In His Own Words: Warren Bankston

Anyone who may be interested in reading this article might ask…”Who is this guy?” Unfortunately, I would agree based on the values we place on players…yards gained, average yards per carry, receptions made, tackles made, number of TD’s. The list goes on.

You name it and I didn’t do enough to be noticed or remembered. The single defining factor that’s puzzling is this: how did I play for two great coaches, Chuck Noll at Pittsburgh for four years, and John Madden for six with the Raiders. Surely, with never being the starter on either team, how could I slip through each year without being cut from either team? In fact, going back to my college days at Tulane University, I was playing second string QB behind Bobby Duhon, who played for four years with the NY Giants as a running back.

Fortunately, based on some comments from Tulane supporters who watched practices, Tulane’s Head coach Jim Pittman was convinced that I was the second best player on the field and should be on the field.

So, here’s what happened: I was moved to a running back position at Tulane, and with only a few games my junior year, and a full season my senior year, the Steelers thought enough of me to draft me in the second round in the 1969 Steeler draft. I was honored and surprised with so little time on the field in college to be drafted so high.

My days with the Steelers included Mean Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Mel Blount, Frenchy Fuqua, Andy Russell, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, L.C. Greenwood and the legendary Rocky Bleier, just to name a few of the superstars of those years. So still, the question is this: why was I kept around? A player has to bring something to the table to be kept. The three D’s helped define me: Desire, Dedication, and Determination. Having superior players in front of me was not all bad…I could watch them and try to duplicate their techniques. And…whenever 3 tight ends were needed for short yardage and goal line plays, I tried my best to be recognized by the coaches and teammates in post-game film reviews that could be brutal to non-performers.

As it turned out, I could contribute much more to the special teams by 100% effort on every kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt returns, extra points and field goals. So that’s where I tried to be “the guy”.

Here’s how the move from Pittsburgh to Oakland happened: In the Steelers 1973 training camp, the Oakland Raiders had an injured running back just days before the opening game of 1973. Because of film exchanges that opposing teams share with each other, the Raiders thought enough of my abilities and thus traded for me. Now consider this, back in those years, a player had to have five years in the league to qualify for an NFL pension later on in life. Within 48 hours of being a potential fifth year player with the Steelers, I was on a plane to join the Oakland Raiders.

Once I arrived, I was put on every crash course to learn the Raider playbook which is like learning a foreign language in a week or two. I probably slept three-to-four hours for 10 days or so. Exhausted and lost on the West Coast, I needed help with how to find an apartment, the practice field, learn players’ and coaches’ names, and still have enough energy and “smarts” to be retained by the Raiders. It was the most difficult time in my life. Thank goodness I was not 71 years old, as I am now !!

In my six years with the Raiders, I was elected special teams captain four of those years. Would I have rather been a starter as a tight end or running back? Of course, but to extend my career to 10 years without ever having been cut from either team, it was do the best I could at whatever my assignment was. That was my goal on every play. It worked. I was considered a player with a desire to play hard at whatever was assigned to me. Although I never had the opportunity to be on a Super Bowl team with the Steelers, I was a player and co-captain with the Oakland Raiders when we defeated the Minnesota Vikings in SB XI by a score of 32-14. The game was played in the Rose Bowl on January 9, 1977.

Ironically, my dad played for Tulane and they had an 11-0 team in 1931 but lost their only game in the Rose Bowl game to USC on January 1, 1932. Sadly, he passed away my freshman year at Tulane with the knowledge that I was a Tulane Greenie, but he died before ever having the opportunity to see me play at his and my alma mater.

My heartfelt thanks goes to all of my coaches and teammates, and especially to my Mom, dad, and my two brothers, Ronnie and Richard… from my beginning as a 5th grader playing for the first time in organized sports, to my conclusion in 1978 as my final year as a professional athlete.  And the most wonderful owners a player could ever ask for: the entire Rooney family. They were like family members to all of us. Please include my sentiments in the article I sent.

Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades.  To order, just click on the book: