Big Lead Sports Bar

12/17/2006

Reader Submission: Best Pittsburgh Athletes, By the Numbers

Reader Jeff Alberter of YHLhockey.com submits this interesting list of the best Pittsburgh athletes "by the numbers". This is not to be confused with the PensBlog list of the best (and worst) Penguins, by number, as this includes Steelers, Panthers and Pirates in addition to the boys of winter.

Best Pittsburgh Athletes: By the Numbers

Here's an end-of-season extravaganza for your holiday viewing pleasure: A couple of years ago, ESPN.com did a list of the greatest athletes of all time by jersey number. Ever since, I’ve always toyed with the idea of doing the same, only with Pittsburgh athletes. As far as I know, it has never been done, so for the last month I’ve worked on this list, which was a lot of fun to research. Yeah, I know….not really a hockey column, or news. Just read and shaddup.


NOTE: This list was limited to the players that I was interested in; namely the Steelers, Pirates, Penguins, and Pitt football players. My apologies to Pitt/Duquesne basketball, Maulers, Xplosion, and any of the dozen or so lacrosse, basketball and indoor soccer teams that have passed through.



00. Jack Collins – *Grand entrance drumroll* We open with…..an obscure Steeler from the 50’s. Myron Cope probably had a beer or two with him.


0. Junior Ortiz (Johnny Clement) – Ortiz hung around for quite a long time in the 80’s as a backup catcher and hit .336 in 1986. I think Johnny Clement played guitar in a New York Dolls cover band.

1. Gary Anderson (Denis Herron, Larry Fitzgerald) – Herron was probably the best Penguin goalie in the pre-Barrasso era. Fitzgerald had a sick sophomore season at Pitt, finishing 2nd in the Heisman voting, and both of those guys have necks. Anderson does not, but he’s both the Steelers’ and NFL’s all-time leading scorer. Plus, he’s genuinely African-American.

2. Jack Wilson (Chris Tamer, Todd Peterson) – Wilson had more weight fluctuation over the past two years than Anna Nicole Smith.

3. Jay Bell (Johnny Ray, Phil Garner) – Three above-average middle infielders. Bell played on better teams than Johnny Ray. My late 80’s/early 90’s bias rears its ugly head.

4. Ralph Kiner (Josh Miller, Dave Burrows) – After losing this one, Josh Miller was chewed out by Coach Cowher. Force of habit, ya know.

5. Bill Madlock (Ulf Samuelsson, Sid Bream) - Former batting champ Mad Dog takes a bite out of Cam Neely’s bane.

6. Tony Pena (Bubby Brister, Smokey Burgess) – The lone bright spot on the mid-80’s Pirates teams, Pena will be remembered like John Cullen, for the return we got in trading him. Da Bubster made like Jessica Simpson with his famous quote about the lake in Pittsburgh. And to think he was a botched-snap away from leading the Steelers to the ‘89 AFC title game. Smokey Burgess could’ve been the hero of the ’60 series with his 8th inning homer, had it not been for a Mickey Mantle head fake that tied the game and set the stage for Maz.

7. Ben Roethlisberger (Joe Mullen, Bob Robertson) – Easy win for Gi-normous Benjamin. Mullen was a key cog on the Cup teams, and Bob Robertson once missed a bunt sign and instead hit a homer in the ’71 Series. True story.

8. Willie Stargell (Mark Recchi, Rick Kehoe) – Pieces-of-eight for the Pirates’ Pops. I don’t think any of these guys ever had garbage dumped on their lawns.

9. Bill Mazeroski (Norm Johnson, Matt Bahr) – “…back to the wall goes Berra, it is……over the fence, home run, the Pirates win!!!!!” Nothing more needs said.

