Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey

The Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey has pretty much been their signature black and gold colors since their inception in 1933, as the Pittsburgh Pirates. The only exception would be in 1943 when they adopted the green and white of the Philadelphia Eagles, when their two teams merged, and that season they became the “Steagles”. The Steagles were short-lived though, and by the next season, they once again became the Pirates, and kept that name until 1940, when then-owner Art Rooney wanted to give the team a new identity after a seven-year long losing streak.

The Steelers have really only made a few subtle changes over the years in their jerseys: moving around logos and numbers, and changing the vertical striping to horizontal after their first season.  Probably their most infamous change came in 1966 when they became known as the “Caped Crusaders,” imitating the Batman look made popular by the current TV program featuring Adam West. Though Rooney liked the look, the players didn't, and the uniforms were retired after 2 years.

In the late 60's the Steelers messed around with several uniform designs, but in 1968 they settled on the style that they are currently wearing today: black jersey, with bold white numbers, and gold and white striping on the sleeves. Their black and gold colors are currently used by all the professional teams in Pittsburgh.  The city's official flag is also black and gold. The Pittsburgh Steelers have only retired one jersey: #70 Ernie Stautner.  

Even though the Steelers  are the oldest franchise in the AFC, they became one of the last teams to add an insignia to their helmet when they put the “steelmark” on their gold helmets. The steelmark, which is used by US Steel, is only on one side of the helmet since the team equipment manager was skeptical of  how it would look. But because the Steelers made the playoffs later that year, the tradition stuck.

Of all the AFC and NFC teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers have won the most Super Bowl Titles—numbering 6—the most AFC Championship games—numbering 7—and the most Conference Championship games—numbering 10.  Their most recent championship was Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have the distinction of having one of the largest fanbases, known as the “Steeler Nation.”  The Steelers' fans were ranked as the best in the NFL by ESPN in 2008. Up to that point the team had an “unbelievable” sellout streak of a consecutive 299 games, and have sold out every home game since 1972.

The Steelers have also had the privilege of having some of the most outstanding and famous football players in the league, including Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, L.C. Greenwood, and of course “Mean” Joe Greene.