In 2014 the NFL celebrated a historic milestone, yet neither the Steelers nor the NFL took time to recognize the significant event.
Why did it get glossed over? That’s a bit difficult to answer. More than likely, it’s because of how this quarterback’s career ended. He had a lot of promise, but his career ended after getting cut after he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. There was no happy ending despite his changing the NFL forever. However, he was a trailblazer that paved the way for the likes of NFL stars Warren Moon, Donovan McNabb, Randall Cunningham, and Michal Vick, to name just a few.
In 1974 Joe Gilliam became the first African American quarterback to start for any team in the post-AFL-NFL merger. There had been a few African American quarterbacks before Joe Gilliam. There had been five in the pre-Superbowl era. Of them, only Fritz Pollard 1920-1926 and George Taliaferro, the first African American player drafted in the NFL, played longer than three years. However, none ever started.
In 1969 James Harris did start for the Buffalo Bills. However, his start came before the merger. So he only played in the AFL.
In 1974, Chuck Noll had decided not to name Terry Bradshaw as the starter for the Steelers. Bradshaw, Gilliam, and Terry Hanratty all competed for the coveted starting position in the 1974 pre-season. After outperforming Bradshaw and Hanratty, Joe Gilliam won the starting position. Certainly, a historic occasion, to say the least. However, what happened after is a matter of some contention. Some say his actions led to Noll benching him; others say it was racially motivated. Or perhaps a combination of both. It depends on who you ask.
Why did it get glossed over? That’s a bit difficult to answer. More than likely, it’s because of how this quarterback’s career ended. He had a lot of promise, but his career ended after getting cut as he became addicted to drugs. There was no happy ending despite his changing the NFL forever. However, he was a trailblazer that paved the way for the likes of NFL stars Warren Moon, Donovan McNabb, Randall Cunningham, and Michal Vick, to name just a few.
In 1974 Joe Gilliam became the first African American quarterback to start for any team in the post-AFL-NFL merger. There had been a few African American quarterbacks before Joe Gilliam. There had been five in the pre-Superbowl era. Of them, only Fritz Pollard 1920-1926 and George Taliaferro, the first African American player drafted in the NFL, played longer than three years. In 1969 James Harris did start for the Buffalo Bills. However, his start came before the merger. So he only played in the AFL.
In 1974, Chuck Noll had decided not to name Terry Bradshaw as the starter for the Steelers. Thus Bradshaw, Gilliam, and Terry Hanratty all competed for the coveted starting position in the 1974 pre-season. After outperforming Bradshaw and Hanratty, Joe Gilliam won the starting position. Certainly, a historic occasion, to say the least. However, what happened after is a matter of some contention. Some say his actions led to Noll benching him; others say it was racially motivated. Or perhaps a combination of both. It depends on who you ask.
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.
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.
Reaction to Chuck Noll’s decision
Nevertheless, the next game was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Steelers played the Raiders and got shut out 17-0 and had a 1-1-1 record. Fans at that point wanted Bradshaw back. Despite fan chants for Bradshaw, Gilliam started the next three games and then won all three. In the three remaining victories, his stats were not stellar by any stretch. Not that he had to be, numerous talented players surrounded Gilliam and the Steelers found ways to win games. Even when Bradshaw faltered when he returned to the lineup.
In week seven, Noll finally benched Gilliam in favor of Bradshaw. Although now the starter, Noll did not like Bradshaw’s consistency, and in the Cleveland game, Noll benched Bradshaw again for Terry Hanratty. However, Hanratty went 2-15 with three interceptions, and Noll promptly sent him back to the bench. Bradshaw then finished the season, and as everyone knows, the Steelers won their first of four Superbowls.
There has been speculation over the years as to why Noll ultimately benched Gilliam. Even Terry Bradshaw himself has maintained over the years he never won the starting job back. He even asked at one point over the first six weeks of the 1974 season if the Steelers would trade him. No, that never happened.
So if Bradshaw never earned the starting job back, It leads to a larger question, though. Bradshaw, to some degree, is correct. Over Gilliam’s six games, he passed for 1237 yards averaging 206.16 yards per game, had four touchdowns and eight interceptions. Bradshaw, over his seven games, passed 1017 yards averaging 145.28 yards per game. He also had seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. So was it truly Gilliam’s performance, or were there other more troubling and tragic issues that led to Gilliam’s benching and eventual demise as a player in the NFL?
