The 1957 Pittsburgh Steelers

There are exciting stories scattered throughout NFL history, and sometimes they come from the most unique places. The 1957 Steelers finished at 6-6, in third place in the NFL's East Division and in this episode, we try and tell their story. Our friend Steve Massey joins us for some commentary and we also searched our archives to have some relevant items from historians Matthew Dibiase, Aron Harris, and Joe Ziemba.

It is not always the winning teams or even the League Champs that have fascinating elements to them, some times the franchises further back in the pack have some memorable moments as well. The Steelers in 1957 were only two years removed from giving up on one of the top QBs in NFL history. Pittsburgh drafted a young man named Johnny Unitas in the ninth round of the NFL Draft, but Johnny U. was released before the 1955 season began by Steelers' then-head coach Walt Kiesling. The team struggled offensively, which eventually led to the firing of Kiesling, and his replacement was the former Detroit Lions Coach Buddy Parker. The only problem is that Parker took over right before the season started on August 27, and had only days to meet his team and prepare them for the season at hand.

The Steelers were entering their 25th season as an NFL franchise in 1957. One change besides the coach was the wearing of the yellowish-gold colored helmets with the player number adorning the side.

Even with letting Unitas go, the Steeler's stable of quarterbacks was legendary. The problem was that neither the team nor the players had realized their potential while wearing black and gold. Parker decided to start a 23-year-old Michigan State product, Earl Morrall, only a year removed from college. Behind him was another youngster, future Hall of Fame QB Len Dawson, fresh out of Purdue and the Steeler's first-round Draft pick in 1957. Backing the two of them up was another young arm with promise, Jack Kemp, formerly of Occidental.

The Steelers would eventually, one-by-one let these future legends go on to play for other teams. Between them, they won nine NFL titles, but not one with the Steelers. Part of that, though was Coach Parker bringing in the talented QB he had at Detroit, Bobby Layne, to the Steelers in the following seasons.

Jack Kemp

Born July 13, 1935, in Los Angeles, California, was former pro football star and Congeressman Jack Kemp. Kemp was a professional quarterback for 13 years. He played briefly in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League. His true gridiron career pinnacle point though was in the American Football League, where he served as captain of both the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills and earned the AFL Most Valuable Player award in 1965 after leading the Bills to a second consecutive championship.

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Len Dawson

Born June 20, 1935, in Alliance, Ohio, was Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback Len Dawson. He played college football at Purdue. The Pro Football Hall of Fame states that Dawson is among the elite in Pro quarterbacks with an 82.56 QB rating over a span of 19 seasons in the NFL. He was the top pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1957's NFL Draft. He served as a back up there and later, Cleveland until in 1962 he found his way on to the AFL's Dallas Texans roster. After the move to Kansas City and rebranding the team as the Chiefs, Dawson cemented himself as the starter. He was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1962 and selected to six AFL All-Star games. Dawson also guided the Chiefs to three AFL championships and the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl IV, of which he was named MVP. The Chiefs revered Number 16 may be best remembered for his gritty performance as he led the Kansas City to a 23-7 upset over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. In that game Dawson connected on 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards.

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Earl Morrall

Born May 17, 1934, in Muskegon, Michigan, was NFL Championship and three-time Super Bowl winner Quarterback Earl Morrall. The Michigan Sate Spartans product played in the NFL for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. In the latter capacity, he became known as one of the greatest backup quarterbacks in NFL history, having served in the capacity for two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Johnny Unitas and Bob Griese. He is most known for helping the Baltimore Colts win Super Bowl V and the Miami Dolphins complete their perfect season.

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While their counter parts on offense were hot and cold. The Defensive side was a mainstay for Pittsburgh. The dfensive line anchored by future Hall of Fame Tackle Ernie Stautner and player/coach Bill McPeak solidified the middle while ends Bob O'Neil and Joe Krupa held their own on the flanks. In the secondary Jack Butler and Gary Glick led a team of gritty tacklers.

Above are 1957 Topps Football Cards from my personal collection

The Steelers despite little time with their new coach, came out of the games swinging with a big victory over Washington 28-7. Earl Morrall threw three TD passes and Dick Young added another score via the run. The defense allowed only 242 yards and recovered two fumbles.

In week two, they lost a tight one to the Cleveland Browns 23-12. The Steelers either won or were in a competitive battle each week except for a week 4, 35-0 blanking by the Giants and a one-sided late season second loss to Cleveland.

