{"id":1809,"date":"2013-05-07T18:26:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-07T18:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1809"},"modified":"2015-01-08T17:45:21","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T22:45:21","slug":"mean-joe-greene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/05\/07\/mean-joe-greene\/","title":{"rendered":"Mean Joe Greene"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Feb. <\/a>
Feb. 10, 1982 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jan. <\/a>
Jan. 7, 1980: Not-so-mean Joe Greene <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jan. <\/a>
Jan. 21, 1971 — Joe Greene getting ready for the Pro Bowl game with Andy Russell <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

If it was Chuck Noll\u2019s task to resurrect a moribund football franchise when he was hired as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, then Charles Edward \u201cMean Joe\u201d Greene surely was the rock on which he would build his team.<\/p>\n

\n

Mean Joe would go on to be among the greatest and most iconic athletes in Pittsburgh sports history, but when Noll made the defensive tackle from North Texas State the fourth overall pick in the 1969 draft, there was a brief furor that the team had passed on Notre Dame quarterback and Butler native Terry Hanratty.<\/p>\n

In the Jan. 29, 1969 Post-Gazette, sports writer Jack Sell wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Steelers yesterday drafted a guy named Joe as the No. 1 choice in the combined NFL-AFL college player lottery. That failed to send a single season ticket buyer to the club\u2019s office in Hotel Roosevelt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen news of Greene\u2019s selection was made public, it got a rude reception from Steeler rooters, who have watched the local club foul up in the past. They were disgusted that Hanratty was passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noll remained firm on the draft pick.<\/p>\n

“Most of the pro scouts rate Joe Greene from North Texas State as the greatest college defensive lineman in action,\u201d he said of Greene at the time.<\/p>\n

The Steelers selected Hanratty in the second round, though his career was spent mostly as a backup to standout quarterback Terry Bradshaw, drafted the following year. Greene, however, went on to arguably become the greatest player in team history.<\/p>\n

A fierce competitor and a terror to opposing offenses, Greene earned his Mean Joe nickname on the field, but was regarded as a gentle giant off of it.<\/p>\n

Later that year, when he signed his first professional contract, a photographer asked him to smile at the press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmile?\u201d Greene replied. \u201cI\u2019m not supposed to smile. I\u2019m supposed to be mean.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If it was Chuck Noll\u2019s task to resurrect a moribund football franchise when he was hired as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesMean Joe Greene<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[963,964,976,1030,1035,1047],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/tumblr_mmfo5hh2vw1rr5swxo4_r1_1280-e1418794212506.jpg?fit=1270%2C694&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9549,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/08\/07\/when-the-steelers-almost-lost-joe-greene\/","url_meta":{"origin":1809,"position":0},"title":"When the Steelers almost lost Joe Greene","date":"August 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Second in an ongoing series looking back at Chuck Noll's first season with the Steelers Before the 1969 season, the Steelers welcomed two newbies to Pittsburgh who would go on to shape the franchise's bright future. Not only was that Chuck Noll's first year as the Steelers' head coach, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/GreeneNoll.jpg?fit=1200%2C927&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9521,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/07\/24\/chuck-nolls-summer-of-69\/","url_meta":{"origin":1809,"position":1},"title":"Chuck Noll’s summer of ’69","date":"July 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"First in a series looking back at Chuck Noll's first season with the Steelers Believe it or not, it's already been 50 years since legendary Steelers coach Chuck Noll's first training camp in Pittsburgh. The Steelers were coming off a 1968-69 season where they finished a dismal 2-11-1 and fired\u2026","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/NollCoachingStaff.jpg?fit=1200%2C835&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1339,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/10\/02\/remembering-l-c-greenwood\/","url_meta":{"origin":1809,"position":2},"title":"Remembering L. C. Greenwood","date":"October 2, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Never elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but still a Pittsburgh legend.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tumblr_mu0drrJ5Uc1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C713&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1855,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/04\/24\/mean-joe-greene-and-bennie-cunningham\/","url_meta":{"origin":1809,"position":3},"title":"Mean Joe Greene and Bennie Cunningham","date":"April 24, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Thankfully, this picture is black and white because that jacket is so dizzying that in full color it might induce a seizure to an unsuspecting epileptic.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Screen-Shot-2014-12-17-at-12.34.00-AM.png?fit=1200%2C704&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1865,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/04\/19\/steelers-draft-terry-bradshaw\/","url_meta":{"origin":1809,"position":4},"title":"Steelers draft Terry Bradshaw","date":"April 19, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"It is hardly a stretch to say that the Pittsburgh Steelers owe everything to a coin flip.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/tumblr_mlgl23yTgo1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C813&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6500,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/02\/10\/steelers-picture-day-at-the-1980-super-bowl\/","url_meta":{"origin":1809,"position":5},"title":"Steelers ‘Picture Day’ at the 1980 Super Bowl","date":"February 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Collection of photographs shows legendary players as relaxed and confident.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/digs.80Steelersb023.jpg?fit=1200%2C842&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1809"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4328,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809\/revisions\/4328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}