OT: Greatest Pittsburgh Sport Star
- Thread starter TFBaum
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I'd still stick with Roberto but Wille was huge. He looked good on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 79' as Sportsmen of the Year. (With Bradshaw)
Joe Greene is certainly one of the greatest Steelers of all time and was instrumental in winning the four Super Bowls. He is a Steeler Icon. But the Steeler identity of toughness and hard playing defense goes way back before Greene.
Look up Val Jansante, Dale Dodrill, Jack Butler, Ernie Stautner, Myron Pottios. They were very tough and while their team lost many games, the opponent suffered many bruises and knew they were in a very tough hard- fought game.
But over the last 50 years many NFL fans have become Steelers fans. Perhaps more so than any other NFL team. They would not have won those championships without Terry Bradshaw and many of these non- Pittsburgh area fans begin the conversion with Bradshaw.
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You bring up a good point. With Clemente and Stargell, Clemente was the leader. Stargell followed Clemente's advice. Stargell was early in his career considered the finest fielding leftfielder ever by none other than the great Dodger manager Walter Alston. (Currently that honor might go to Barry Bonds not withstanding his poor positioning and throw to allow the slow Sid Bream to score from second defeating the 1972 Pirates). Stargell was great but hit poorly in the 1971 World Series. While Clemente was the MVP and batted .414.
Toughness and losing equates to Chuck Wepner. No one cares that you can go the distance leaking like a broken faucet.
Chuck Wepner took the beating he did not deliver one. In the '50's and '60's there was no salary cap and the Rooney's would not over-spend on the marquee payers. So they had the tough defensive players who beat up on the other teams' stars and they would eventually lose. It was well known that the Steelers were always a very tough physical team.
yah, i heard he golfed alot there too, but this was at Valley Brook - which is just down the street as well
There shouldn’t even be a discussion. I can’t believe there’s even a thread about this. It’s Mario and that’s the list. Just mentioning these other guys in the same sentence as him is insulting. The ignorance in this thread is astounding.
I'm no hockey historian, so I decided to do some googling to see who folks ranked as the best hockey players ever. I was surprised to find Lemieux consistently 4th.
Mario is easily #1.
Joe Greene is certainly in the top 3-4 but probably 2 (just ahead of 21). He and Chuck Noll turned a moribund franchise into a winning franchise. He is also the #1 Steeler of all time, which isn’t debatable.
Joe Greene is certainly in the top 3-4 but probably 2 (just ahead of 21). He and Chuck Noll turned a moribund franchise into a winning franchise. He is also the #1 Steeler of all time, which isn’t debatable.
Yeah I never watch hockey games honestly so it's hard for me to contextualize these lists. Was Rocket Richard the Bill Russell of the NHL? Was Mario the most dominant but for a much shorter period of time than Gretzky?
Seems like Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr are always ahead of Mario.
They shouldn't be, if Mario was from Ontario and named Mark Lawrence he'd be ranked either #1 or #2.
If Mark Lawrence played his whole career in Philadelphia where would Pittsburgh fans rank him?
I love Mario - but it if you're talking about their play and impact - it's not even close, it's Joe Green. I see Terrible Towels all across the globe - I don't see Penguins gear that often outside of Western Pa.
I live in another state and many sports fans don't even know or recognize the name Mario Lemieux. Rarely if not ever do you see someone wearing a Penguin item.
But most fans and non-fans know Clemente and Terry Bradshaw. And they give Pittsburgh the recognition it deserves.
The Pittsburgh Steelers is recognized as the best run sports franchise in America. And they have the largest following throughout the country. Away games are very well attended by Steelers fans that you would think it was a home game. And Terry Bradshaw is the name recognition that started that love affair. When I see outside of Pittsburgh someone wearing a Steeler item, I often asking why are you a Steeler fan? The answer most often is because of Bradshaw along with Swann and Stallworth and the 1970's. Offense!
With all the great Steeler players on the 1970's teams the ONE player who you could not substitute for and win those championships is Terry Bradshaw. It starts and ends with him.
Clemente is a Pittsburgh Icon. He believed he was born to play baseball and he wanted to be a Jesus like figure helping the young, poor Puerto Ricans and other Latin Americans. Read the biography of Clemente by David Maraniss.
Interesting you pick that year. By my recollection, that was Stargell's career year.
Older, but not (appreciably) heavier. It was actually Stargell's deteriorating knees that prompted the move from the outfield to first base.
Yes, it was his career year, but not his World Series. That belonged to Clemente. But 1979 was his World Series and "We are Family".
I'm curious to see how someone who actually remembers seeing both play evaluates them. That being a World Series year seemed to be a good year to use!
J
JGregor
Guest
Just a few thoughts:
Clemente had a superb body structure. He could have played 4 more years at the least. When the great 2B, Mazeroski, was retiring Clemente tried to coax him to stay, Maz said that if he had his body he would still be able. At 36 in the 1971 World Series he played like a 25 yr old. Ran the bases as he always did, made the majestic throws, batted .414 and was the MVP.
The topic is the greatest “Pittsburgh” sports star. Among the many great athletes and different sports it’s hard to measure and equate greatness, but the impact and influence with their athletic achievements is more noticeable.
You will not notice a greater RF throwing arm than Clemente’s. It’s in the videos and in the statistics. The greatest RF throwing arm. A great and daring base runner and a outstanding hitter who came through in the clutch. A true 5 tool star player. He hit for power in the the spacious Forbes field and for average.
His influence for Pittsburgh transcend to Latin America. Dominican’s love and play baseball and Clemente and the Pittsburgh Pirates are talked about as it is in Puerto Rico and else where whenever baseball is discussed.
Also in Pittsburgh there is his Museum that my wife and I could not get into since you needed reservation that needed to be made weeks in advance. There are the statues and places in Pittsburgh named after him as well as his dream fulfilled: the sports complex in his native Puerto Rico……
And of course he gave his life on a humanitarian mission to the earthquake victims in Honduras that gained national attention on New Year’s Eve 1972…..
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jtown,
I can't compare Stargell and Roberto. However, the reason I lean toward Roberto is what Gregor said about Clemente's throwing arm. THAT is what I remember. I wasn't a very good all around athlete but I was a pretty good outfielder in Little League compared to the rest of the team. I could field but aside from a short distance I just didn't have the arm others did. That's why I loved Clemente.
It's Mario followed by Clemente or Arnie.
Mario was/is a God in Canada so all of North America (except in the southern U.S.) knew of Mario's greatness.
With Mario's series winning goal against the Soviets in the Canada Cup, all of the Soviet Union knew how great Mario was.
Clemente was beloved and his greatness known in Latin America and Palmer in Europe but they both were decades before Mario so coverage then relied more on newspapers than in Mario's time.
Mario was/is a God in Canada so all of North America (except in the southern U.S.) knew of Mario's greatness.
With Mario's series winning goal against the Soviets in the Canada Cup, all of the Soviet Union knew how great Mario was.
Clemente was beloved and his greatness known in Latin America and Palmer in Europe but they both were decades before Mario so coverage then relied more on newspapers than in Mario's time.
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