10. Ron Francis (Roy Gerela, Kordell Stewart) – Ron Francis played Wedge Antilles to Mario Lemieux’s Luke Skywalker. Mario and Luke got the talent, the glory and the babes, while Ron and Wedge simply did their jobs, were amazingly consistent and ended up with more points than their more-celebrated teammates. (Wedge: two Death Star assists, one AT-AT kill; Luke: one Death Star kill)

11. Paul Waner (John Cullen, Darius Kasparaitis) – Kaspar will always be the straw that broke Dominek Hasek’s back. Cullen will always be the trade that forged the Pens’ first Cup team. Paul Waner had 3,000 hits and about 10,000 beers before the other two were even born.

12. Terry Bradshaw (Freddy Sanchez, Bob Errey) – Only intrigue about this one was Freddy Sanchez squeezing out Mike LaValliere. No easy feat, that.

13. Dan Marino (Jose Lind, Carlos Garcia) – Thank the good lord the Steelers never drafted him, or we would’ve been cheated out of the golden right arm of Mark Malone.

14. Neil O’Donnell (Jim Leyland, Gene Alley) – A freaky thought crossed my mind: did O’Donnell actually play better in Super Bowl XXX than Big Ben in XL?

15. Doug Drabek (Randy Cunneyworth, Denny Neagle) – Winning a Cy Young Award is slightly more prestigious than KOing teammate Mario Lemieux during a playoff game.

16. Al Oliver (Mark Malone, Aramis Ramirez) – A couple ball players who showed mad skills with the Bucs but went on to greater fame elsewhere. Oliver went to Montreal and won a batting title, while Ramirez was traded for a used pitching machine and a couple jock straps. Malone’s mustache has its own congressman.

17. Doc Ellis (Joe Gilliam, Bob Walk) – Was it acid or LSD that Doc was tripping on when he threw his no-no? I’ve heard both accounts. Furthered his reputation as the GROOVE-iest pitcher by tossing a fattie to Reggie Jackson in the ’71 All-Star game.

18. Andy Van Slyke (Mike Tomczak, Jason Kendall) – A Gold Glove centerfielder, a decent backup QB, and a guy whose contract was straight out of a Bad Idea Jeans commercial. Slick wins in a landslide.

19. Bob Friend (Jean Pronovost, Bryan Trottier) – A truly underrated pitcher, Friend was cursed with horrible run support from the 50’s Bucs, yet managed to win 22 games in 1958. He’s still the only pitcher to ever lose 200 games without winning 200 (197-230). That’s like Stacy Keibler telling you, “You’re a nice guy, but…..”

20. Pie Traynor (Rocky Blier, Robert Lang) – If you don’t know who Pie Traynor was, ask your granddad; he probably had a man-crush on him.

21. Roberto Clemente (Michel Briere) – Somber moment here. The most cursed number in Pittsburgh sports, both who wore it tragically died in accidents and had this number retired by the Bucs and Pens.

22. Rick Tocchet (Bobby Layne, Mike Bullard) – From the hated Flyers came Tocchet, whose grittiness helped the Pens to their 2nd Cup. Bobby Layne made his name with the Lions in the 50’s then ended his bar-hopping career in the Burgh. Bullard once scored 50 goals for the flightless fowl.

23. Mike Wagner (Jim Butler, R.J. Reynolds) – How many of you guys remember the old commercial Wagner and Jack Ham made for the Super Bowl(-ling alley) in Windber? I was there when they filmed it. Yes, I am officially old.

24. Barry Bonds (Dick Groat, Brian Giles) – Two MVP’s, one a world champ and the other a surly bastard who had a world of talent to go with countless vials of steroids. But enough about Brian Giles. Upon further review, MLB will not credit Barry Bonds for breaking Aaron’s career home run record. Steroids? Nope. Seems the league is retroactively canceling the home runs Bonds hit while in Pittsburgh instead, since Pittsburgh is considered a ‘minor league’ team.

25. Kevin Stevens (Bobby Bonilla, Randy Carlyle) – Word is, Stevens celebrated this win with an 8-ball and a six-pack, Heidi Fleiss-style.

26. Rod Woodson (Syl Apps, Elroy Face) – The best all-around number. Hot Rod is arguably the best pure athlete in Pittsburgh pro sports history. Syl Apps and Elroy Face are arguably the coolest names in Pittsburgh pro sports history.

