The Pittsburgh Steelers first became a franchise in 1933 and since then have had too many starting quarterbacks to count. The biggest icons at the position for the Steelers are Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger but the Steelers have had their fair share of other talents at the position.
Unfortunately, like the rest of the teams in the league, they've also had plenty of duds taking snaps for them. Let's take a trip back in time and revisit every starting quarterback in Steelers history.
Before we begin, I will note that the starting quarterbacks in the early years of the Steelers were tricky to lock down since the position didn't become as prominent until the 1960s or so. Several of their "starting quarterbacks" in the older decades played tailback or other outdated positions.
With that in mind, let's get to the list.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 1930 to 1939
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Steelers) |
|---|---|---|
Tony Holm (1933) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Warren Heller (1934-1936) | 17 (17) | 0 (0) |
Johnny Gildea (1935-1937) | 27 (27) | 0 (0) |
Ed Matesic (1936) | 11 (11) | 0 (0) |
Max Fiske (1936-1939) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Frankie Filchock (1938) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Whizzer White (1938) | 11 (11) | 0 (0) |
Hugh McCullough (1939) | 6 (6) | 0 (0) |
Boyd Brumbaugh (1939-1941) | 4 (15) | 0 (0) |
The Steelers had plenty of guys throwing passes for them in the 1930s with Johnny Gildea making the most starts for Pittsburgh with 27. The team mostly had a different guy throwing the ball for them in each of their first seven seasons.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 1940 to 1949
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Steelers) |
|---|---|---|
Billy Patterson (1940) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Boyd Brumbaugh (1939-1941) | 11 (14) | 0 (0) |
Coley McDonough (1939-1941) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Bill Dudley (1942-1946) | 26 (26) | 0 (0) |
Ron Zimmerman (1943)* | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
John Grigas (1944)* | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
John McCarthy (1944)* | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Buss Warren (1945) | 4 (4) | 0 (0) |
Johnny Clement (1946-1948) | 5 (5) | 0 (0)* |
Charlie Seabright (1946-1950) | 41 (49) | 0 (0) |
Ray Evans (1948) | 8 (8) | 0 (0) |
Joe Gasparella (1948-1951) | 3 (11) | 0 (0) |
Joe Geri (1949-1951) | 1 (21) | 0 (0) |
The 1940s continued to see a lot of different guys starting games at quarterback for the Steelers and this decade was particularly difficult to lock down numbers on. In 1943, the Steelers and Eagles combined rosters for a season due to lack of players for the war so that made it a bit trickier for Ron Zimmerman's info. The next year, the Steelers merged with the Cardinals so that's why John Grigas and John McCarthy don't have anything Pittsburgh related on their stats.
Johnny Clement technically was the quarterback for the Steelers' first-ever playoff game in the 1947 season, but he threw just four passes in the loss and isn't listed as getting the start on Pro Football Reference.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 1950 to 1959
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Steelers) |
|---|---|---|
Charlie Seabright (1946-1950) | 8 (49) | 0 (0) |
Joe Gasparella (1948-1951) | 8 (11) | 0 (0) |
Joe Geri (1949-1951) | 20 (21) | 0 (0) |
Chuck Ortmann (1951) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Jim Finks (1949-1955) | 66 (66) | 0 (0) |
Bill Mackrides (1953) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Ted Marchibroda (1953-1956) | 11 (11) | 0 (0) |
Jack Scarbath (1956) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Earl Morrall (1957-1958) | 13 (13) | 0 (0) |
Len Dawson (1957-1959) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Bobby Layne (1958-1962) | 22 (48) | 0 (0) |
Jim Finks had the most starts at quarterback for the Steelers in the 1950s with 66 starts under his belt. It's interesting to see Len Dawson listed here, as he went on to become a Hall of Fame starting quarterback with the Chiefs after leaving the Steelers but started just one game in Pittsburgh.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 1960 to 1969
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Steelers) |
|---|---|---|
Bobby Layne (1958-1962) | 26 (48) | 0 (0) |
Rudy Bukich (1960-1961) | 11 (11) | 0 (0) |
Ed Brown (1962-1965) | 30 (30) | 0 (0) |
Bill Nelsen (1963-1967) | 23 (23) | 0 (0) |
Tommy Wade (1964-1965) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Ron C. Smith (1966) | 8 (8) | 0 (0) |
George Izo (1966) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Kent Nix (1967-1969) | 12 (12) | 0 (0) |
Dick Shiner (1968-1969) | 20 (20) | 0 (0) |
Terry Hanratty (1969-1975) | 5 (17) | 0 (0) |
The Steelers had 10 different quarterbacks start games for them in the 1960s with Ed Brown starting the most games at 30. Six of those 10 signal-callers started double-digit games for Pittsburgh in the 60s and it'd be the last decade where the Steelers would fail to make the playoffs.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 1970 to 1979
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Steelers) |
|---|---|---|
Terry Bradshaw (1970-1983) | 119 (158) | 18 (19) |
Terry Hanratty (1969-1975) | 12 (17) | 0 (0) |
Joe Gilliam (1972-1975) | 7 (7) | 0 (0) |
Mike Kruczek (1976-1979) | 6 (6) | 0 (0) |
Good things happened to the Steelers in the 1970s and Terry Bradshaw gets a lot of credit (deservingly so) for those things. Bradshaw joined the Steelers in 1970 when the team took him first overall in that year's draft.