1957 was indeed a wild and unsettling season for the Pittsburgh Steelers as they went through a late coaching change, may have had too many good quarterbacks that were not quite ripe enough, and an uneasy fanbase that was looking for a title run. They would have to wait a little over 15 more years for that.

Banner photo is of my collection of 1957 Steelers players football cards, which are scattered throughout the post as well. Also thanks to Pro-Football-Reference.com for stats, and Wikimedia Commons for their image. Special thanks to our guests, Steve Massey, Joe Ziemba, Matthew Dibiase, and Aron Harris.

About Author Steve Massey

Author Steve Massey has a passion for history. He lives in Georgia with his wife, Tammie. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. He has written books depicting the history of pro football teams all the way to Civil War battles. His titles include:

-The Battle of the Big Black River Bridge

-The Battle of the Big Black River Bridge

-The 4th Mississippi Infantry in the Civil War

-The 4th Mississippi Infantry in the Civil War

-Starless: The 1947 Pittsburgh Steelers

-Britain, Persia and Russia 1814-1857

We love Steve's passion and knowledge for the subject matter and value his expertise on these topics.

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About Matthew Dibiase

Author of multiple books on sports history, including Lords of the Gridiron I and Lords of the Gridiron II, Matthew is also an accomplished podcast host of the The Packaged Tourist Show, as he spends his days archiving some of the great items in museums.

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Joe Ziemba

Joe Ziemba is the award-winning author of the book "When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL," "Cadets, Cannons and Legends: The Football History of Morgan Park Military Academy," and "Bears vs. Cardinals: The NFL's Oldest Rivalry. He is also the host of the Award Winning Podcast When Football was Football, found on the Sports History Network.

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About Aron Harris

Aron Harris, a long-time Steelers fan, is the creator of the Football Odyssey Website and the host of the Football Odyssey and Game Film podcasts. Aron shares with us the Football Odyssey is a collection of articles curated to fill the void of underappreciated football topics that are not often touched upon in mass media. 

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Here is more about some of the subject matter discussed above relating to the 1957 Pittsburgh Steelers. You probably never knew you could garner so much history from a mediocre football team.

More from my personal collection of 1957 Topps Football Cards

Buddy Parker

Born December 16, 1913, in Slaton, Texas, was legendary NFL Coach Buddy Parker. He played pro ball with both the Lions and the Cardinals, and later went into coaching. Parker was at the helm of the Chicago Cardinals 1947, Championship team, and then again the following season when the lost in the bizarre blizzard Title tilt in Philadelphia in 1949. He then left to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions and when pared with Quarterback Bobby Layne they won the NFL title in 1952 and 1953. In August of 1957 he abruptly walked off the job in Detroit and was soon hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers. his coaching career, Parker went 104–75–9 (.577), while going 3–1 in the postseason. He is one of 43 NFL coaches to have over 100 coaching regular season victories. Parker has the destinction of being one of five Pro Coaches with multiple League titles not to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Walt Kiesling

Born May 27, 1903, in St. Paul, Minnesota, was Pro Football Hall of Fame Lineman and Coach Walt Kiesling. Kiesling played college football at the University of St. Thomas. Walt played 13 years as a guard and tackle in the NFL with the Duluth Eskimos (1926–1927), Pottsville Maroons (1928), Chicago Cardinals (1929–1933), Chicago Bears (1934), Green Bay Packers (1935–1936), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1937–1938). Kiesling also spent 25 years as a coach or aide for NFL teams, including seven years as head coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates/Steelers from 1939 to 1942 and 1954 to 1956. He provided Pittsburgh's first franchise winning season in 1942. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and was named to the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team in 1969.

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Bobby Layne

Born December 19, 1926, in Santa Anna, Texas, was Bobby Layne the legendary University of Texas quarterback. The National Football Foundation says Bobby was not what one would call a great runner nor a classic passer but what he did out of the T-formation was remarkable. In 1945 Layne missed part of the season serving in the Merchant marine but returned near season’s end to help the Longhorns reach the Cotton Bowl and  he completed 11 of 12 passes and was part of all six Texas touchdowns as his team blew out Missouri, 40-27. By the time Layne had finished his college career he was an All America and had set 11 school records on the gridiron. Bobby Layne found his way along inside the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Layne then went to the National Football League and continued a record- setting career with Detroit and Pittsburgh. As a Lion he threw a clutch last second pass to help Detroit win the 1953 NFL Championship game. During his 15 year NFL career Bobby had two seasons where he was voted as First-Team All-NFL, four other seasons as a Second Team All-NFL and claimed the 1956 NFL scoring title. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Bobby Layne in 1967.  

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