When it comes to great Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers of the 1970s, Jack Lambert and Jack Ham get all the glory. They have the four rings, the gold jackets, regarded as two of the best to ever play their positions. The forgotten man is Andy Russell. Those who watched him knew he was right up there with Lambert and Ham, a bright spot on some bad Steelers teams of the 60s before finding glory the next decade.
Actor Ed O’Neill was one of those who didn’t just watch Andy Russell. He played with him for a brief time while they were teammates in 1969, Russell a rare Chuck Noll holdover and O’Neill an undrafted rookie. O’Neill was impressed by Russell’s demeanor.
“I loved Andy Russell,” O’Neill said on Julian Edelman’s Games With Names podcast. “Andy Russell was one of the smartest linebackers I ever saw play.”
Some of O’Neill’s commentary probably came from watching the Steelers of that era. While the two were both on the 1969 training camp roster, O’Neill was cut two weeks in and never played a game with the team.
Still, he was amazed whenever and however he’d watch Russell on the football field.
“Russell when he played the weakside. He played on the weakside opposite the tight end. He’d stand straight up in the air before the snap, looking around. ‘Wideout, he’s coming, watch him…You’d think he’s not ready to play football. He looked like a ref. That’d ball be snapped, man, and he’d be on it.”
A seven-time Pro Bowler who missed the 1964 season to serve in the military, Russell was already a good player before Noll was hired. Noll took Russell’s game to the next level and surrounded him with great talent, helping Russell make six Pro Bowls from 1969 through the rest of his career.
“Not that big. He was a fullback at Missouri. He was like you, he was basically a running back. He was a great player. Played a lot of years.”
Russell was a titan of durability, never missing any of his 168 career games. He helped lead Pittsburgh to their first two Super Bowls in 1974 and 1975. Retiring after the 1976 season after his age-35 campaign, he wasn’t part of the team’s 1978 and 1979 Lombardi’s.
That fact, coupled with being overshadowed by Lambert and Ham, are the likely reasons while Russell isn’t in the Hall of Fame. His candidacy isn’t even discussed much as a snub. The focus had been on Donnie Shell before his induction and now centers on L.C. Greenwood, who O’Neill also discussed in the interview.
Russell died earlier this year at the age of 82. But his memory lives on in the minds of O’Neill and those who cherished watching the 70s Steelers during their remarkable turnaround and dynasty run.