With Bradshaw as their quarterback, the Steelers won four Super Bowl titles and Bradshaw won an MVP award and two Super Bowl MVP honors. He started over 100 games for Pittsburgh during his 14 years with the organization while Terry Hanratty had the second-most starts with 12.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 1980 to 1989
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Steelers) |
|---|---|---|
Terry Bradshaw (1970-1983) | 39 (158) | 1 (19) |
Cliff Stoudt (1980-1983) | 16 (16) | 1 (1) |
Mark Malone (1980-1987) | 46 (46) | 2 (2) |
David Woodley (1984-1985) | 13 (13) | 0 (0) |
Scott Campbell (1984-1986) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Bubby Brister (1986-1992) | 29 (57) | 2 (2) |
Steve Bono (1987-1988) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Todd Blackledge (1988-1989) | 5 (5) | 0 (0) |
Bradshaw continued playing through the early 1980s but eventually walked off into the retirement sunset. Mark Malone had the most starts during the 80s with 46 and was tied for Bubby Brister in playoff starts with two.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 1990 to 1999
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Steelers) |
|---|---|---|
Bubby Brister (1986-1992) | 28 (57) | 0 (2) |
Neil O'Donnell (1991-1995) | 61 (61) | 7 (7) |
Mike Tomczak (1993-1999) | 27 (27) | 2 (2) |
Jim Miller (1995-1996) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Kordell Stewart (1995-2002) | 48 (80) | 2 (4) |
The Steelers had consistency at the quarterback position in the 1990s with all but one of their five signal-callers starting double-digit games for them. Neil O'Donnell led the way with 61 starts and seven playoff starts but Kordell Stewart closed out the decade as a reliable starter.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 2000 to 2009
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Steelers) |
|---|---|---|
Kordell Stewart (1995-2002) | 32 (80) | 2 (4) |
Kent Graham (2000) | 5 (5) | 0 (0) |
Tommy Maddox (2001-2005) | 32 (32) | 2 (2) |
Ben Roethlisberger (2004-2021) | 86 (247) | 10 (23) |
Charlie Batch (2003-2012) | 4 (9) | 0 (0) |
Dennis Dixon (2008-2010) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) |
As mentioned in the previous entry, Kordell Stewart emerged as the Steelers' starting quarterback in 1997 and held onto the gig through the 2001 season. Tommy Maddox joined the Steelers after the XFL folded after just one year and went on to start the same number of games as Stewart in the 2000s.
In 2004, Pittsburgh spent a first-round pick on Ben Roethlisberger and we all know how well that pick worked out for the Steelers, as he helped the franchise win two Super Bowls in his first decade as a starter. Roethlisberger missed time with injuries throughout his career, which led to Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon making a few spot starts.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 2010 to 2019
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Steelers) |
|---|---|---|
Ben Roethlisberger (2004-2021) | 130 (247) | 11 (23) |
Charlie Batch (2003-2012) | 5 (9) | 0 (0) |
Dennis Dixon (2008-2010) | 2 (3) | 0 (0) |
Byron Leftwich (2008, 2010-2012) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Michael Vick (2015) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Landry Jones (2015-2017) | 5 (5) | 0 (0) |
Mason Rudolph (2019-2023) | 8 (13) | 0 (1) |
Devlin Hodges (2019) | 6 (6) | 0 (0) |
Big Ben continued to lead the way for the Steelers in the 2010s but unfortunately, he did struggle with injuries during his career. Seven other quarterbacks got to start games for Pittsburgh during the 2010s whenever Roethlisberger did have to miss time. Mason Rudolph had the most starts of any backup with eight.
Steelers starting quarterbacks from 2020 to Present
Name (Time spent with PIT) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Steelers) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts this decade) |
|---|---|---|
Ben Roethlisberger (2004-2021) | 31 (247) | 2 (23) |
Mason Rudolph (2019-2023) | 5 (13) | 1 (1) |
Mitchell Trubisky (2022-2023) | 7 (7) | 0 (0) |
Kenny Pickett (2022-2023) | 24 (24) | 0 (0) |
Roethlisberger played for two years in the 2020s and called it a career after the 2021 season. The Steelers tried to replace him with Kenny Pickett but that saga did not end the way we all hoped it would. Mason Rudolph continued to be a backup throughout the 2020s and Mitchell Trubisky also got to start some games for Pittsburgh.