Why Gilliam was benched
Looking back, it seems two issues played a factor in Joe Gilliam’s demotion. Certainly, one can point to Gilliam’s substance abuse. Drugs have destroyed the careers of many players. Joe Gilliam has never denied this played a role. However, the uglier side to the situation is the racial undertones. Despite the fact, the NFL had largely desegregated by the late 1940s, the position of quarterback still, by and large, remained an exclusive whites-only club. Joe Gilliam finally changed that. Unfortunately, Gilliam never understood or contemplated the ramifications of his accomplishment over those six games.
While some believed he could have been the Jackie Robinson of pro football, it never worked out that way. As Gilliam recollects, the loss to the Raiders changed everything for the worse. The Raiders, aside from blowing out the Steelers in that game, did rough up Gilliam pretty bad. In interviews, Gilliam has said the beating he took in this game turned him to trying cocaine. He later expanded to heroin as well. Gilliam has also admitted the usage became much worse after Noll benched him. So there is some question as to how his on-field performance was affected by his drug use. Had the Steelers not benched him, could he still have led the Steelers and won the Superbowl?
Drugs aside, there was no doubt fans did not want an African American quarterback running the offense. Gilliam did receive lots of hate mail and even death threats. Myron Cope recalled in an interview through the New York Times in 1999 he received many calls on his talk show at the time by angry fans who did not like a black quarterback. So the racial element was there. Even Bradshaw feels the city and the media preferred him at the helm, not Gilliam. However, other teammates have said Joe’s drug use led to his replacement that the decision was never racial.
The demise of Joe Gilliam’s career
When it comes to Chuck Noll, one would have to agree that he was a strict coach to some degree. However, he was about winning too. He wanted a Superbowl and was determined to do it. If it meant benching Bradshaw to win one, Noll did just that. It would also be very hard to say the Rooneys prompted Noll to make the decision as well. The Rooney family has helped to overcome racism in the NFL if anything else. Dan Rooney was the architect of the now-famous Rooney Rule.
That aside, the Steelers did have an angry fanbase after the loss to the Raiders, and sometimes angry fans get what they want. In this case, they wanted Bradshaw. Never mind his passing stats paled to Gilliam’s. It was Bradshaw or bust. The Steelers knew this as they heard the loud chants for Bradshaw while he sat on the bench.
The situation, to some degree, was ugly. It would be safe to assume the drug use and how it affected Gilliam’s performance may have warranted his benching. One can not help but wonder if that was just a mere justification for something a bit more egregious. No one can say for certain, but there is no proof Noll used did race as a motive.
Joe Gilliam’s legacy
Gilliam’s chance to lead the Steelers in 1974 was historic. Unfortunately, the city did not realize it, and for that matter, neither did Gilliam. Gilliam stayed on the Steelers as a backup through the 1975 season, and they subsequently cut him at the end season. In 1976 Hank Stram, coach of the Saints at that time offered to sign Gilliam. His stringent drug use prevented that. Gilliam had some ups and downs, tried to get clean, and failed.
In the ‘80s he tried to make a comeback in the start-up USFL in which he only played four games. By the mid-’90s, things had gotten so bad for Joe he resorted to panhandling to support his drug habit. Eventually, he remarried and went to treatment to finally get clean once and for all. It lasted all but three years. He died on December 26th, 2000, at 49 years old. Initial reports indicated a heart attack, and Gilliam did have coronary disease. Later reports stated it was an accidental cocaine overdose.
What happened to Joe Gilliam was tragic. Some will say he brought it on himself; others may say his situation was a product of the era in which he lived. Nonetheless, Joe Gilliam has a legacy. The Steelers won the Superbowl in 1974, and on that path, he led them to a 5-1-1 record. Sure Bradshaw replaced him, but all he did was keep things running smoothly.
The Steelers had immense talent by the 1974 season Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Rocky Bleier, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Joe Greene, to name a few. One can make a case that in 1974, and Bradshaw has said it as well, Joe Gilliam could have just as easily led the Steelers to the Superbowl in 1974. How would it have changed Steelers’ history? That is hard to say. Nonetheless, despite the tragic ending to Gilliam’s career, he opened the door for all other African Americans who aspired to be a quarterback. Football fans need to remember Joe Gilliam has a great legacy in the NFL.