First, what have you been doing since your association with the Steelers?
Well, that ended in 1977 and there is a lot between then and now!
I started in Pittsburgh as a game day assistant in 1970. In 1972 I started working for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton but would work every Sunday for the Steelers on gamedays.
In 1977 NFL Properties hired me and then I went to work for the NFL Alumni Association in Ft. Lauderdale. But I decided I had to get the hell out of Florida – the heat and humidity were too much – especially after having lived in L.A. when I was with NFL Properties.
I moved back to Pittsburgh and that let me be with my parents who ended up needing some help anyway. I did some freelance writing and wrote a book on the Steelers-Raiders rivalry with Ed Gruver called Hell with the Lid Off: Inside the Fierce Rivalry between the 1970s Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers .
That was really my last writing assignment.
How did you get started working with the Steelers?
I did some freelance research on the NFL draft from 1936 on. The league office was evasive when I contacted them about those early drafts. They said the information they had was sketchy. I asked them to send me what they had and they sent me the list of 36 draft choices – all they had were last names, position and the college they went to. After looking at a lot of microfiche and publications I was able to get the first names of the players and determine whether they played in the NFL or not.
I sent that to the league and after they saw that they asked me to do years ’37-’42. I did that and sent it to the teams that still existed.
After that I contacted Ed Kiely who worked with the Steelers in ’69 for a part-time job. He said they didn’t have anything then but to try again next year. I did and Joe Gordon gave me the game day assistant job. My job was to report injuries and penalties of both teams up to the press box. Pete Rozelle then thought that if people were paying $20 a ticket – a lot of money then – they were entitled to know as much as the people who were watching from home did.
So how did they do that?
I’d call it up to the press box and they announced it on the PA system. In ’72 they started mic’ing the refs but those didn’t always work. After they fixed those problems I just called the information up to the press box. But then I got free time because of the mics. I started talking to players and getting to know them more.
I remember when Rocky was first there as a taxi squad player. By year five we joked that he’d get his pension and hang it up. But by then he was starting and he said he was having too much fun now to do that!
I became friends too with Ray Mansfield. He was a character. I was standing next to him when the Immaculate Reception happened. We both turned to each other and said “I saw it but I don’t expletive believe it!” Then we decided we needed to run to the end zone to get into the pictures. I remember watching him run to the sidelines looking back to make sure he got in the shots. Then running further to make sure again as he looked back! He was a fantastic guy – it was sad to lose him so early.
After the reception Joe Gordon actually asked me to fill-in in the Raiders locker room to get any quotes or stories. I got there and I just saw John Madden sitting by himself staring at an empty locker. Wayne Valley – a minority stockholder for the Raiders – he came in and put a hand on John’s shoulder and told him he deserved better. John didn’t say anything. I went back to Joe and told him I was sorry but there weren’t any quotes to get. Joe just turned to me and said “That’s ok. I don’t think the Raiders are the story today.”
Did you get to know Chuck Noll at all?
I credit the success of the team to Chuck Noll – his philosophy and attitude and system he bought in. He was aloof – he wasn’t close to players because he was worried he’d keep players on a year or two longer than their usefulness if he was buddies with them.
An example of how detailed he was when we were playing the Bengals in the last game of the ’71 season. He decided to start Swann and Stallworth as rookies over Ron Shanklin and Frank Lewis. When the team went on to the field I hung back in the runway because it was so cold. Well Chuck looked back and walked back to me to tell me Swann and Stallworth were starting. He just wanted to make sure I knew.
Another example was when the Pirates were in the World Series in ’71. Ira Miller was a journalist then and he was covering the Pirates but was supposed to do an article on Chuck Allen for the Steelers program. He asked me if I could do it and I did and the article was published. Later on I saw Chuck walking up to me and I thought “Oh no what did I do?” But he came up and told me “Nice job on the Chuck Allen article Jim.”
It’s funny – I don’t know where I got the stones to do this. But one game Chuck got on a referee for a pass that Stallworth caught on the sidelines. It was ruled out of bounds and Chuck was more vocal than he normally was. I’m not sure where I got the nerve but I told Chuck that the call was right. He just looked at me and winked. That told me he knew what he was doing and was just working the refs for a call later!
Mansfield told me a story too about Chuck. At halftime of a game the team was behind in, Lee Calland was giving the team a rah rah speech, telling them they could do it, they could win. Chuck just looked at him and said “Sit the expletive down Lee and shut the hell up!”
Charlie Sumner was an assistant with the Steelers then. Chuck was the defensive coordinator for the Colts before Pittsburgh and when Pittsburgh played the Colts I asked Charlie what that would be like since they knew Chuck so well. Charlie just turned to me and said “Like playing a damn mirror!”
Any other good memories there?
Late in the season when it got cold, instead of heat warmers they just had fires going on the sidelines – they threw logs into 55 gallon drums and burned them. I was standing there with Dwight White and told him I could use a shot right now of that Annie Green Springs wine – that was a notorious cheap wine then. Well, Joe Greene turned to me and asked “Country Cherry or Berry Frost?” I knew then if it was good enough for Joe it was good enough for me!
What was Joe Gordon like?
Joe was king of the multi-taskers. I remember once I was standing in his office with my back to the door – he left for a minute. I heard a voice say “Hi Jim, what’s up?” I knew by the voice it was Art Rooney but I didn’t think he knew who I was – I thought he was talking to Jim Boston. Well, I looked back and saw he was talking to me. Art knew who I was. I told Joe later the story and told him I didn’t think Art knew who I was behind those coke bottle glasses of his. How told me “Don’t let the coke bottles fool you. Art knows what’s going on around here!”
Any other fun memories?
They used to have a dress-off every year and it came down to Frenchy Fuqua and Jim Clack. Frenchy had that “Count” persona and those transparent shows with goldfish, and Jim was preppy – wore a bowtie and newsboy hat and knickers. Well, Frenchy won – and I remember him turning to me and telling me he knew he had Jim as soon as he put on his red pantyhose!
Did you talk to the officials a lot?
They were classy people. Back then they had to make at least $50,000 so they would be less likely to be influenced by gamblers. I remember once I questioned a call they made. The official just turned to me and said that it was a tough job – they get enough heat as it is. He could have just told me to get my ass out of there.
It was interesting. When the AFL merged with the NFL the AFL guys were reluctant to make calls. They waited at first for the NFL officials to make the calls.
How did it go with the other teams you had to work with?
I usually had to go to the other trainers to get their injury reports. I do remember going to the Vikings trainer once and he told me he wouldn’t give me that information – only Bud Grant would. So I had to go to Bud and he said yes, that’s right, that goes through him and no one else. But, you could never get close to Bud to ask him about anything.
Bill Bergey – the Bengals linebacker – when I was on the Bengals sideline got mad at me. I had called up to the press box telling them that Pat Madsen – his teammate – was called for holding. I think he thought I was a sideline reporter because he told me he thought I was being too negative! I told him he had to talk to Pete Rozelle about that!
Ron Pritchard also got mad at me – he played for the Oilers and he hit a Steelers player out of bounds – it was a penalty. I yelled at him that it was a late hit and he looked at me and said “Who the hell are you?”
Any last thoughts of your time there?
I started there in the early 70s and I knew when I was there that it was a young team that was going to get better and stay good for a long time. I know I wanted to be a part of that! It was a great experience. I don’t regret any of it – not the travel or the hours. I got to meet some great players and got to know other people like the Rooneys. It was a great experience.
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