First, can you let me know how you landed in Pittsburgh after your time with Atlanta and L.A.?
I played six years in the NFL – I was one of the last cuts in Steelers camp in 1990. I was a college quarterback, but I made it in the NFL as a fullback. I was traded to the Rams by Atlanta and built my career up as a special teams player and backup fullback.
By my fifth year I became a Plan B free agent. I signed with Buffalo but they released me. They had Tasker there so it was a funny signing since I was a special teams guy too, but Levy was the coach of the Blitz in the USFL and he drafted me then for the USFL, so I think he had some familiarity with me.
When Buffalo released me, the Steelers picked me up. I think they had an injury or something and I played that year. The next season they drafted Barry Foster and they were pretty jacked at the position.
What did you do after that?
A week after Pittsburgh released me my knee just locked up on me. I needed knee surgery so I had to miss that season. I was battered around a lot as a player – I was knocked out more than any player I know. I think after that my body just started telling me I wouldn’t make it any more in the NFL.
I was cut five times over my career but I was always picked up. I ran the option as a college quarterback and had – still have – such a passion for the game. Even today. I’m thankful they didn’t know I’d have played for free, because I would have!
What made the Steelers reach out to you, do you think?
Bruce Allen was my agent then – he was a good guy. But I decided to make my own highlight films of my biggest hits and plays in the NFL. I sent those out to every special teams coach in the NFL and followed up with calls after Buffalo released me. George Stewart was the special teams coach in Pittsburgh – a great dude. He was one of four guys that had me come in for a tryout. I had a good reputation as a special teams player then.
Any of the guys stand out most to you there?
Bubby Brister – he was a piece of work. He was such a fun guy – he was loved by everyone there. I remember he’d come into the locker room with a towel on, take off the towel and just stand there naked making sure to put on a show, then he’d pick up a huge handful of talcum powder and throw it all over himself like Pig Pen. Then he’d clap his hands and say “What’s up guys!” and walk out. I looked at him like “What the hell was that?”
Merril Hoge – he and I were both fullbacks and sat in the meeting rooms together. He was one of the smartest guys I ever met.
One fun memory of Merril was a bet I had with him. I bet him $100 he couldn’t sit in the icebox, submerged to his neck, for a minute. Usually you sit up to your waist – it’s a really bad idea to sit up to your neck like that – it could be bad for your heart.
Well, Merril accepts the bet – not a lot of people were there. First, he gets in and submerges up to his neck without the jets on. He’s struggling…”Argh…” he’s yelling. He calls over to one of the kids that were there – two 15 or 16 year-old ballboys. “Hey kids!” he says. “Come over here. I need you to cheer me on!” So they go over and start cheering him on. Then we turned the jets on after the first minute and he’s screaming louder. “Aaargh! Cheer me on! Cheer me on” I was laughing so hard I went to my locker and gave him the $100 before the minute was up! When he came out, he was bright red.
Any other good stories about Bubby?
I used to hang out with Bubby and Merril, which was crazy, because they were complete opposites yet really good friends.
Bubby made the game fun. When I was with the Rams we had Kevin Greene, Jackie Slater, Dennis Harrah. In Atlanta we had Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, Riggs, Van Note and Bartkowski. They all made the game fun. But Bubby was off the charts.
We all went out as a team. And I’ll tell you, the girls threw themselves at Bubby. He would tell them all it was nice to meet them, but he always went home alone. He was a real classy guy. A real good guy.
Any good off-field stories with those other guys?
One good one was when I went deep sea fishing with Weegie Thompson. It was a celebrity tournament – me, Weegie, Art Monk, Terry Orr….we were all in different boats.
It was gut-wrenching. To this day I won’t get in a boat to go fishing again. I threw up all over the boat until I was dry. They called me Beam – the make of the toilet on the boat. I thought that if I could just get up enough to get to the top of the boat I’d just throw myself over.
Well, we got to the reef and the waves calmed down a lot. They started catching fish – they threw like 12 lines out. They hooked a marlin and said “Tim – this one’s yours!” I said “What?” They strapped me in and it took 45 minutes but I caught a 220 pound marlin. They videod it – I still have it. It was a three-day tournament but I didn’t go out those next two days. I just kissed the concrete when we got back.
How about any on-field memories?
One cool one was when Rod Woodson took a return to the house. He gave all the players on the punt return team $100 each. It was pretty cool – he took care of the guys.
And watching Bubby in the huddle – he really was Pig Pen, blowing his nose out one side….he was an entertaining guy!
What did you do after your football career was over?
When I left the game I got into sales. I worked for Kaiser then did recruiting, then business development. Now I work in helping line up charities and events with celebrities. I connect a lot of charities and events with former players especially, but other celebrities too. I actually got close with AC/DC – that actually happened while I was playing. I’ve seen countless shows and we’re all pretty close.
How did that happen?
We played at Wembley one year – and the hotel we were staying in was the same as the one AC/DC was staying in for a show. I was a huge AC/DC fan even then. Well I went downstairs and saw someone who looked like Brian Johnson, so I went up to him and asked if that is who he was. He said “I sure am mate!” He asked who I was – I gave him my name and he said I was a big guy. I told him I was one of the football players staying at the hotel. I asked if I could call him after practice to see if he wanted to meet later.
Well I got to my room after practice and my phone rings. “Is this Tim? Tim Tyrrell?” I said yes and he said “It’s Brian!” I was like “What the…? He’s calling me!” He asked if I wanted to join he and the band for dinner. I brought Darren Long with me – he was a big guitar guy – and we all went for sushi together – the entire band and engineers were all there. I knew who they all were except the drummer who was new at the time!
Three months later we’re in L.A. for a home game and AC/DC is on tour in LA. I invited them all to the game but they couldn’t go since they played that night. That day I scored my first NFL touchdown.
They sent me backstage passes for the show though, and it was like Wayne’s World “I wasn’t worthy!” I got there and the security guys said “Hey are you Timmy T? Brian’s waiting for you!” I walk in and the first people I see are Heather Locklear and Bon Jovi. Brian then comes up and gives me a hug like we’ve been friends for years! I’m walking around and I see Angus tuning his guitar. He says in his thick Australian accent I can barely understand “I saw you on the telly – you scored a goal!” I said “Close Angus!”
Any of those other Steelers players or memories stand out?
It was such a good group of guys. Terry Long – I always knew there was something going on there. I was hot-headed, but I was nothing compared to Terry. I was lucky. I was knocked out so much, but I got out healthy, mentally and physically. At least so far. I took care of myself – no drinking or smoking – but a lot of guys did.
It really was an amazing experience. I played for three years too with Kevin Greene and we hung out a lot. I stayed with him for two days late in 2020 – he was such a good, humble dude. On the field he was Ric Flair. But off the field he talked about how his wife changed his life – how things changed when he got married and had kids.
He told me the story of when he got to Pittsburgh. In practice Louis Lipps ran across the middle and Greene took him out. Lipps jumped up and yelled at him – asked what he was doing. Kevin told him “I’m a Steeler now! I have to play like a Steeler!” He was on a different level. He had a zest for life- it’s just hard to explain without being there.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
