A present controversy involving the proud Pittsburgh Steelers organization is conjecture that the Super Bowl teams of the 1970s had steroid users on the roster. This was recently brought up by NFL quarterback Fran Tarkenton and some of the “Steel Curtain” Steelers were not happy of Tarkenton’s allegations. Tarkenton, the losing quarterback in the Super Bowl IX when the Steelers beat Minnesota Vikings 16-6, made a comment on a radio interview on 790 The Zone in Atlanta. “We’re playing the Steelers in the Super Bowl in ’75 or ’76, and I’m warming up with my center, Mick Tingelhoff, who’s an eight-time all-pro,” he said. “He’s my roommate…he’s about 6-2, 245… we’re on the field warming up, and I see these Steeler offensive linemen with their sleeves rolled up, and they’ve got these bulging muscles.”

He also disclosed that they later on found out that Mike Webster and Steve Courson were juiced. “We talk now about (former baseball stars) Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. But how about the Steelers of that era? Did that make a difference? Yeah, it made a difference. It increased their performance,” he added. After the radio interview of Tarkenton, The Times asked a few Steelers of that era about the remarks made by Tarkenton as they played in the Tony Dorsett/McGuire Memorial Celebrity Golf Classic. They were all disappointed and upset on the steroid comments. A rookie tight end in 1974, Randy Grossman said that the statement of TarKenton is ludicrous. “We played at a time when things were happening, I suppose, (with steroids). We may have had some players who were involved in it. But there were probably 25 other teams that may have had some players involved with it.” “Maybe Fran was just going over the deep end because he took much of it,” Grossman added.

Now at 69, Tarkenton however have some of his facts wrong when linking Steelers for steroid use. Courson, a guard, did not play for the Steelers back then since he was just starting college. Also in the ’74 season when Webster was still a rookie, he was only 6-foot-1 ½ tall and weighed 238 pounds and he was not a starting center. And take note that the first win of the Steelers in the Super Bowl was considered for a terrific defensive effort that held the Vikings to no offensive touchdowns and was only 17 rushing yards while intercepting Tarkenton thrice and scoring the game’s first two points on a safety. No one in the Steelers’ core defensive players during that time was even linked to steroids.

Webster died of a heart attack in 2002 and admitted in using steroid during his career. Courson also admitted steroid use and he died in 2005 when a tree fell on him. Meanwhile, a Pittsburgh sports writer told ESPN 1250 last week that running back Rocky Bleier admitted using steroids but only to heal his injuries. Also quarterback Terry Bradshaw admitted to steroid use but for the same purpose as Bleier’s.

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