The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the NFL's power teams since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
The Steelers, entering their 80th NFL season in 2012, have compiled a 434-270 record since 1970. During this span, Pittsburgh has posted 32 winning seasons and just eight losing seasons. The Steelers have reached the playoffs 26 times including an NFL-record eight Super Bowls.
Date Founded: July 8, 1933. The Steelers are the fifth oldest NFL franchise.
First NFL Season: 1933
Stadium
: Heinz Field, since 2001.Stadium Seating Capacity: 65,050
Training Camp: St. Vincent College, Latrobe, PA.
Leagues/Conferences: NFL, 1933-present; AFC, 1970-present. The Steelers moved to the AFC when the NFL merged with the AFL.
Division: AFC Central, 1970-2002; AFC North, 2002-present. The Steelers moved to the AFC North when the NFL went to eight divisions. They are joined in the North Division by the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.
Owner: The Rooney Family
Chairman: Dan Rooney
President: Art Rooney II
GM: Kevin Colbert
Head Coach: Mike Tomlin, sixth year. Tomlin has led the Steelers to two Super Bowl appearances and has posted a 60-28 record overall. He became the youngest coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl when the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
Team Names: Pittsburgh Pirates, 1933-1939; Phil-Pitt Steagles, 1943; Card-Pitt, 1944; Pittsburgh Steelers, 1940-42 and 1945-present. Pittsburgh was forced to merge with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1943 and the Chicago Cardinals in 1944 due to complications resulting from World War II.
Mascot: Steely McBeam
Nicknames: Black & Gold, Stillers
Team Colors: Black, gold and white
All-Time record: 591-538-21
Playoff record: 33-21. The Steelers have made 28 playoff appearances in their history.
NFL Championships: 6. The six championships are the fourth most in NFL history.
Super Bowl Appearances: 8. The Steelers are tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the most Super Bowl appearances in NFL history.
Super Bowl Titles: 6. The Steelers hold the NFL record for most Super Bowl wins. They won the Super Bowl in 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2005 and 2008.
AFC Conference Championships: 8
Division Titles: 20. The Steelers have claimed 15 AFC Central crowns and five AFC North titles with the last being in 2010.
Rivals: Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots.
NFL Hall of Famers: 26. The Steelers most notable Hall of Famers include Terry Bradshaw, Art Rooney, Dan Rooney, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann, Chuck Knoll, Rod Woodson, John Stallworth, Mel Blount and Dermontti Dawson.
Fight Songs: "WAR", "Here We Go Steelers" and "Steelers Polka" are among the songs continuously played during games.
Traditions: Steeler Nation and the Terrible Towel. Steeler Nation is what the Steelers' large fan base is known as. The Terrible Towel, conceived by the late Myron Cope, is a rally towel that is waved by the Steeler Nation to show support for the team.
2011 record: 12-5. The Steelers finished second in the AFC North last year and lost to the Denver Broncos in a Wild Card playoff game.
2011 NFL Offensive Rankings: 21st points, 10th passing yards, 14th rushing yards.
2011 NFL Defensive Rankings: 1st points, 1st passing yards, 8th rushing yards.
Players to Watch in 2012: QB Ben Rothlisberger, WR Antonio Brown, C Maurkice Pouncey, WR Mike Wallace, RB Rashard Mendenhall, NT Casey Hampton, DE Brett Keisel, OLB LaMarr Woodley, ILB Larry Foote, ILB Lawrence Timmons, OLB James Harrison, SS Troy Polamalu, FS Ryan Clark and CB Ike Taylor.
Home Games: 8. New York Jets (Sept. 16), Philadelphia (Oct. 7), Washington (Oct. 28), Kansas City (Nov. 12), Baltimore (18), San Diego (Dec. 9), Cincinnati (Dec. 23) and Cleveland (Dec. 30).
Away Games: 8. Denver (Sept. 9), Oakland (Sept. 23), Tennessee (Oct. 11), Cincinnati (Oct. 21), New York Giants (Nov. 4), Cleveland (Nov. 25), Baltimore (De. 2), Dallas (Dec. 16).
Other notes: The Steelers have posted five-straight winning seasons and eight straight non-losing campaigns.
Daniel Benjamin has followed the Steelers since he lived in Southwest Pennsylvania 14 years ago.