27. Kent Tekulve (Alexei Kovalev, Glen Edwards) – The rubber-band man was the 70’s version of Mariano Rivera, only instead of “Enter Sandman,” he intimidated batters with oversized tinted glasses. Kovalev’s toe drag and Edward’s vicious hits aren’t enough to overtake the Teke.

28. Steve Blass (Al Martin, Gord Roberts) – Blass pitched a gem to finish the ’71 Series, is a longtime Pirates color commentator, and as far as I know only married one woman at a time.

29. Barry Foster (Phil Bourque, Marc-Andre Fleury) – Foster set a Steelers single season rushing record (1,690 yards) which ushered in the Cowher Era, then promptly disappeared. What’s he doing these days? I’d wager he never partied down by the river like Bourque.

30. Chad Scott (Frank Pollard, Jean-Sebastien Aubin) - Too bad there’s no number X. Scott would get that one too.

31. Donnie Shell (Ken Wregget, Dave Giusti) - Closer than you might think. Shell was awesome, Wregget was a goalie’s version of Ronnie Francis: never the alpha dog, always vastly underrated. Ask Joe Juneau. Giusti was good out of the pen, but pulled a Homer in the ’72 NLCS.

32. Franco Harris (Vernon Law, Dick Tarnstrom) – Easy call. Besides, the Italian Army promised to “pay me a visit” if Franco didn’t get this one.

33. Tony Dorsett (Honus Wagner, Merril Hoge) – A technicality here. Wagner never wore a number while he played, just as a manager. Among these two and Mario Lemieux, who was the guy who meant the most to his team when he played? Toss up.

34. Andy Russell (Tim Lester, Kris Benson) – I’m sure whoever Russell and Lester married were better catches than Anna Benson.

35. Tom Barrasso (Manny Sanguillen, John Henry Johnson) – All Tommy needs is his own bar and grill when the Pens open their new arena.

36. Jerome Bettis (Matthew Barnaby) – The Bus keeps a rollin’, although I think Barnaby would be a better choice for those ‘Man Law’ commercials.

37. Carnell Lake– For Uncommon Carnell Knowledge.

38. Jason Bay (Tim Worley, Jan Hrdina) – Bay may be a hoser, but us yinzers like our hosers.

39. Dave Parker (Willie Parker, Bobby Walden) –Pittsburgh’s favorite battery tester won two batting titles and an MVP award, but Fast Willie is gaining. Imagine how fast he’d be if he partook in the Cobra’s favorite non-baseball recreation.

40. Danny Murtaugh (Frank Petrangelo, Patrick Lalime) – Each baseball team must have at least one grizzled Irish manager in their history. It’s a law.

41. Lee Flowers (Jocelyn Thibault, Zane Smith) – I always liked how Myron Cope pronounced it: “Flahrs”.

42. Dick Hoak (Warren Williams) – Dick Hoak has been with the Steeler organization ever since a young, bright-eyed Art Rooney stepped off the Mayflower.
43. Troy Polamalu (Don Robinson) – Underneath all that hair is a 43, somewhere.

44. Rob Brown (D.J. Johnson, Brooks Orpik) – Brown’s career was like Britney Spears’; he peaked at 20.

45. John Candelaria (Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, Ian Snell) – The best Pirate pitcher in the 70’s, with a no-no and 20-win season to his credit, the Candy Man takes Fu down with some chin music. Does Fu still play?

46. Reggie Harrison – No truth to the rumors that he may come out of retirement to return kicks for the Steelers.

47. Mel Blount – Five times selected to the Pro Bowl, 1975 defensive player of the year, prompted a rule change, HOFamer. Not bad for a third-round pick.

48. Rick Reuschel (Matt Cushing) – Big Daddy had two or three productive years for the woeful Bucs of the mid-80’s. Not that anyone noticed.

