Considering their consistent success over the last forty years it can be surprising that the Pittsburgh Steelers pretty much sucked for all of their first forty years. They really did. The Steelers didn't manage their first postseason victory until the team was nearly forty years old. It's hard to get that first postseason win when you are rarely ever part of the postseason. From their start in 1933 up to the late 1960s, the Steelers didn't do much right. Their only playoff appearance was in 1947. They finished that season tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the Eastern Conference title at 8-4. The Steelers lost the tie-breaking playoff game 21-0. It would be twenty five years before they experienced another playoff game. The Steelers were often competitive but they rarely saw sustained success. They just didn't have the players to win. Scouting then was nothing like it is today. Many teams simply flipped through college football magazines in preparation for the NFL Draft. For information on college players, the Steelers turned to an undertaker. Ray Byrne worked at his family's funeral home. When he wasn't doing that he managed the Steelers' college drafts during the 1940s and 1950s. He read all of the national football magazines, subscribed to all the newspapers, and diligently phoned college coaches across the nation. He kept careful notes and records on index cards. He moonlighted as the scouting staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers while working as an undertaker. With the Steelers lack of success, the jokes were obvious: "What are you doing, drafting a bunch of stiffs?"
Ray Byrne did the scouting. Others made the picks. The problem wasn't always the players that they failed to draft. It was also the players that they failed to keep. The Steelers drafted Louisville quarterback Johnny Unitas in the ninth round of the 1955 NFL Draft. The Steelers then cut Unitas without playing him for a single down during the preseason. In 1956, the Steelers had the "bonus pick"-the first overall selection in the NFL draft. They could have selected Penn State running back Lenny Moore but instead picked an unknown defensive back from Colorado named Gary Glick, a player that they had only read about but never seen. In 1957, the Steelers could have drafted Syracuse running back Jim Brown. They chose Purdue quarterback Len Dawson instead. Now, Dawson would eventually become a terrific player for the Kansas City Chiefs but, like Unitas, the Steelers quickly gave up on him. It's startling to think that the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1950s could have fielded a backfield of Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, and Lenny Moore. That might have changed their winning ways. Buddy Parker was hired as the Steelers coach in 1957. To say that he didn't much care for rookies or draft picks is a serious understatement. He wanted veterans. He would trade draft picks for veteran players at such a rate that in 1959 and 1963 the Steelers' first selections came in the eighth round.
The fortunes of the Pittsburgh Steelers changed for good at the end of the 1960s. They hired Chuck Noll as head coach and they got serious about the draft. The addition of Noll and defensive tackle Joe Greene in 1969 were the foundation for the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the 1970s. The Steelers drafts over the next five years were simply awesome. Greene in 1969, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount in 1970, Jack Ham in 1971, Franco Harris in 1972, and finally, the 1974 NFL Draft. This might be the greatest draft haul in NFL history. Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, and Mike Webster. Over six years, the Steelers drafted nine Hall of Famers. That's only counting the Hall of Famers. Those drafts were filled the football players that were critical in winning four Super Bowls over a six year period.
I've always been amazed that a team that could achieve nothing but mediocrity, at best, for so long could change so suddenly. The Steelers struggled for their first forty years because they drafted poorly. They had the right idea in employing the undertaker Ray Byrne but it seems that they forgot all about his work when it came time to make their selections. Turning to Chuck Noll and the scouting talents of Art Rooney Jr., Bill Nunn Jr., and Dick Haley changed the fortunes of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Apparently for good.
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