The More You Know: Random facts about your Pittsburgh Steelers, Fever Pitch edition

It’s the offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers and there are so many topics to talk and write about. Free agents, the coordinator conundrum, the next quarterback, the NFL Draft, signings, retirements and breaking news will all be covered here at BTSC. But who’s going to give you little-known-facts out of the 500 Level?

Luckily, your one-stop, and non-stop, shop for everything Steelers employs a Steelers fan that was allegedly dropped on his head as a one-year-old during the Immaculate Reception. Useless and somewhat fascinating facts are his forte. So, here we are with off-the-wall thoughts from the dark side of a black-and-gold brain that nobody asked for. But the joke’s on you as you’ll be telling your peeps something you read here later.

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412 Forever - Kurt Schilling

With the baseball season here, let’s take a look at a legendary MLB pitcher that bleeds for the Steelers.

In 2004, the fans in New England were dismayed to learn that one of their World Series heroes from that year for the Red Sox was actually a Steelers fan. Kurt Schilling’s famed bloody sock may have been crimson, but what the cameras didn’t catch were flecks of black and gold. The 2001 World Series MVP was born in Alaska, went to high school in Arizona, but his parents are from Western Pennsylvania and raised him as a Steelers and Pirates fan. Schilling, who often would wear Pittsburgh football jerseys in interviews, called the Steelers in a tweet the “greatest franchise in sports history”.

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BTSC Steelers Jeopardy

(Answer at bottom of article)

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This Week’s Birthdays of Steel

4/1 - Lee Mulleneaux - 1908

4/2 - Roy Gerela - 1948, James Washington - 1996

4/3 - Noah Herron - 1982, Bo Orlando - 1966

4/4 - Harvey Clayton - 1961, Landry Jones - 1989, Rick Trocano - 1959

4/5 - Anthony Daigle - 1970

4/6 - Chris Carter - 1989, Chris Hoke - 1976

4/7 - Brian Blankenship - 1967, Troy Edwards - 1967, Gabe Rivera - 1961

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Varsity Blues Black & Golds

Miles Killebrew reached the triple-digit mark in tackles each of his last two seasons at Southern Utah earned All-Big Sky recognition in all four seasons as a SUU Thunderbird.

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Sight for Sore Steelers Fan’s Eyes

Steeler fans all know about the legend of the drafted long snapper of 2017. True, it’s very rare that a long snapper is selected in the NFL Draft, but after drafting T.J. Watt, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Cam Sutton and James Conner in 2017, the Steelers must have felt compelled to add a player that specialized at that position with their sixth pick. Louisville’s Colin Holba was the 213th player selected that year to man the special teams spot for the black and gold. However, Kam Canaday seized the spot in training camp and Holba was released and was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. From there, Colin had two stints with the 49ers, one with the New York Giants, and two more with the Los Angeles Rams. Holba is now out of the league.

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Hypocycloids Gone Madison Avenue

The Steelers were the “it” team in the late 70s and Madison Avenue made sure that they were featured in as many ads as possible. This 1977 commercial featuring unmarked Steelers players demonstrating the toughness of Samsonite luggage to the tune of Johann Strauss’ “Blue Danube Waltz” didn’t feature any Steelers stars, but perfectly captured the personality and image of Pittsburgh’s Men of Steel.

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Steelers Jeopardy Answer in the Form of a Question: Who is Johnny Clement?

Johnny Clement played 5 seasons for the Steelers and Cardinals. Clement had 300 carries for 1085 yards and scored 8 touchdowns. Known as Mr. Zero, the running back wore both 0 and 00 as a Steeler from 1946-1948. He was the only man to ever do so in the Steel City.

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So, there you have it. Anybody can spout out stat after stat, but not everybody can embrace the colorful and personal side of the Pittsburgh Steelers. So, the more you know, the more you can stupefy your friends, family and neighbors with your big, black-and-gold brain.

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We’ll see you right here next week. Until then keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the hypocycloids.