{"id":6500,"date":"2016-02-10T00:10:13","date_gmt":"2016-02-10T05:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=6500"},"modified":"2016-02-10T00:20:06","modified_gmt":"2016-02-10T05:20:06","slug":"steelers-picture-day-at-the-1980-super-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/02\/10\/steelers-picture-day-at-the-1980-super-bowl\/","title":{"rendered":"Steelers ‘Picture Day’ at the 1980 Super Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Quarterback <\/a>
Quarterback Terry Bradshaw would be named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XIV. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Steelers <\/a>
Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert is interviewed by commentator John Madden. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Running <\/a>
Running back Franco Harris. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Steelers <\/a>
Steelers center Mike Webster takes center stage. Webster died of a heart attack at age 50 on Sept. 24, 2002. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Joe <\/a>
Joe Greene was a Super Bowl veteran. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Steelers <\/a>
Steelers coach Chuck Knoll draws a crowd. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Picture <\/a>
Picture time with, from left, Larry Anderson, Greg Hawthorne, Dwayne Woodruff, Craig Colquitt and Zack Valentine. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Steelers <\/a>
Steelers defenders John Banaszak (left) and Dwight White. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dennis <\/a>
Dennis “Dirt” Winston substituted for injured linebacker Jack Ham in the ’80 Super Bowl. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Place <\/a>
Place kicker Matt Bahr (left) and punter Craig Colquitt. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Defensive <\/a>
Defensive end Dwight White was a high-energy player who earned the nickname “Mad Dog.” He died at age 58 in 2008. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ray <\/a>
Ray Malavasi served as Ram head coach for five seasons. He died of a heart attack at age in 1987. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Defensive <\/a>
Defensive back Ron Johnson answers questions. Johnson played seven seasons in the NFL, all with the Steelers. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Steelers pose for a team picture. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rams <\/a>
Rams running back Cullen Bryant. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rams <\/a>
Rams safety Dave Elmendorf. (Albert M. Herrmann Jr.\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rams <\/a>
Rams running back Wendell Tyler. (Howard Moyer\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

They\u2019re sweeping confetti off the streets of Denver today and we assume Peyton Manning\u2019s recycling bin is filled with empty Budweiser cans, which means the NFL season is over and we can finally stop talking about football for a while. Only we won\u2019t, because in Pittsburgh, football ranks higher than water as an essential life-supporting element.<\/p>\n

So, until next season, we\u2019ll offer one final collection of pictures of our favorite team.<\/p>\n

These were taken by Pittsburgh Press photographer Al Herrmann Jr. in Pasadena, Ca., on Jan. 15, 1980 — \u201cPicture Day\u201d in the week leading up to Super Bowl XIV. They show the Steelers of that era as a confident and relaxed bunch. These guys were veterans of the big game.<\/p>\n

And of course they look so young — because they were. Mean Joe Greene was 33, Terry Bradshaw 31, and Franco Harris 29. Jack Lambert, a mere babe at 27, sports a haircut that looks like a failed version of Barry Gibb\u2018s late-70s blow-dried \u2018do (we\u2019re hoping Jack doesn\u2019t read this). He\u2019s answering questions from former NFL coach John Madden, then in his first season as a network color commentator.<\/p>\n

Some of the Steelers photographed by Herrmann are a bit less familiar. Dennis \u201cDirt\u201d Winston stands alone, his arms crossed, leaning against a blocking sled. He was substituting for injured linebacker Jack Ham. We conducted a quick internet search and discovered that Winston worked as defensive line coach at Eastern Illinois University in 2015.<\/p>\n

In another photograph, defensive back Dwayne Woodruff poses with a few of his teammates while two other Steelers take photographs. Woodruff, of course, is a now judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.<\/p>\n

Place kicker Matt Bahr and punter Craig Colquitt stand side-by-side, their arms around each other\u2019s shoulders. For both men, the NFL became a family affair. Bahr\u2019s brother Chris kicked for the Bengals, Raiders and Chargers. Colquitt\u2019s brother Jimmy punted for the Seahawks in \u201885.<\/p>\n

In addition, Colquitt is the father of two current NFL punters, Dustin and Britton Colquitt. Britton punts for the Broncos and was in the news this week because the NFL made him fork over $1,800 for a Super Bowl ticket for his two-week-old daughter Isla.<\/p>\n

One photo is certain to create a sense of wistfulness among Steelers fans. It shows an earnest-looking Mike Webster answering questions posed by a gaggle of reporters. Webster, 28 at the time, was in the midst of a career that would earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame and cost him dearly. He died at age 50 in 2002 and was the first former NFL player to be diagnosed with CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.<\/p>\n

Others, too, have passed. We see Dwight White standing next to teammate John Banaszak and then, in another photo, performing pull-ups. White died in 2008 at age 58. Banaszak is still a Pittsburgh guy — he recently finished his second season as head coach of Robert Morris University\u2019s football program.<\/p>\n

Herrmann photographed a few members of the Steelers\u2019 opponent, the Los Angeles Rams. We found images of running backs Wendell Tyler and Cullen Bryant and safety Dave Elmendorf, who appears pensive. Bryant was a big guy for the era — 6-1, 234 lbs. He died of natural causes in 2009.<\/p>\n

Five days after Picture Day, the Steelers defeated the Rams 31-19 to earn a fourth Super Bowl ring. A giant headline in the Post-Gazette read, \u201cFour Down, \u201880s to Go.\u201d It was so representative of the emerging decade: too big, too optimistic and slightly delusional. We preferred one of the other headlines considered by the editors: \u201cThe Fourth Be With You.\u201d Now that\u2019s a \u201870s headline. We can almost hear Captain and Tennille on an 8-track in the background.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Collection of photographs shows legendary players as relaxed and confident.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesSteelers ‘Picture Day’ at the 1980 Super Bowl<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[963,964,976,980,1030],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/digs.80Steelersb023.jpg?fit=1800%2C1263&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2655,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/08\/07\/jan-20-1980-in-super-bowl-xiv-bradshaw-was\/","url_meta":{"origin":6500,"position":0},"title":"Taking photos of Terry Bradshaw in Pasadena","date":"August 7, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Super Bowl XIV was quite special for PG photographer Joyce Mendelsohn and Terry Bradshaw.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Screen-Shot-2014-12-17-at-12.49.01-AM.png?fit=1200%2C519&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9640,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/11\/08\/a-dynastys-final-chapter-remembering-super-bowl-xiv\/","url_meta":{"origin":6500,"position":1},"title":"A dynasty’s final chapter: Remembering Super Bowl XIV","date":"November 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In sports, you never know when a dynasty is going to end. 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