Pittsburgh Steelers Superbowl History

As far as Super Bowl records go, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a powerhouse franchise. Western Pennsylvania's most beloved sports icons have racked up six Vince Lombardi trophies--more than any other team as of 2009--while suffering just a single Super Bowl loss. The Dallas Cowboys have made more trips to the Big Game, and the San Francisco 49ers have a better winning percentage, but when it comes to hardware in the trophy case, the Steelers reign supreme.

  1. Glory Days

    • The Steelers Super Bowl history began in the 1970s, a decade in which they dominated the NFL and chalked up an unprecedented four Vince Lombardi trophies in 6 years. Credit went largely to Head Coach Chuck Noll, who used a series of brilliant draft picks to build an unstoppable team. Nine eventual Hall-of-Famer players, plus Noll himself, stood among their numbers, including quarterback Terry Bradshaw, wide receiver Lynn Swann and a terrifying defense led by the likes of "Mean" Joe Greene.

    Back to Back--Twice

    • Under Noll's direction, the Steelers won back-to-back Super Bowls on two occasions in the 1970s. In Super Bowl IX, they faced the Minnesota Vikings and came away with a 16-6 victory. One year later, they dispatched the Dallas Cowboys in similar fashion, 21-17. (The Steelers and the Cowboys would meet in two more Super Bowl contests, cementing one of the NFL's greatest rivalries.) In Super Bowls XIII and XIV, the Steelers duplicated the feat, first beating Dallas again 35-31, and then handling the surprisingly tough Los Angeles Rams, 31-19.

    Cowboys' Revenge

    • Noll's players eventually hung up their cleats, and the Steelers remained largely irrelevant during the 1980s. The arrival of new Head Coach Bill Cowher in 1992 restored their fortunes. Cowher guided the Steelers to their fifth Super Bowl in 1995, where they faced their old nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys. This time, Dallas was ready for battle. Behind quarterback Troy Aikman and running back Emmitt Smith, they trounced the Steelers 27-17. Cowher continued to keep his team in the hunt after that, but it would be another decade before he earned another shot at the title.

    Fifth Trophy

    • Redemption finally arrived in 2005 behind the arm of second-year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers were seeded sixth in the playoff pool, and they were not expected to progress very far. They surprised the league, first by grinding their way through the remainder of the AFC and then by defeating an overwhelmed Seattle Seahawks team 21-10 in Super Bowl XL.

    Surpassing the Other Champions

    • The Steelers, Cowboys and 49ers are the only teams to earn five championships. In January 2009, Pittsburgh surpassed Dallas and San Francisco by claiming the Lombardi Trophy for an unprecedented sixth time. Head coaching duties were handled by the youthful Mike Tomlin, and the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals gave the Steelers all they could handle for 59 minutes. In the end, it came down to an acrobatic catch by wide receiver Santonio Holmes with just 35 seconds left to seal a narrow 27-23 Steeler victory.