39th season in franchise history
The1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 39th in theNational Football League . The Steelers showed improvement finishing in second place in the AFC Central Division with a 6–8 record.Terry Bradshaw struggled with turnovers in his second season throwing 22 interceptions to 13 touchdown passes. The Steelers that year drafted wide receiverFrank Lewis , Hall of Fame linebackerJack Ham , guardGerry Mullins , defensive endDwight White , tight end/tackleLarry Brown , defensive tackleErnie Holmes , and safetyMike Wagner , all key contributors during the SteelersSuper Bowl teams of the 1970s.
Round Pick Player Position College Notes 1 8 Frank Lewis WR Grambling 2 34 Jack Ham LB Penn State 3 60 Steven Davis RB Delaware State 4 86 Gerry Mullins TE USC 4 104 Dwight White DE East Texas State 5 106 Larry Brown TE Kansas 5 112 Melvin Holmes OT North Carolina A&T 5 126 Ralph Anderson DB West Texas State 5 128 Fred Brister LB Mississippi 6 138 Craig Hanneman OT Oregon State 7 164 Worthy McClure OT Mississippi 8 184 Larry Crowe RB Texas Southern 8 190 Paul Rogers PK Nebraska 8 203 Ernie Holmes DT Texas Southern 9 216 Mike Anderson LB LSU 10 242 Jim O'Shea TE Boston College 11 268 Mike Wagner DB Western Illinois 13 320 Alfred Young WR South Carolina State 14 346 McKinney Evans DB New Mexico Highlands 15 372 Ray Makin OG Kentucky 16 398 Walter Huntley DB Trinity 17 424 Danny Ehle RB Howard Payne
1971 Pittsburgh Steelers staff Front office
President –Arthur J. Rooney Vice president – John R. McGinley Vice president –Daniel M. Rooney Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. Public relations director – Ed Kiely Ticket manager – Joseph H. Carr Traveling secretary – James A. Boston Publicity director – Joe Gordon Office manager – Terrence Jacobs Ticket office assistant – Arthur Laughlin Director of player personnel –Dick Haley Assistant director of player personnel –Bill Nunn Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
Strength coach –Louis Riecke Team physician, orthopedic – Dr. John Best Team Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber Team dentist – Dr. Robert Gray Trainer – Ralph Berlin Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi, Jack Hart [ 1]
Week Date Opponent Result 1 September 19, 1971 atChicago Bears L 17–15 2 September 26, 1971 Cincinnati Bengals W 21–10 3 October 3, 1971 San Diego Chargers W 21–17 4 October 10, 1971 atCleveland Browns L 27–17 5 October 18, 1971 atKansas City Chiefs L 38–16 6 October 24, 1971 Houston Oilers W 23–16 7 October 31, 1971 atBaltimore Colts L 34–21 8 November 7, 1971 Cleveland Browns W 26–9 9 November 14, 1971 atMiami Dolphins L 24–21 10 November 21, 1971 New York Giants W 17–13 11 November 28, 1971 Denver Broncos L 22–10 12 December 5, 1971 atHouston Oilers L 29–3 13 December 12, 1971 atCincinnati Bengals W 21–13 14 December 19, 1971 Los Angeles Rams L 23–14
Game information Second quarter
PIT –Preston Pearson fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed).Steelers 6–0.Drive: CHI –Mac Percival 33-yard field goal.Steelers 6–3.Drive: Third quarter
PIT –Roy Gerela 32-yard field goal.Steelers 9–3.Drive: PIT – Roy Gerela 29-yard field goal.Steelers 12–3.Drive: Fourth quarter
PIT – Roy Gerela 42-yard field goal.Steelers 15–3.Drive: CHI –Ross Brupbacher 30-yard fumble return (Mac Percival kick).Steelers 15–10. CHI –George Farmer 8-yard pass fromKent Nix (Mac Percival kick).Bears 17–15.Drive: Top passers Top rushers Top receivers
1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 3 0 7 0 10 Steelers 7 0 7 7 21
atThree Rivers Stadium ,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 48,448Referee: Norm Schachter TV announcers: Scoring drives:
Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 33 – Bengals 3–0 Pittsburgh – Smith 16 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 7–3 Cincinnati – Parrish 14 fumble return (Muhlmann kick) – Bengals 10–7 Pittsburgh –Staggers 67 punt return (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–10 Pittsburgh –Pearson 13 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 21–10 1 2 3 4 Total Chargers 3 7 7 0 17 Steelers 7 0 7 7 21
atThree Rivers Stadium ,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 44,339Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers: Scoring drives:
San Diego – FG Partee 21 – Chargers 3–0 Pittsburgh –Fuqua 5 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 7–3 San Diego – Parks 16 pass from Hadl (Partee kick) – Chargers 10–7 Pittsburgh –Fuqua 1 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–10 San Diego – Garrett 4 run (Partee kick) – Chargers 17–14 Pittsburgh –Bradshaw 5 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 21–17 Steelers stop San Diego with a goal line stand preserving the 21–17 win.
