1974 - THE BEGINNING OF A FOOTBALL DYNASTY CONTINUED
(1974 history starts here>>>)

While the Steelers made the playoffs in 1973, before losing to Oakland, they were still coming up short in the receiving department. As a consequent they used their first draft pick of 1974 on Lynn Swann and in the fourth round took out additional insurance with the choice of John Stallworth.

In camp, it was Stallworth who was shining. The Steelers receivers’ coach, Lionel Taylor confirmed, “Nope. I wasn’t surprised at Stallworth’s. He’s a number one pick. He’s a damn good receiver.”

Coach Noll wasn’t as definitive as Taylor, but was still enthusiastic. “Stallworth’s a fine football player. He covered on punts Saturday (in the Steelers first exhibition game). He made tackles on punt coverage. He indicates he has not only ability and talent, but toughness too.

It’s a special value some receivers have. It’s the same thing with Lynn Swann. He was breaking tackles and doing other things right too.”

Stallworth was realistic about the praise, “I’m from a small school. Swann’s from USC. Publicity is the thing and they get a lot of it. But I know I’m a good receiver. All I gotta do is show it. All I can say is watch me.”

Gary Robin Pinkel and Curt Randolph Grossman were the tight ends in camp. With John McMakin and Larry Brown on strike, there wasn’t much confidence in the depth of Pittsburgh’s tight ends.

Pinkel was realistic when he admitted the reason he signed up with the Steelers was due to his belief that he would have a better chance to make it with them. Whereas Grossman was motivated by the $200 a week he was receiving.

Jack Lambert was making sufficient impression in camp to be a likely candidate to make the final squad.

The Steelers were seeing a trickle of veterans returning, while in Cleveland, 13 veterans upped and left camp, leaving just two behind and only 35 players in total in camp. Their owner, Art Modell, was in Washington as a member of the NFL Owners negotiating committee and commented that pressure wouldn’t move him.

While the national negotiations were going nowhere and some owners were perceived as dragging their heels, the Steelers were looking forward to their Monday Night game in Pittsburgh against the Bears.

Coach Noll shrugged aside the prospect of a picket line being organised for the game, saying his business is “football, not labour.”

With the debate raging over who should the lead the Steelers in their next exhibition game, Terry Bradshaw tried to dampen the fire by commenting, “No, I don’t want to start against the Bears. I’m not in that great shape. I’m sore from throwing. I’d like to play a little bit, but not a whole lot.”

“I’d embarrass myself because I’d run most of the time,” he added with a smile.

Street and Smith’s annual football preview echoed the national enthusiasm for the Steelers chances by predicting the Steelers to win the AFC title beating the Dolphins in the championship game before losing to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl.

On August 11, the shoots of compromise appeared when, after striking for 41 days, the players association decided to ask its members to suspend the strike for two weeks and report to camp for “a cooling off period.”

The director of the union, Ed Garvey, described the decision to call a return to camp as a tough one. The request had been recommended by the federal mediator W.J. Usery in an effort to inject some life into the stagnant talks.

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Last updated May 11th 2012.

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