Here are many stories from my interviews with Steelers players on Jack Lambert’s time in Pittsburgh and what made him a legend:
Widenhofer: “I think it was in 1977 –we were talking three-peat that season. Well we had lost two in a row and lost to Cleveland at home. They hadn’t beaten us in a long time before that. After the game, there is a lobby in the stadium where the players and coaches were able to sit while they waited for the crowds and traffic to clear. I came out of the locker room into that area and Jack Hart (Steelers Equipment Manager) came up to me and said that Jack Lambert hadn’t turned in his uniform yet. Well, it was 45 minutes after the game. I looked at him and said “Really?”
I went looking for him and went into the Pirates’ locker room, which was further down the hall from ours. I looked inside and saw Jack sitting in the sauna, in tears, with his uniform still on. He was upset about the team maybe not making the playoffs. I talked to him – told him we needed to get his uniform off… But that’s how hard he and the rest of those guys took it. Here he was 45 minutes after the game – he didn’t take a shower – didn’t even take his uniform off.”
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