49. Dwayne Woodruff (Tim Wakefield) – Woodruff essentially bridged the Super Bowl teams of the 70’s with the Cowher Era. Wakefield’s slow-motion knuckleball remains the coolest replay in Pirates history.

50. Larry Foote (Earl Holmes) – I dig the Bug Squish.

51. James Farrior (Loren Toews) – Anyone know how Farrior got the nickname “Potsie”?

52. Mike Webster – The best in the Steelers’ incredible run of excellent centers. Seven-time All-Pro, Hall of Famer, tragic figure.

53. Bryan Hinkle (Clark Haggins, Dennis Winston) – Hinkle played for a heckuva long time at linebacker for the black n’ gold: 12 years, and won the team’s MVP award in 1986.

54. Hardy Nickerson (Mike Schneck) – Graduate of the school of angry linebackers, Nickerson was good for the Steelers but wouldn’t reach his potential until he went to Tampa Bay.

55. Larry Murphy (Joey Porter, John Kolb) – Close one here, but Murphy gives Porter the “boot”. He got two rings in Pittsburgh to Porter’s one, and played in 1,615 games overall, second all-time for a defenseman.

56. Ray Mansfield (Robin Cole, Sergei Zubov) – The Old Ranger still holds the Steelers record for consecutive games played (182). Penguin fans are still waiting for Zubov to shoot the f*$&ing puck.

57. John Smiley (Mike Merriweather, Zach Duke) - A difficult one, as both Smiley and Merriweather had one great season each in the black n’ gold then promptly left for big money. Although Merriweather holds the single season Steeler record for sacks, Smiley won 20 games in ’91 and was on two division winners, so he gets the duke.

58. Jack Lambert – Occasionally took time out of his Kennywood promotion schedule to play football and beat up Cliff Harris.

59. Jack HamDobre Shunka went to my high school. So there.

60. Greg Warren – Long snapper. Too bad pro wrestlers don’t have numbers, otherwise I’d give this one to Kurt Angle.

61. Tom Myslinski – YAWN….did we get to Lemieux yet?

62. Tunch Ilkin – Guaranteed way to get drunk during Steeler games (like you need an excuse), take a drink every time Tunch says good/great job. It makes the “habeas grabus-es” much funnier.

63. Dermontti Dawson (Ernie Holmes) – Owner of seven straight Pro Bowl selections, Dirt was known among other players as Ned Flanders for his friendly demeanor and his collection of Leftorium stores.

64. Jeff Hartings (Steve Furness) – Hartings plays pretty well for a guy with no cartilage in his knees.

65. John Jackson (Rich Tylski) – Jackson was a mainstay on the line on the almost-great early 90’s Steeler teams, and played in Super Bowl XXX. Tylski has a Polish name. Yippie.

66. Mario Lemieux (Alan Faneca, Bruce van Dyke) – You may not know this, but Mario’s poop is considered currency in Barbados.
67. Francisco Cordova – Pitched 90% of the ‘97 no-hitter, and holds the distinction of being the worst looking guy at the plate in big league history.
68. Jaromir Jagr (L.C. Greenwood, Brendan Stai) – Toughest call on the board. Four scoring titles, an MVP and two Cup rings versus six pro bowl selections and four Super Bowl rings. Yeah, he morphed into the Pittsburgh hockey fan’sversion of Barry Bonds, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that Jags was the NHL’s biggest offensive force at his peak. Actually, Jagr and Bonds have had eerily similar careers….has he been tested for the “Clear”?
69. Gabe Rivera – Damn, what a letdown.
70. Ernie Stautner – The best in the pre-Steel Curtain era, Stautner played in nine pro bowls and is still the only man to have his number officially retired by the Steelers.

71. Evgeni Malkin (Orpheus Roye, Jiri Slegr) – The guy can’t even speak English yet, but Malkin is money.
72. Gerry Mullins (Wayne Gandy) – “Moon” Mullins could pull block with the best of ‘em. Gandy was aiight.

73. Justin Strzelczyk (Kendall Simmons, Craig Wolfley) – Wacky lineman/redneck who literally went out in a blaze of glory. I think Justin simply went insane from trying to spell his name.

