| The genesis of the Steelers organization happened on July 8, 1933 when one Arthur Joseph Rooney paid $2500 to secure rights to an NFL franchise. Originally the club was known as the Pirates, mimicking the name of the city's baseball team. It was tough sledding at first, as the team won only 22 games in its first 7 years of existence. In 1938, Rooney signed Byron White, later a Supreme Court justice to what was the first big money contract of the day, a whopping $15,800!
In 1940, Rooney changed the name of the franchise to Steelers either as an homage to the steel industry, or perhaps as a pun on the pirates (stealers, get it?). In 1942, they had their first winning season as they went 7-4. The next season with World War II well underway, the Steelers temporarily merged with the cross-state Philadelphia Eagles to become the Phil-Pitt Steagles. In 1947, the team won its first ever postseason berth, but lost 21-0 to the aforementioned Eagles.
The 1950's and 1960's were fairly mediocre decades for the team in general as they went through several coaches and personnel changes. In 1969, the Steelers reached their nadir, winning a mere one game but this was to prove to be a huge turning point in their history. Because of their poor finish, the Steelers got the number one pick in the draft, which they used on quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Other shrewd draft picks followed including Mel Blount in 1970, Jack Ham in 1971 and the "immaculate receiver" Franco Harris in 1972.
The Steelers left the NFC and moved to the AFC where they became a powerhouse, winning four Super Bowls over the next decade. While they have been unable to duplicate this feat in recent years, they remain one of the more popular NFL franchises.
One of the interesting things about the Steelers uniforms is their helmets. The Steelers' logo, which is called Steelmark, contains three hypocycloids or diamonds and only appears on the right side of the helmet. In 1962, they inaugurated the design and decided to leave it on just one side as they were uncertain if it would remain permanently. After a successful season, the team decided to leave the design that way and it's still only on one side 40 years later.
Steelers team MVP's have been:
1969 WR Roy Jefferson
1970 DT "Mean" Joe Greene
1971 LB Andy Russell
1972 RB Franco Harris
1973 WR Ron Shanklin
1974 S Glen Edwards
1975 CB Mel Blount
1976 LB Jack Lambert
1977 QB Terry Bradshaw
1978 QB Terry Bradshaw
1979 WR John Stallworth
1980 SS Donnie Shell
1981 LB Jack Lambert
1982 CB Dwayne Woodruff
1983 PK Gary Anderson
1984 WR John Stallworth
1985 WR Louis Lipps
1986 LB Bryan Hinkle
1987 LB Mike Merriweather
1988 LB David Little, CB Rod Woodson
1989 WR Louis Lipps
1990 CB Rod Woodson
1991 LB Greg Lloyd
1992 RB Barry Foster
1993 CB Rod Woodson
1994 LB Greg Lloyd
1995 QB Neil O'Donnell
1996 RB Jerome Bettis
1997 RB Jerome Bettis
1998 LB Levon Kirkland
1999 LB Levon Kirkland
2000 RB Jerome Bettis
2001 QB Kordell Stewart
2002 LB Joey Porter; WR Hines Ward | 
