The Legacy of the Steelers “Jefferson Street” Joe Gilliam

Gilliam’s college career

Joseph Wiley Gilliam Jr. started his path to the NFL at Pearl High School and was their starter in 1966. Pearl was a high school that had become integrated. As a child, his father was the defensive coordinator for Tennessee State University.   So when he went to college naturally, he attended TSU. Joe played for TSU from 1969-1972. Over that time frame,  he led the team to a 39-3 record and two Black College National Championships in 1971 and 1972.

One of Gilliam’s TSU teammates on both championship teams was future NFL legend Ed “Too Tall” Jones. In winning the two championships, he passed for 5,213 yards and 50 touchdowns. This success led to his prolific nickname “Jefferson Street” Joe Gilliam. Jefferson Street ran nearby TSU, and with his success, he normally came up as a topic of conversation along Jefferson Street.

As his college career wound down, naturally, he caught the eye of the NFL scouts. He entered the NFL draft in the spring of 1972. Granted, he did not go off the board early; In 1972, the draft was 17 rounds, not seven as it is now. He was the 273rd pick in the 11th round for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oddly there were only two other notable Steelers drafted that year. Franco Harris was number one for the Steelers, and the other was Steve Furness, defensive end.

Despite Gilliam’s success at TSU, the Steelers had a starting quarterback, Terry Bradshaw. So the Steelers had drafted Gilliam primarily as a backup in case of injury to Bradshaw. It’s doubtful Chuck Noll would have realistically considered starting Gilliam; however, in 1974, an unlikely situation allowed Gilliam to showcase his talent.