When the Pittsburgh Penguins retired Jaromir Jagr’s number 68 jersey on Feb. 18, it was a momentous occasion for Pittsburgh sports. Jagr was a legend due to his combination of incredible hockey talent and iconic mullet. It was fitting that the Penguins retired his number, joining Michel Briere’s No. 21 jersey and Mario Lemieux’s No. 66.
For some, that was a moment of healing from when Jagr was dealt to the Washington Capitals. For others like 93.7 the Fan’s Joe Starkey, it provoked questions about the Steelers and Terry Bradshaw.
“The fact that Terry Bradshaw’s jersey is not retired is a franchise embarrassment,” Starkey said. “I don’t care what his relationship was like when he left the Steelers, I don’t care about anything he’s ever said or done. There’s no other market in America, no other football city in America where a quarterback who was 4-0 in the Super Bowl, with back-to-back Super Bowl MVPs, wouldn’t have his jersey retired. It’s a joke.”
Bradshaw is truly a Steelers legend. You don’t win four Super Bowls by accident. Only two other quarterbacks in league history have won at least four Super Bowls: Tom Brady with the New England Patriots (and won another Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Joe Montana with the San Francisco 49ers.
Then there’s Bradshaw’s regular-season stats in 168 career games that came in a very different era of football: 27,989 passing yards and 212 touchdowns. He threw another 30 touchdowns in 19 career playoff games along with 3,833 passing yards.
Bradshaw was a huge part of turning the Steelers from a next-to-nothing franchise to a dynasty in the 1970s. While many would certainly credit the Steel Curtain as a major part of that dynasty — and it was — Bradshaw was instrumental in Super Bowl XIII against a phenomenal Dallas Cowboys defense. He threw for four touchdowns and 318 yards versus only one interception in one of the greatest Super Bowl matchups of all time.
So it’s easy to see why Starkey thinks that Bradshaw should have his No. 12 jersey retired. He was foundational to that dynasty and deserves to be recognized as such.
However, much like the Penguins after retiring Jagr’s number, the Steelers have officially only retired three numbers in team history: Ernie Stautner’s 70, Joe Greene’s 75, and Franco Harris’ 32. Both Greene and Harris were teammates of Bradshaw’s.
While the Steelers have not officially retired Bradshaw’s 12, you can argue that the team has unofficially retired it as no one has worn the number since Bradshaw’s retirement in 1983. So why isn’t his number officially retired?
Starkey hints at the fractured relationship Bradshaw had at the end of his career with the Steelers. However, Bradshaw insisted back in 2020 that there is no bad blood between him and Pittsburgh, saying “I love going back to the city. It feels good when I’m there.”
The other major issue that people bring up was the relationship between Bradshaw and his coach, Hall of Famer Chuck Noll. Bradshaw even said that post-playing career he “didn’t feel like ever that I was his quarterback.” Obviously, Noll is a beloved name in Steelers history, so contention between him and Bradshaw could play a role in why Bradshaw’s 12 isn’t officially retired.
Regardless of the reason, there is plenty of reason for the Steelers to recognize Bradshaw’s contributions to the franchise by retiring the number 12. However, you can see that the Steelers are fairly stingy in officially retiring numbers, instead opting not to hand them out in recognition of those players. Will we see Bradshaw’s number retired one day? Hopefully. In the meantime, we can simply grumble at the injustice and remember Bradshaw’s role in making the Steelers into a dynasty.
