The Legacy of the Steelers “Jefferson Street” Joe Gilliam

Gilliam makes history

In July of  1974, the NFLPA called for a strike. The strike ended after 42 days, though it did not affect the regular season.  However, when training camps opened on July 30th, many players opted not to report.  Terry Bradshaw and Terry Hanratty both respected the picket line. Joe Gilliam did report to camp. Even though the strike only lasted another 12 days, Chuck Noll got an extended look at Gilliam’s talent and had a competition for the starting position.

One thing coaches noticed immediately was how quickly Gilliam released the ball. Some say he had a release quicker than Joe Namath and even Dan Marino. His releases were so quick when coaches tried reviewing game film to see his hand placement on the ball; they could never stop the film in a position to see his hand; it was always a blur. Plus, he had strong arm strength and threw nice spirals, and placed the ball on target. Some have noted his passing ability surpassed Bradshaw’s.

As the regular season opened, Chuck Noll named Gilliam as the starter. When the news hit Nashville that Gilliam was the starter, newspapers sold out. With that, the Steelers were the only undefeated team in the pre-season with six wins.  As the regular season opened, the Steelers thumped Baltimore  30-0.

Then in the following game against Denver, problems began brewing. The Steelers played Denver to a 35-35 tie. Although they did not lose, Gilliam took some knocks for his performance. Despite going 31-50 for 348 yards with one touchdown, he did have two interceptions. The biggest criticism was he just wanted to pass and ignored the running game. Terry Bradshaw even stated this in his interview with Playboy Magazine years later. This critique is odd in that the Steelers did have 160 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns.  Expanding upon that, The Steelers, until Gilliam got benched, were rushing the ball 143.83 yards a game with 11 rushing touchdowns. Plus, Franco Harris missed two games over that stretch and only had one carry in the Raiders game.