Terry Bradshaw is often a name that ends up on the Honorable Mention list when talking about the 10 best quarterbacks in NFL history. It’s often a fair ranking, considering you do have to account for the era and consider the talent he had around him.
But if you were making a list of the most legendary careers of QBs, I think you’d have to put Bradshaw in the top 10 without a doubt. Seemingly every time the man talks, he has another couple of wonderful stories to share. He’s an elite interviewee.
In a recent interview with The Morning Call, Bradshaw shared a memory, or lack thereof, from the 1976 Super Bowl.
“Here’s one of my favorite stories about the 64-yard touchdown pass I threw to [Lynn] Swann in Super Bowl X.” Bradshaw said. “ In that touchdown pass to Swann, [Dallas Cowboys defender] Larry Cole drilled me right in the temple. I didn’t remember anything. I mean, nothing!”
OTD 1976#SuperBowlX#Steelers #Cowboys
Terry Bradshaw takes a huge hit from Larry Cole but still competes one of the greatest passes in Super Bowl history, a 64 yard 💣 to Lynn Swann for the winning touchdown pic.twitter.com/4IIbZduYt7— Old Time Football 🏈 (@Ol_TimeFootball) January 18, 2024
The Steelers led 15-10 over the Cowboys, with just around four minutes to go in that game. On a big third down and four play, where a Cowboys stop would have resulted in them getting the ball back with a chance to win the Super Bowl, the Steelers didn’t just go for the first down, they went for it all.
If that play happened today and the pass fell incomplete, Twitter would be in an uproar for a few days. But instead, it was one of the first-ever “no, no, no, YES!” plays in both Steelers and NFL history.
As far as his favorite career memory, Bradshaw said it was getting Art Rooney his first Super Bowl.
You’d think something like that or one of his other big-time plays like the Immaculate Reception would be Bradshaw’s best NFL memory, but he shared something else when asked.
“The game I remember the most is Super Bowl IX against the Vikings, and the only reason is because I was standing in the crowd of players when [NFL Commissioner] Pete Rozelle gave Art Rooney the Vince Lombardi World Championship trophy.” Bradshaw recalled. “It wasn’t a play or anything other than watching Mr. Rooney get his first Super Bowl trophy. That’s my finest moment.”
Art Rooney receives his first Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/2W9FrEKjW5
— Old Time Football 🏈 (@Ol_TimeFootball) August 25, 2023
Winning a Super Bowl for Rooney clearly meant a lot for the Steelers at the time, as OG Gerry “Moon” Mullins also said it was the highlight of his career.
It’s hard to think back that far now, but there was a time when the Pittsburgh Steelers logo meant nothing to anyone. It took a long time to build up the meaning and correlation that it has today. Terry Bradshaw will always be a huge part of that.
It’s not often that a player takes so much pride in winning something for their owner. It’s a testament to how different the Rooneys make the Steelers organization that that was his “finest moment”.
