Throughout the rest of this summer, I have a short series planned that involves posting stories behind certain intriguing pictures related to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Most of these pictures will be still shots from actual games as well as being more than two decades old. These posts about the pictures I find intriguing will include a quick backstory of when they were taken and then filled around with quotes and accounts I researched online.
I will continue this summer series by passing along the story behind the above picture from Kenn Bisio of The Denver Post. It was taken at Mile High Stadium on November 7, 1977, in Denver Colorado, and during the Week 8 game between the Steelers and the Denver Broncos. The picture is of Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw being strip-sacked by Broncos defensive lineman Brison Manor in the third quarter of that contest.
I found this picture very intriguing for one main reason. First of all, you can probably see that Bradshaw is wearing a soft cast on his left hand and wrist. On top of that, what happened as a byproduct of this strip-sack is also quite interesting and that led to me wanting to write about it.
As the picture shows, Bradshaw was wearing a soft case on his left hand and wrist in this game due to him suffering a hairline fracture to that appendage during the team’s Week 4 road loss that season to the Houston Oilers. That Week 4 loss to the Oilers that season also included Steelers backup quarterback Mike Kruczek suffering a separated shoulder after Bradshaw had exited that same contest with his wrist injury. Down two quarterbacks late in that game against the Oilers, then-Steelers rookie defensive back Tony Dungy, who last played the position in college at Minnesota, was forced to finish it under center.
That long setup and Bradshaw’s wrist injury history is important to this story. Why? Because Bradshaw’s backup after the Week 4 loss to the Oilers was none other than quarterback Neil Graff, who was signed back by the team ahead of their Week 5 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Graff, however, wasn’t a stranger to the Steelers at the time as he had been on the team earlier that year before being cut prior to the season starting. In fact, Graff had been on the Steelers roster for a good portion of the 1976 season as well, he just never saw the field any.
Back to the picture of Bradshaw being sacked in the third quarter of the game against the Broncos. When Bradshaw hit the turf after being strip-sacked, he landed on his injured wrist, aggravating it once again. He had done that very thing in Week 6 rematch against the Oilers and had to leave that contest for two plays. Bradshaw leaving that Week 6 contest against the Oilers afforded Graff his first playing time as a Steeler, which included one attempted pass that wasn’t completed.
Graff once again took over for an injured Bradshaw against the Broncos in Week 8, but only for one series. Once again, that limited playing time for Graff included one pass attempt that wasn’t completed. Graff also rushed once for 4 yards in that one series that he played in relief of Bradshaw.
That now leads us to a rare game-action picture of Graff in a Steelers uniform, and it comes courtesy of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame website. Graff, by the way, was inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. So, behold, here is Graff in his No. 16 Steelers’ glory against the Broncos in 1977.
Bradshaw, however, returned from his wrist injury aggravation against the Broncos to take back over for Graff and he talked about that after the game.
“It’s not a macho thing,” Bradshaw said of his return to that game against the Broncos after aggravating his wrist injury, according to Vito Stellino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I can handle the ball. It puts a lot of pressures on Neil Graff to come in like that.”
After returning to the game against the Broncos after missing one series of action, Bradshaw, who was sacked a total of six times in that contest, was able to lead the Steelers offense to their only score of the game, a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver John Stallworth with 10:48 elapsed in the fourth quarter. The Steelers, however, went on to lose that game to the Broncos 21-7 to drop to 4-4 on the season.
So, what happened to Graff after his limited playing time against the Broncos in Week 8 of the 1977 season? Well, he actually went on to appear in two more games that season, in Week 9 against the Cleveland Browns and again in Week 14 against the San Diego Chargers. Graff finished the 1977 season 6-of-12 passing for 47 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked once for 10 yards in his limited 1977 playing time with the Steelers and he rushed five times in total for 3 yards. Graff actually was Bradshaw’s backup for the Steelers’ Divisional Round playoff loss to the Broncos that season.
To close out this post, while Bradshaw ultimately led the Steelers in total pass attempts in 1977 with 314, Graff was second on the team in that stat that season with 12. Dungy finished third that season in pass attempts by a Steelers player with 8 while Kruczek finished with just 7 in total.
Graff was waived by the Steelers in May of 1978. He signed with the Green Bay Packers in June of 1978. He was waived by the Packers in September of 1978 and never played again.
Previous Posts In Series:
Story Behind The Picture: Steelers Veteran Bobby Walden Goes Nuts On Raiders Rookie Lester Hayes
Story Behind The Picture: Steelers Defense Gives Up 00 Receptions To Oilers WR Ken Burrough
