The Pittsburgh Steelers Fans' Bucket List by Scott Brown

Author:Scott Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Triumph Books
Published: 2016-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

Black and Gold in the Heartland

The Steelers share their practice facility and Heinz Field with Pitt. They share a uniform scheme with a school hundreds of miles away from the 412 area code and their connection to the University of Iowa dates back to the late 1970s.

The Hawkeyes had gone almost two decades without a winning season when Hayden Fry took over as head coach for the 1979 season. Fry put his psychology degree to use as soon as he arrived in Iowa City and he quickly turned his attention to the Steelers as he tried to change the culture of a once-proud program.

“Hayden’s deal was [the Steelers’] jersey signified winning and that’s what we want to get to,” longtime Iowa football equipment manager Greg Morris said.

Morris worked as a student athletic trainer in Fry’s first season at Iowa but he still remembers vividly how the colorful coach wanted to replicate the Steelers’ uniform—and how cooperative the Steelers were after receiving the request.

The Steelers, Morris said, sent a full uniform complete with a No. 12 jersey, which had been made famous by quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Iowa copied the uniforms, from the helmet and jersey sleeve stripes all the way down to the socks.

That wouldn’t happen today with all of the licensing issues that would be in play. But Iowa ran with the black and gold motif with the Steelers’ blessings, and in 1981, Fry’s third season, they returned to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1958.

Fry, who also famously had the walls in the visiting locker room painted pink to curb aggression, led Iowa to three Rose Bowls and 11 other bowl appearances in 20 seasons and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year three times. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

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