The Steelers’ dynasty of the 1970s is often remembered for its phenomenal defense, as well as its offensive stars like Franco Harris, Lynn Swann and Terry Bradshaw. However, even though he would go on to be named Super Bowl MVP twice, Bradshaw’s career didn’t start out that hot, with the other two quarterbacks in Pittsburgh having just as much of a chance to start as the young Bradshaw.
Fans will probably be most familiar with Terry Hanratty as the other Steelers’ signal caller of the 70s, but Joe Gilliam was just as much of a threat to start early on. Although Gilliam’s career wasn’t exactly illustrious, he still won two Super Bowls with the Steelers. But his greatest NFL accomplishment may not have had anything to do with the Steelers at all.
Gilliam was drafted by the Steelers in the 11th round of the 1972 draft, being a part of the team until he was released right before the 1976 season due to off the field issues. However, before that, he played at Tennessee State, where he helped a young Doug Williams realize he could play football. Williams played quarterback in the NFL from 1978 to 1989, and while he doesn’t hold a ton of accolades, he does have the honor of being the first African-American quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl and be named MVP of the big game, doing so with Washington in 1987. As Williams says on the Command Center Podcast, none of that would’ve been possible without Gilliam.
”One guy I saw play when I was a senior in high school, Jefferson Street Joe, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was at Tennessee State, and I went to a Southern University and Tennessee State game, and I was standing by the fence, and he came out. Jefferson Street might have been 180 pounds, skinny, and I say to myself the, ‘Oh, I can do that too.’ That’s when I realized I could play football.”
While Gilliam might not have impacted Williams with his words or level of play, his build provided him with the confidence he needed to pursue a career in football. As Williams explained on the same podcast, he was only 5’5” his freshman year of high school, hitting 6’ the following year, but still not being fully grown into his frame. Football was even more physical back then than it is now, so it makes sense why the prospect of playing would have frightened Williams. However, seeing Gilliam play at his light frame made Williams reconsider football, ultimately cementing himself as a crucial piece of NFL history.
It’s unclear what year Williams did see Gilliam play, as Williams’ first year of college was 1974, and Gilliam last year was 1971, so perhaps he has his years mixed up, but despite that, Gilliam is listed at 174 pounds for his final college season. That’s astounding considering the punishment players were taking back then. Yet Gilliam still led Tennessee State to a 9-1 record, with an old Tennessee State sports guide from that season calling him, “the finest quarterback in Tiger history.”
Unfortunately, Gilliam died in 2000 at the age of 49, losing his lifelong battle with addiction, although he had been sober for three years before his death. It was this addiction that most likely resulted in him being released from the Steelers in 1976, and it’s sad to see a promising life taken too soon by addiction. Gilliam may not have been Bradshaw, or even the guy behind Bradshaw, but he is important to NFL history, if only because of how he inspired Williams.
