John Mehno: Steelers Were Part of Steroid Culture

Jon Kolb

Sports Columnist - John Mehno

03/27/2005
Beaver County Times

Steelers Certainly Part of Steroid Culture

A couple of newspaper guys went to breakfast with New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett and got a free scoop with their pancakes.

In a day when any mention of steroids guarantees a headline, Haslett let it drop that he had taken them. Avalon native Haslett also said the Pittsburgh Steelers had been ahead of the rest of the NFL in recognizing the muscle-building magic of steroids.

"This is totally, totally false when he says it started with the Steelers in the '70s," Steelers president Dan Rooney said.

Or perhaps not. On page 180 of Roy Blount's "About Three Bricks Shy of a Load" (published in 1974) there's one Steeler talking about using steroids.

Offensive lineman Jim Clack, a starter on the first two Super Bowl teams, recounted his use, which began after the Steelers signed him as a free agent in 1971.

Clack said coach Chuck Noll asked him how much he weighed and Clack said he was 228 pounds. Noll told him he should add seven pounds and come to camp at 235. In fact, he needed more than that. Clack was actually only 214 pounds.

Blount wrote, "Clack ate a special weight-gaining diet and took steroids and lifted weights."

Clack recounted weight-lifting sessions with teammate Jon Kolb that lasted more than three hours. He was at 248 pounds within two years, adding 34 pounds.

Clack said he gave up steroids at his wife's insistence.

"She says they don't do any good, but they do," Clack told Blount.

It is worth noting that steroids were neither illegal nor against any NFL policy at that time.

Haslett apologized but didn't deny what he said or dispute the accuracy of the quotes.

A crackpot theory holds that Haslett holds a grudge against the Steelers from his friction with head coach Bill Cowher, but that's bogus. Haslett was simply saying what a lot of people have.

One Super Bowl-era Steelers player bulked up substantially in a single off-season for a position change. Another shrunk by 30 pounds shortly after announcing his retirement.

You can quibble about whether the Steelers started the trend in the '70s but they were certainly part of it.

---

For once it isn't the Pirates' fault.

Their 1979 World Series trophy may be up for auction, and that stems from a miscalculation by past owners. The Galbreath family loaned the trophy to the Allegheny Club for display.

The Club went bankrupt and the trophy, along with other prized memorabilia, could be sold.

The Allegheny Club was a disaster from the start, a waste of prime seating space. Now it's haunting Pittsburgh from its grave.

Unfortunately, the trophy's plight is a quick and easy way to illustrate the Pirates' fall from glory.

---

The two Beaver Falls-Aliquippa high school basketball playoff games provided more entertainment at the Palumbo Center than the last five Duquesne basketball seasons.

Times sports correspondent John Mehno can be reached online at johnmehno@lycos.com.

©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2005