1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 7 3 7 17 Browns 10 10 0 7 27
atCleveland Municipal Stadium ,Cleveland, Ohio
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 83,391Referee: Jack Vest TV announcers: Scoring drives:
Cleveland – FG Cockroft 25 – Browns 3–0 Cleveland – Morin 19 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick) – Browns 10–0 Cleveland – Scott 18 run (Cockroft kick) – Browns 17–0 Pittsburgh –D. Smith 22 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Browns 17–7 Cleveland – FG Cockroft 20 – Browns 20–7 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 33 – Browns 20–10 Pittsburgh –Shanklin 11 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Browns 20–17 Cleveland – Kelly 7 run (Cockroft kick) – Browns 27–17 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 9 0 0 7 16 Chiefs 0 28 0 10 38
at theMunicipal Stadium ,Kansas City, Missouri
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FGGerela 32 – Steelers 3–0 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 40 – Steelers 6–0 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 35 – Steelers 9–0 Kansas City – Taylor 5 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick) – Steelers 9–7 Kansas City – Taylor 27 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 14–9 Kansas City – Wright 5 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 21–9 Kansas City – Podolak 1 run (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 28–9 Kansas City – FGStenerud 11 – Chiefs 31–9 Pittsburgh –Fuqua 1 run (Gerela kick) – Chiefs 31–16 Kansas City – Thomas 32 interception return (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 38–16 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 7 3 6 0 16 Steelers 3 3 3 14 23
atThree Rivers Stadium ,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 45,872Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers: Scoring drives:
Houston – Dawkins 1 run (Moseley kick) – Oilers 7–0 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 28 – Oilers 7-3 Houston – FGMoseley 24 – Oilers 10-3 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 22 – Oilers 10-6 Houston – Dawkins 1 run (kick failed) – Oilers 16-6 Pittsburgh – FGGerela – Oilers 16-9 Pittsburgh –Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick) – Tie 16–16 Pittsburgh –Fuqua 30 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 23–16 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 7 7 7 21 Colts 7 20 7 0 34
atMemorial Stadium ,Baltimore, Maryland
Game time: Game weather: 60,238Game attendance: Referee: Jack Reader TV announcers: Scoring drives:
Baltimore – Bulaich 1 run (O'Brien kick) – Colts 7–0 Baltimore – FG O'Brien 20 – Colts 10–0 Baltimore – FG O'Brien 9 – Colts 13–0 Pittsburgh –Bradshaw 3 run (Gerela kick) – Colts 13–7 Baltimore – Richardson 19 pass from Morrall (O'Brien kick) – Colts 20–7 Baltimore – Richardson 49 pass from Morrall (O'Brien kick) – Colts 27–7 Baltimore – Perkins 60 pass from Morrall (O'Brien kick) – Colts 34–7 Pittsburgh –Shanklin 31 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Colts 34–14 Pittsburgh –Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick) – Colts 34–21 1 2 3 4 Total Browns 0 2 7 0 9 Steelers 10 6 0 10 26
atThree Rivers Stadium ,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 50,202Referee: Fred Wyant TV announcers: Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FGGerela 45 – Steelers 3–0 Pittsburgh –Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 10–0 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 23 – Steelers 13–0 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 17 – Steelers 16–0 Cleveland – Safety, Houston tackledWalden in end zone – Steelers 16–2 Cleveland – Scott 1 run (Cockroft kick) – Steelers 16–9 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 13 – Steelers 19–9 Pittsburgh –Smith 40 pass fromHanratty (Gerela kick) – Steelers 26–9 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 14 7 0 0 21 Dolphins 3 14 7 0 24
