Recalling 1979: The Best Year Ever For Pittsburgh Sports

PITTSBURGH, PA - For the Pirates, it was the year of Stargell stars, “We are Family,” and the most recent time the team won the World Series. For the Steelers, it was a year in which they cemented themselves as one of the NFL’s all-time great dynasties.

For Pittsburgh, 1979 was a glorious ride - and arguably the greatest year ever for professional sports in Pittsburgh.

Only one other time have Pittsburgh teams won two championships in the same calendar year. That was in 2009, when the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in a thrilling seven-game series against the Detroit Red Wings.

But the impact of the dual championships probably was more profound in 1979. The region was reeling from the collapse of the steel industry, and rallying around the Pirates and Steelers provided a needed distraction from the grim economic climate.

The Pirates and Steelers’ accomplishments that year weren’t just recognized locally. In December 1979, Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell and Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw appeared together on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the magazine’s sportsmen of the year.

Here’s a look back:

Steelers

The Steelers kicked off 1979 by winning their third Super Bowl on Jan. 21, defeating the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Steelers came into the game with a regular season record of 14-2 and playoff victories over the Denver Broncos and Houston Oilers.
Bradshaw was the game’s MVP, completing 17 out of 30 passes for then-Super Bowl records of 318 passing yards and four touchdown passes - two to John Stallworth and one each to Lynn Swann and Rocky Bleier.

The game was close for three quarters. The Steelers held on precariously to a 21-17 lead at the start of the fourth quarter before scoring two touchdowns to go up 35-17. But the Cowboys roared back with two scores of their own, the last one with just 22 seconds left in the game.

The Steelers began defense of their Super Bowl win when the 1979 season began in September. They won the first four games of the season and eight of their first 10 before finishing with a 12-4 record. They dominated the Miami Dolphins 31-14 in the divisional playoff game and defeated the Houston Oilers for the second straight year in the AFC Championship Game, 27-13. In January 1980, they would win their second consecutive Super Bowl, and fourth overall, by beating the Los Angeles Rams 31-19 in Super Bowl XIV.

Pirates

The team that began the 1979 season would not be the team that ended it by winning its fifth World Series months after adopting the Sister Sledge hit “We are Family” as its anthem. It’s unlikely the Pirates would have won it all without two significant trades.

In April, the Bucs swapped shortstops with the New York Mets, sending erratic Frank Taveras to the Big Apple in exchange for the slick-fielding Tim Foli. In a blockbuster trade in June, they sent pitchers Ed Whitson, Al Holland and fred Breining to the San Francisco Giants for infielders Bill Madlock and Lenny Randle and pitcher Dave Roberts.

Those deals improved an already talented team whose players’ caps were adorned with stars Stargell handed out after good individual performances. The deals enabled the Pirates to hold off the Montreal Expos to win the National East title and sweep the Cincinnati Reds in the N.L. Championship Series.

The Pirates faced the Baltimore Orioles in a rematch of the 1971 series and, just like then, they were on the verge of defeat after losing three of the first four games. Led by Stargell and the stellar relief pitching of Kent Tekulve, they won the next three games to capture the series and cement Pittsburgh as the City of Champions.

The Pirates haven’t appeared in the World Series or won a postseason series since.

Franco Harris, Pirates celebrating images via YouTube; Three Rivers Stadium via Getty Images.

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