Dermontti Dawson is one of the best centers in Pittsburgh Steelers history along with NFL history, and his number 63 has never been worn by another Steeler since he retired from the NFL. Appearing on the Irish Steelers Podcast, Dawson called it an “honor” that his number hasn’t been re-issued since.
“I was dedicated to Pittsburgh, because during free agency, after my rookie [contract], I had an opportunity to sign a contract with other teams. But I wanted to be a one-team player and stay with the Steelers. And I was dedicated to those guys. I know they know that, even though I didn’t verbally say that, I don’t think, but I wanted to stay and finish my career in Pittsburgh. And it means a lot for those guys to have not reissued my number. It’s an honor,” Dawson said.
The Steelers don’t often formally retire numbers, only having done so for three players in team history: Ernie Stautner’s No. 70, DL Joe Greene’s No. 75, and most recently, RB Franco Harris’ No. 32. For a team with such a rich history, if they retired the number of every player who was historically good, they wouldn’t have enough numbers to give out. Instead, the Steelers unofficially retire numbers by not reissuing them, and that’s what they’ve done so far with Dawson’s No. 63.
Like most players, Dawson had the opportunity to sign elsewhere. When he was drafted, the Steelers had Mike Webster at center, and even Webster finished his career with the Kansas City Chiefs. Harris finished his career with the Seattle Seahawks, but Dawson was a Steeler his entire career. He was a good one, too, making seven first-team All-Pro teams and eight Pro Bowls in his career. He continued the legacy of Steelers centers from Webster that was continued by Jeff Hartings and later Maurkice Pouncey.
Zach Frazier will try to continue that tradition, but it’s going to be hard for anyone to rise to the level of Dawson. While his number likely won’t ever be formally retired, he’s going to go down in history as a Steelers legend, and he’s a member of the team’s Hall of Honor and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It would take a change in policy for the Steelers to ever hang up Dawson’s number, but in the NFL, it’s tough to retire too many numbers with 53 guys on a roster, and it’s why the Steelers have been reluctant to do so despite so many great players.
Even though it’s not formally retired, Dawson is still honored that his number hasn’t been re-issued, and that will likely remain the case for a long time.