atMiami Orange Bowl ,Miami, Florida
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 66,435Referee: Bob FredericTV announcers: Scoring drives:
1 2 3 4 Total Giants 7 6 0 0 13 Steelers 3 7 7 0 17
atThree Rivers Stadium ,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 50,008Referee: Fred Silva TV announcers: Scoring drives:
New York Giants – Houston 26 pass fromTarkenton (Gogolak kick) – Giants 7–0 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 25 – Giants 7–3 New York Giants – FG Gogolak 25 – Giants 10–3 Pittsburgh –Rowser 70 interception return (Gerela kick) – Tie 10–10 New York Giants – FG Gogolak 29 – Giants 13–10 Pittsburgh –Shanklin 4 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 17–13 The Steelers ended a 15-game losing streak to NFC member teams.
1 2 3 4 Total Broncos 0 10 0 12 22 Steelers 0 0 10 0 10
atThree Rivers Stadium ,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 39,710Referee: Tommy Bell TV announcers: Scoring drives:
Denver – Little 3 run (J. Turner kick) – Broncos 7–0 Denver – FG J. Turner 32 – Broncos 10–0 Pittsburgh –Pearson 8 pass fromHanratty (Gerela kick) – Broncos 10–7 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 19 – Tie 10–10 Denver – Little 16 run (Turner kick) – Broncos 17–10 Denver – Safety, Lynch tackledWalden in end zone – Broncos 19–10 Denver – FG J. Turner 12 – Broncos 22–10 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 3 0 0 3 Oilers 16 6 0 7 29
at theHouston Astrodome ,Houston, Texas
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 37,778Referee: Fred Swearingen TV announcers: Scoring drives:
Houston – Reed 27 pass from Pastorini (Moseley kick) – Oilers 7–0 Houston – FGMoseley 25 – Oilers 10–0 Houston – Campbell 8 run (kick blocked) – Oilers 16–0 Houston – FGMoseley 37 – Oilers 19–0 Houston – FGMoseley 25 – Oilers 22–0 Pittsburgh – FGGerela 15 – Oilers 22–3 Houston – Holmes 4 run (Moselely kick) – Oilers 29–3 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 7 0 14 0 21 Bengals 0 7 6 0 13
atRiverfront Stadium ,Cincinnati
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 60,022Referee: Jack Vest TV announcers: Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh –Hanratty 3 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 7–0 Cincinnati – Coslet 43 pass from Carter (Muhlmann kick) – Tie 7–7 Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 22 – Bengals 10–7 Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 18 – Bengals 13–7 Pittsburgh –Fuqua 40 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–13 Pittsburgh –Shanklin 5 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 21–13 1 2 3 4 Total Rams 13 3 7 0 23 Steelers 0 7 7 0 14
atThree Rivers Stadium ,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 45,233Referee: Pat Haggerty TV announcers: Scoring drives:
Los Angeles – FG Ray 15 – Rams 3–0 Los Angeles – FG Ray 15 – Rams 6–0 Los Angeles – Snow 20 pass fromGabriel (Ray kick) – Rams 13–0 Pittsburgh –L. Brown 3 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Rams 13–7 Los Angeles – FG Ray 15 – Rams 16–7 Pittsburgh –Shanklin 2 pass fromBradshaw (Gerela kick) – Rams 16–14 Los Angeles – L. Smith 1 run (Ray kick) – Rams 23–14 Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.^ 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers Preseason Prospectus .
Formerly thePittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939)
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Media Division championships (24) Conference championships (8) League championships (6) Retired numbers Hall of Fame members Current league affiliations