74. Terry Long (Nolan Harrison) – Another O-lineman in the Captain Insano mold, Long was undersized but uber-strong. Sadly, he’ll be remembered for the bizarre circumstances surrounding his death. He first set fire to his own food plant for the insurance money, then committed suicide by drinking antifreeze. *shudders*

75. Joe Greene (Jimbo Covert) – If Lambert’s Kennywood commercial was the “Goodfellas” of Pittsburgh sports commercials, Greene’s Coke commercial was “The Godfather”. Genuflect: 10 Pro-Bowls, 2-time NFL defensive player of the year.

76. John Banaszak (Kevin Henry) – For the 70’s Steelers even the role players had their rabid fans, as in the case of Banaszak’s Bunch. He’s now an assistant coach at Robert Morris.

77. Paul Coffey (Steve Courson, Marvel Smith) – The Doctor was silky smooth on skates and lethal on the power play. Courson continued the disturbing trend of weird deaths by former Steeler O-linemen; he was crushed by a tree he had just chopped down.

78. Dwight White – Did anyone else ever play in a Super Bowl with pneumonia? Balls, man….balls.

79. Larry Brown (Bill Fralic) – Larry Brown first played tight end than guard for the Steelers. Fralec acquitted himself in Wrestlemania 2’s Battle Royal, throwing out Jimbo Covert.

80. Jack Butler (Plaxico Burress, Cedric Wilson) – Butler went to four straight Pro Bowls as a D-back in the 50’s. Plax now performs his annual playoff disappearing act in New Jersey.

81. Charles Johnson (Troy Edwards, Jeff Graham) – “Can Jump” was the best in this collection of receivers from the 90’s who never quite lived up to their potential.
82. John Stallworth (Yancey Thigpen, Martin Straka) – The best Steeler receiver before Hines Ward came along, Stallworth should’ve been MVP of SB XIV. Thigpen was great for two seasons. Straka is still Jagr’s doppelganger.
83. Louis Lipps (Heath Miller, Theo Bell) – We’ll revisit this one when Heath Miller gets a few more productive years and his own chant.

84. Buddy Dial (Mike Mularkey, Randy Grossman) – Dial went to two Pro Bowls in the 60’s and had a whopping 20.8 avg yards/catch in his career. As a coach, Mularkey hasn’t been confused with Tom Landry, although both he and Grossman were good tight ends.

85. Jonathan Hayes (Mitch Lyons, Calvin Sweeney) – Did you know Jon Hayes moonlighted as a stand-up comic? Who would guess a backup tight end could bring the funny? I dunno.

86. Hines Ward (Eric Green) – For the love of God, I hope Hines never cuts a Super Bowl rap video. Dizzamn, Big Bird.

87. Sidney Crosby (Mark Bruener, Weegie Thompson) – By my count, the Steelers still owe Bruener about 150 passes they promised at the start of every season from ’95 to ‘02.

88. Lynn Swann (Andre Hastings, Courtney Hawkins) – Quite the consolation prize after a shellacking at the polls.

89. Mike Ditka (Bennie Cunningham, Ernie Mills) – Mini-Ditka, Hurricane Ditka, doesn’t matter. Ditka took ‘em all, even God in a golf match. Cunningham wore a funny hat in Super Bowl XIII. Mills made the key catch in the ’95 Super Bowl run.

90. Bill Johnson (Travis Kirschke) – Who? What now? See #60, substitute Bruno Sammartino for Kurt Angle.

91. Kevin Greene (Aaron Smith) – Smith is my favorite current Steeler, but he needs a wrestling personality.

92. Jason Gildon (James Harrison) – Silverback has a big sack, just ask the Cleveland Brown fan he powerbombed. But Gildon had mad sacks, most all-time in Steelers lore.

93. Petr Nedved (Joel Steed, Keith Willis) – Steed was a force on the D-line but largely an anonymous one. Nedved scored one of the most dramatic goals in Pens history.

