{"id":2620,"date":"2012-08-20T11:30:09","date_gmt":"2012-08-20T11:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=2620"},"modified":"2015-01-07T17:31:17","modified_gmt":"2015-01-07T22:31:17","slug":"joe-bach-had-a-steelers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/08\/20\/joe-bach-had-a-steelers\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Bach made Steelers the Steelers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Screen <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Circa 1935:\u00a0<\/strong>Joe Bach had a mediocre record as head coach of Art Rooney Sr.\u2019s football team in the mid 1930s, but his impact resonates to this day. In its early days, the team was known as the Pirates, but after the 1939 season, Rooney figured a change was needed. Bach headed a panel that chose a new name from a list of suggestions sent in by fans. The panel wisely chose \u201cSteelers.\u201d Otherwise, we could be singing, \u201cHere we go Triangles,\u201d or dancing to \u00a0\u201dThe Puddler Polka.\u201d Bach coached twice \u2014 from 1935 to 1936, and again in 1952 and 1953. His best records were 6-6, in both \u201836 and \u201853.<\/p>\n

We found no date on this print \u2014 only the name \u201cJoe Bach\u201d scribbled in pencil on the back. Someone in the newspaper\u2019s art department painted a white frame around the coach and took the liberty of signing Bach\u2019s name. The print is a fascinating example of how much photography and its use in newspapers has changed over the decades.<\/p>\n

(Post-Gazette photo)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bach headed a panel that chose a new name for Pittsburgh’s football team from a list of suggestions sent in by fans.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesJoe Bach made Steelers the Steelers<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3694,"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":[959,976,1025,1030,1036],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Screen-Shot-2014-12-17-at-12.37.26-AM.png?fit=1310%2C622&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9521,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/07\/24\/chuck-nolls-summer-of-69\/","url_meta":{"origin":2620,"position":0},"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. 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