One could say that Chuck Noll’s second year was a little better than his first as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even though he won his first game as the guy in charge things didn’t go well after that in 1969. They lost every game after that. The 1970 season couldn’t come soon enough for him and the Steelers. The 1970 season started with what may have been their second best draft in the history of the organization. Anytime a team drafts a Hall of Famer it is considered a successful draft. In the 1970 draft the Steelers drafted two Hall of Famers, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount. Throw in second round pick Ron Shanklin and you’ve got yourself an extra special draft. The 1969 and 1970 drafts are arguably the most successful consecutive drafts in the history of the NFL. This will lead to a 5-9 record. Things are definitely looking up.
Things were looking up for me in 1970 too. I was born. You could say that was the highlight of my year in 1970. Also born in 1970? Andre Agassi, Matt Damon, Melania Trump, and Phil Mickelson. The 70s might be the greatest decade of the twentieth century because of a multitude of events that happened and the people of the decade. The Chiefs beat the Vikings in Super Bowl IV on January 11th. Then, sixteen days later the Pittsburgh Steelers selected a quarterback out of Louisiana Tech as the first draft pick in the 1970 NFL Draft, Terry Bradshaw. Their first pick in 1969 draft , Joe Greene, proved to be successful and so would this pick. The third round of that draft would be used to select Mel Blount. Just stop the draft right then and there. We’ve added two Hall of Famers. Chuck had to have been smiling all night long. As the Steelers were looking forward to 1970, and the future definitely looked bright, I want to take a look at who left us in 1970. It was a year that we still look back at because of who we lost.
Two people we lost in 1970 were huge to our society and the future of rock and roll. On September 18 we lost Jimi Hendrix. On October 4 Janis Joplin left us. Both due to drugs. Someone else the world of football lost was someone you may have heard of, Vince Lombardi. Ever hear of the Vince Lombardi Trophy? Yeah, it’s that guy. Kind of influential in the world of the National Football League. Vince left this world on September 3 at the age of 57. You could also add one other death to 1970. On April 10 Paul McCartney announced that the Beatles have “officially” broken up. Now you have my attention. But their music lived on throughout the year with their release of “Let It Be”. Someone who could’ve died on my birthday was the guy I grew up watching at the beginning of ABC’s Wide World of Sports. He’s the ski jumper who crashed at the bottom of the ski ramp and became known as “the agony of defeat” guy. Vinko Bogataj crashed at a ski jumping championship in Germany in March of 1970. The image of him crashing to the voice of Jim McKay is and always will be fresh in my head.
Remember the Polaroid camera? Yep, it was patented on June 17. Kids today can’t understand the shaking of a Polaroid picture so that it develops. On July 4th, Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 premiered. Are there any nationally known DJs left in this country. None like Casey Kasem I bet. On September 21 the Browns beat the Jets 31-21 on the very first Monday Night Football game. Do I ever miss Howard Cosell. There will never be another Howard Cosell. And, how could I forget Douglas Engelbart? You know Douglas Engelbart. He’s the guy that received a patent on November 17 for his invention the computer mouse. That was invented in 1970? Who knew. There was a photo taken on December 21st that has become the most requested photo fmo the National Archives. It is a photo of Elvis meeting President Nixon. I was once asked if I was alive when Elvis was alive. I immediately responded in the negative, but within one second it dawned on me that I was alive when Elvis was alive. That was the official moment in my life that I realized that I was old.
1970 was just the beginning and the end. America was heading toward the end of the Vietnam War. President Nixon was about to see the beginning of his time as President of the United States come to an end. The Pittsburgh Steelers were one more losing season away from ending decades of failure. Like every year, as one thing ends another begins. 1970 saw the birth of many important people, I’ll include myself if that’s ok with you. And, 1970 saw the end of many people important to our society. Jack Ham was in his last season at Penn State and Jack Lambert was just an unknown at Kent State. The 70s would prove fruitful to the Steelers and 1970 was an important year in the growth of the greatest dynasty.