First, let me know a bit about what you’ve been doing since your time in the NFL?
I got my degree in building construction from Texas A&M. In the offseason in ’89 Art Modell offered us all a chance to take career counseling which was great – I took advantage of that and it was extremely helpful. My interest in drafting and engineering was supported by that – my dad picked a good major for me – he knew who I was.
1989 was my last season in the NFL. I took a year off and volunteered at an Episcopal church as a youth leader but, while it was a good experience, I never felt that calling. I got an internship later for a Shermur Construction which turned out to be the same company that did the work on Cleveland Municipal Stadium. I thought that was pretty cool.
i was well-prepared for that world – as a project manager. It was cool – it was great to have that after I retired, At 31 years old, you have a lot of work left. It’s easy to feel lost. But this was my new career and I’ve been doing it ever since.
As a rookie – what was your first experience in that Steelers rivalry?
First of all, I grew up in Houston when the Oilers were in the AFC Central. I remember the Mike Renfro pass and my dad was a big Steelers fan.
When I was a rookie we played the Steelers about week seven. The complexion of the team changed that week – it was much more serious. We were told stories about Greene and Lambert and how Turkey Jones dropped Bradshaw on his head. How Greene kicked Bob McKay in the testicles and dropped him. There was a lot of bad blood. Cleveland and Pittsburgh were both blue collar, hard-working towns.
Every game there was pushing and yelling between the teams. It was always mayhem – but we always respected each other. And I always had fun in those games.
Any specific stories you recall about your playing time?
I played left guard as a rookie – I was a backup at first and moved to left tackle after that rookie season. My first game against Pittsburgh we were down 21-0 in the first half when people started yelling at me that the offensive line coach wanted to talk to me. Rod told me I was going into the game. I was stammering. It was 21-0 – I thought this couldn’t be happening! Sipe got in the huddle and looked at me and asked “Hey Cody – you ok buddy?” I think he was just trying to break the tension. It was a cold, overcast day. Playing in the grass and mud. That just seems the way most of those games went.
Lambert hated the Browns – he hated Brian Sipe for some reason and used to take cheap shots on him all the time. And we were allowed to cut block then, to clip players – but we did that pretty liberally against those Steelers linemen. No linemen liked it but they especially didn’t like how often we did it to them.
My first time in Three Rivers, I was thinking, pinch me. I’m playing in Three Rivers! We ran a wham play – the center took on Dunn or Furness -whichever was in – and I took on the middle linebacker. The fullback then led the back – Mack – it was an attitude play. I pulled up on Lambert – I’m not sure if he tripped or what – but I pancaked him. I ended up on top of him. He was not happy. We were all piled on top of each other and I could hear him cussing and snorting. I got up and went to the huddle thinking what have I done? I just hoped he didn’t see my number and know it was me.
What happened next?
We ran an NGO play later on – a sweep play. I was the lead blocker and I just remember seeing a blur on my right side. Lambert targeted me and earholed me. We all watched it on film the next day – he didn’t even try to go after the ball carrier. He came right after me. The guys in the film room all shouted – they wanted to know what I did to Lambert to make him so angry! He came right at me – he didn’t even care about the running back. That was the NFL in the 70’s.
Lambert once hit Sipe a he was running out of bounds – Lambert took him out right near the Browns’ bench. He creamed him and the Browns’ bench went after him. Henry Shepherd knew how to get Lambert kicked out of games though. He patted Lambert on his ass after the big fight – said “Nice hit Jackie!” Lambert took a swing at him and the refs kicked him out of the game.
How about some of those matchups when you played tackle – especially against L.C. Greenwood?
He was so great – I thought those yellow shoes were so cool. I caught him at the end of his career. He was smooth. He wasn’t a talker though. A lot of those guys were but not L.C.. He’s deserving of any accolades he gets.
Ham was great too – I could never hook him. He was so experienced and quick on his feet.
And I don’t want to forget Keith Willis. He was the defensive end I went up against most of my career. My last season in ’89 I played hurt – I had torn my meniscus in my right leg and played hurt. We were on the goal line and I came in low and my knee got caught up in the pile. I thought I tweaked it again but I tried to get up and started yelling in pain. I was on the ground yelling, face to face with Willis. He looked at me and started yelling back at me: “Take the pain! Take the pain!”
Was he trying to support you?
I think he was. We played against each other for years. It was pretty cool. That was the kind of thing that happened on the field then. We were brothers in arms. He was trying to help me. It brought my head back. I though, alright. Ok. And I got up after that.
Any other memories come to mind?
Oh how can I forget! I was on the team that finally beat the Steelers in Three Rivers! That was just wild, man. We tried flying over Pittsburgh, busing to Pittsburgh, we even brought a nun in to bless the team once! We tried everything until we finally won in ’86.
Lastly, any thoughts on the rivalry now?
I just hope it returns to relevance again and the Browns get over with the losing to Pittsburgh. The Steelers probably focus more on the Ravens as rivals. But I hope the tie last year is the beginning of a great rivalry again. I always saw every team in our division as rivals. Well except the Bengals. To be honest I never respected the Bengals – they never had a history of winning.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