94. Chad Brown (Rodney Bailey) – Last I heard, Rodney doesn’t have an odd off-season pastime, like charming snakes.
95. Greg Lloyd (Aleksey Morozov) – A pleasant fellow, Morozov never dropped F-bombs on the air and I suppose he was hired, in part, for his disposition.

96. Brentson Buckner (Kendrick Clancy) – Buckner was basically the Steelers’ Ted Washington for a couple seasons. He now resides in the Steeler alumni center, located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

97. Kendrell Bell (Ray Seals) – Now a who-dat for the Chiefs, was it was a mere three or four years ago that Bell was drawing comparisons to Ham and Lambert? How soon we forget.

98. Casey Hampton (Oliver Gibson, Gerald Williams) – Hampton, while at Texas, apparently worked out with future Prez George W. Bush. I think we found a running mate for Tiki Barber’s eventual foray into politics.

99. Hugh Green (Levon Kirkland, Brett Keisel) – We finish with a very tough one. Kirkland was the most lineman-shaped linebacker I’ve ever seen in my life. Conversely, Green was about half Kirkland’s size, yet was a three-time All-American at Pitt. This dude was so crazy good, he finished 2nd in the Heisman balloting as a D-lineman in 1980.

And there you have it. Let the arguments commence.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fav joke of the list:

Super Troopers reference:
"bring the funny"

Biggest disapointment of the list:

Not mentioning (or making a joke about) Mike Merriweather sitting out the 1988 season for the Steelers.

Anonymous said...

I can't bitch about a thing on this list.

Mainly because I'm one of those people that are supremely amused by lists.

Anonymous said...

You're just glad that Louis Lipps was #83.

Anonymous said...

obvious person not on the list: don hennon #10, only one of three pitt b-ball player with there number retired.

Anonymous said...

14 - Jock Callander, though he's more of a Cleveland Lumberjack.

21 - Remember that Deon Figures was shot in the arse while wearing this cursed number.

29 - Phil Bourque, May 1991: "Whaddaya say we take this thing (THE CUP) out on the river and party all summer?!"

43 - C'mon. Ernest Jackson. Who cares what Buddy Ryan thinks about him?

55 - The hockey fans in DC (all 15 of them) hate Murphy. They make a "woop!" noise when he has the puck to imply that he is somehow a chicken. Very weak.

57 - And Smiley gave up one heck of a gopher ball to Brian Hunter in Game 7 back in 1991.

69 - Give Ariel Solomon a little credit.

80 - Julius Dawkins (Pitt WR), hands down. I think I liked him more than Marino as a little kid.

92 - After the JAN 1996 euphoria that was the Steelers' victory over the Colts, I watched a fan hit Jason Gildon's SUV with a snowball and Gildon got out and threatened to kill him in the parking lot.

Anonymous said...

-- 6. Tony Pena (Bubby Brister, Smokey Burgess) – The lone bright spot on the mid-80's Pirates teams, Pena will be remembered like John Cullen, for the return we got in trading him. Da Bubster made like Jessica Simpson with his famous quote about the lake in Pittsburgh. And to think he was a botched-snap away from leading the Steelers to the '89 AFC title game. Smokey Burgess could've been the hero of the '60 series with his 8th inning homer, had it not been for a Mickey Mantle head fake that tied the game and set the stage for Maz.


Burgess didn't hit that homer, it was Hal Smith. Burgess came out for a pinch runner in the 7th. Smith took his place and hit the homer the following inning.

And if my memory serves me correctly, Jim Leyland wore the number 10 shirt for the Pirates...I could be wrong, but I always thought he wore the number 10.

tbart213 said...

I thouhgt I'd have much bigger issues with your list, but you've done a commendable job (given your lack of gray hair n'at).

#3 Scrap Iron over Jay Bell. Simple one guy who gutted out one great season over milktoast.

#14 Leyland over NO'D. He had one nice (not superb) season. Leyland kapt his home in Pittsburgh whil emanaging a team in South BEach. The dude is just one of us. The poor sick bastard.

#35 Sanguillen ove Barasso. While he was a cog on the cup teams, his best years were elsewhere. I challenge anyone to look over Sangy's stat's and he at least warrants HOF discussion. Even if you disagree, let's have some BBQ.

#41 Zane Smith over Lee FLowers. This number just pains me.
Zane was aquired for Moises Alou, who while not great, would have eased the burden of the 90's. And Lee Flowers sunk the Steelers after losing to Brady with all that chatter about the Steelers deserving to go to the SB. We lost. SHut up and play. We tanked the following suimmer. I blame his 'tude about the whole thing.

#55 Kolb over Lary Murphy. Kolb was the best pre-Webster lneman in Steelers history. And Murph, lik eBarasoo had best years elsewhere.

#72 Props for the Memory of Moon Mullins. I'll gladly expand on his training camp weight maintenance methods if I can win the Modesi fantasy league.

#79 Larry Brown played RT, just for clarification.

All said, a hearty well done to Monesi and all of his secretarial and research staff!!! When I get home tonight I will drink the last Iron in my fridge in your honor.

mondesishouse said...

I'm glad you enjoyed the article, but as I pointed out, I did not write it...it was a reader submission, and a good one at that. So direct all the praise to reader Jeff Alberter for the great job!

Anonymous said...

T-Bart, you mention that Barrasso was a mere "cog" on those Penguin Cup teams.

That is out and out preposterous! Did you not watch any of the games in 1991 or 1992?

After #66, Barrasso was next in line to win the Conn Smythe in '92. He surrendered a grand total of ONE GOAL in a span of seven periods between the 3rd period of Game 1 and the end of Game 3.

Sure, he had that mysterious disappearance for like a season and a half with rumors circulating about him and his wife and a sharp object, but he's definitely deserving of the all-time #35 in Pittsburgh sports history....assuming that Delton Hall is nowhere near the conversation.

Anonymous said...

Consider:

10-Pierre Larouche-an earlier version of Mario & Sid he came up short of expectations but still was one of the Pens first 50-goal scorers.

11-Kent Graham. How can we forget the Kent Graham experience with the Steelers?

12-Matt Cavanaugh-He led Pitt to its last National Championship.

15-Sam Clancy(Basketball) The guy was a monster at Pitt. At 6'6" he grabbed more boards in his four-year career than any other player during that time. He played in the NFL for 11 years and one with the Maulers. Oh and his kid plays hoops pretty well too.

16-What no Sheldon Kannegiesser?

22-Richie Zisk-do you have someone with a last name starting with the letter Z on your list?

23-R.J. Reynolds. Fled the Buccos for Japan. Maybe he knew something we didn't.

74-Ken Kortas-Steelers tackle. I just like the alliteration.

Steeltown Mike said...

00 Rick White didn't even make the honorable mention list...Oh, the disrespect...

tbart213 said...

I will humbly succumb to your Barasso comment. He was stellar.

tbart213 said...

But man, Sangy needs some love, somewhere, somehow. That much I'll stand by.

OGravy said...

What's wrong with a tie at 35? Sangy and Barasso. I realize that ties are like kissing your sister, but some of friends have hot sisters, and sometimes ya just gotta have 'em.

7 - Love Ben, but Bob Robertson went to TBart's wedding.

60 - Kendall Gammon was the best long-snapper in Steeler history by far. 11th round pick outta Pittsburg (KS) State. Clearly the best choice at 60.

79 - C'mon, Fralic shoulda won the Heisman, not Archie Griffin.

tbart213 said...

Gravy,

a tie is not like kissing your friend's hot sister.

if it was, they never would have come up with OT/Sudden death/Shoot outs or the two point conversion.

I'm pretty sure the saying is supposed to suggest that a tie is like kissing one's own sister. This concept is freaky to most (obviously not all).

I now have questions that are probably inappropriate for this forum. Of course they'd probably fit in just fine on Kissmesuzy....