrity, the Steelers have consistently competed for football's highest honors in every decade of the modern era. The team manages to find its way into the Super Bowl game at least once every ten years since the 1970s began. Even their greatest dynasty was sandwiched between periods of steady success. That dynasty, of course, occurred in the period that resulted in the Steelers winning four Super Bowl trophies in one decade - all behind the legendary arm of the great Terry Bradshaw.

Mister Steel Arm

Younger fans of the game may only know Bradshaw from his current activity as a commentator for Fox Sports, and as a longtime verbal foil for Howie Long. There was a time, though, when "Mister Steel Arm" - as he was known during his time with the Steelers - was one of the best field generals of his time. Bradshaw had a strong arm, to be sure, but it was his strong presence on the field that played the largest role in his ability to lead the dominating Steelers teams of the 1970s. Never the flashiest of players (he seldom had games in which he threw the ball for more than a couple hundred yards), Bradshaw nevertheless knew how to win games and was allowed to make his own play calls for the fourteen seasons he spent in the NFL.

As a leader

As the number one draft selection of the Steelers in 1970, Bradshaw had little to do in his first season with the team. When he did start in that second season, he had some trouble adjusting to the game at the professional level. That fact, along with his southern accent and continual interceptions led many in the media to assume that he was just a dim-witted country boy who was in over his head. Terry ignored the comments and concentrated on his play, eventually becoming the best of his generation. Those who argue that fact have only to consider the eight divisional titles and four total Super Bowls he won as a member of the Steelers.

How good was he?

Naturally, any quarterback on a team with the Steel Curtain group of defenders from the 1970s is going to suffer from an impression that there was little he needed to do to win games. The truth, however, is that Bradshaw's arm was an omnipresent threat to opposing defenses. A single long-range bomb from Mister Steel Arm could turn the tide of a game in a matter of seconds. And in the area of intelligence, the ridicule was of no concern to Bradshaw. When confronting the issue of whether he was smart enough to quarterback a team or spell cat for that matter Bradshaw's only reply was that there's no comparison between football and rocket science.