#70 Ernie Stautner

The Steelers only retired player number.
What was it that made him so special to retire that number but no other?
Was it the thought of too many numbers would end up being retired in the future?
If the Steelers allowed only one more number to retire who would you hope it would be?
I'd go with Joe Greene's #75.

 

I'd want Lambert, he's my favorite Steeler of all time. BUT I think the best case could be made for Joe Greene.

 

Stautner is the only guy with an officially retired number. Do you guys remember any #75 or #58 since Greene and Lambert? Or #12 or #47 or #36? I think they might show up in preseason, when there's a number shortage, but I think there are plenty of numbers that never appear in the regular season.

As a side note, I thought it was very very cool of Kansas City to retire Warren Moon's #1. I think he was only there for one season, but he had bounced around between leagues and teams that he didn't really have a home and they felt that he deserved to have his number retired somewhere. I love that they did that for him. He deserved a little something for the crap that happened early in his career.

 

Yeah if we were gonna "retire" a number it would have to be Mean Joe. My favorite Steeler is probably Mel Blount but Mean Joe IS the identity of the Steelers from now to eternity. But man Jack Lambert is a legend too! It just seems to me that Jack Lambert is more revered by Steeler Nation whereas Mean Joe is THE guy you think about when you think about a hard nosed football player PERIOD.

 

Doesn't it have something to do with the nfl use to only let the wrs wear numbers 80-89 so If you retired them there wouldn't be any for the current wrs to wear?

 

Actually not even in preseason do they give them out...they double up on numbers.

 

The Moon jersey number being retired is definitely cool. I've always though that Paul Brown made a very classy move by retiring the late Ernie Davis's #45 even though he never played for the team.

 

Possibly for the WR position you'd have a shortage...but at most positions there are enough numbers to cover the guys who are on your team. As in most teams will not keep 8-10 WRs...so you could still retire a couple and have plenty to go around.

 

I actually didn't know that about Moon and KC. I suppose it wouldn't make sense for the Titans to retire the numer.

I wonder which team has the most retired numbers? Must be Green Bay or Chicago...

 

I kind of like the idea that the Steelers have "unofficial" retired numbers. Instead of officially saying that no one will ever wear the number again, current players are educated in the rich history of this team by understanding that certain numbers are sacred and untouchable.

 

True.

I guess we've also got unofficial (perceived) jinx numbers, like no. 10, which current players should also be aware of.

Sadly, one of the jerseys I actually own...

 

I don't think that's fair. Stewart and Holmes both brought a lot of good stuff to this team. Even Dixon played alright for someone who only played 3 games in his career.

 

That's why I put "perceived". Perhaps less "dud", and more "things don't seem to work out for the bearer"?

 

I'd like to see Bradshaw, Greene and Lambert's numbers all retired.. With that being said though. Teams like the Steelers, Cowboys, Raiders, Bears, Packers and many other franchises would not have enough numbers to go around, due to their rich history.

 

I believe his was the only number, and I'm speculating here, because he was, probably, the best player to come along in Steelers history, to that point. At that time, things were not looking so good for this franchise and he was probably one of the few things to really celebrate. Then came the 70's and all the great players that era brought. If we retired the numbers of all the players that truly deserved it there wouldn't be many left in the locker room.

 

Gotcha. I can see that. Although I wouldn't say things didn't work out for Holmes, just that they came to a premature end. MAN I wish we beat the Pats in 2001. 17 points on ST and Spygate. Kordell might have a very different legacy.

 

That growth on Korky's face probably warranted it's own number. Maybe like 10.5 or 10 1/2.

 

Its not going to seem right someone else wearing #86 and #43 when the time comes.

 

I have a feeling we won't see anyone else in those numbers for quite some time.

 

I've personally seen both Stautner and Greene play. Greene, in his day, was the physical and mental baddest ass on the field, in an era when there were a lot of them.

Stautner didn't have Greenes ability but he had the biggest heart of any Steeler that I can remember. They used to say that he would play better in games once he got bloodied and hurt. From what I remember seeing of him that was true. He'd knock the **** outta guys who were much bigger than himself, and he played during an era when the nfl was a real rogues gallery.

 

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Greene was awesome to watch back in the day and you could even see opposing players fearing having to line up against the Black N Gold.
Stautner was a bit before my time however there is a documentary out there confirming what you said about him. Reminds me of Jack Youngblood for the old Rams. Tough as nails.
Could any of you imagine how many Steelers players could have their numbers retired if the FO opened the gates?

 

I think it is silly to retire numbers. Theoretically 4000 years form now when the NFL is still around are we going to have numbers 1-99 retired? Will Steelers start having to hand out jersey's with the number 100 on it? The 1970's as too many great players that if you retired one you would have to just retire them all.

 

4000 Yrs from now?
Not going anywhere for a while?..............Grab a Snickers.

 

12, 32, 58 & 75 will never be worn by another Steeler. These are unofficially retired.