Another Look: Andy Russell

[I know I'm beating a nearly dead horse...but I go crazy every year about this time when the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process begins anew. Andy Russell was a fantastic linebacker and he should be in the Hall of Fame...7 Pro Bowls and 2 Super Bowl championships...that's plenty of ammo to start the argument with right there...L.C. Greenwood is still eligible and he should go in as well...it's a joke that he has yet to be selected...and while we're at it...add Jack Butler and Donnie Shell to the list. Anti-Steelers bias rears its ugly head at every turn. - jtf]

Ex-Steeler linebacker has made some big hits in business world

Bob Barrickman, Beaver County Times Sports Correspondent
12/01/05


Andy Russell has had as much success in the business world as he had in his career as an outside linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I'm working in the investment business., said Russell, 64, who who played 12 seasons with the Steelers from 1963-76. "We're the lead underwriter for the Pennsylvania Turnpike."I'm a co-partner in a private equity group," Russell added. "We do consolidation and lots of acquisitions and mergers. We buy smaller companies."

Russell has worked in investments dating back to his playing days. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Nevillewood. Russell is a father of two and grandfather of seven.Russell played his college football at the University of Missouri, leading the team in rushing in his junior year. Russell was team captain and a fullback through much of his college career.

"(Coach) Dan Devine then made me a full-time linebacker," Russell said. "I wasn't happy about it but he made the right move."

Russell was selected by the Steelers in the 16th round of the 1963 NFL draft. The Steelers were a losing franchise through most of their first 40 seasons, but surprisingly nearly made the playoffs in Russell's rookie year.

"We had a great shot (to make the playoffs)," said Russell, a Detroit native, of that 1963 season. "We lost the (final regular-season) game to the New York Giants with Y.A. (Tittle) and Frank Gifford." The Steelers finished that year 7-4-3.

Russell was out of the NFL in 1964 and 1965 while serving as a lieutenant in the army. He returned to the Steelers in 1966 and the team had eight consecutive losing seasons through 1971. Despite that, Russell has fond memories of his early and mid-career days in Pittsburgh.

"I loved every minute of it," he said. "There's a bigger challenge of playing for a losing team than a winning team. It gave me a chance to learn my trade."

Russell made the Pro Bowl seven times, six years in succession from 1970-75.Along the way, the Steelers shed their losing ways.

"The turning point was Chuck Noll," Russell said of Noll, who took over as Steelers coach in 1969. "Even when we went 1-13 in Noll's first season, he never lost us. We knew he was a genius.
"Noll placed an emphasis on building his team through the draft. "The Steelers organization had phenomenal drafts, one after another," Russell said. "Joe Greene may have been the player of the decade."

Greene, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle, was the first player drafted by Noll.

Under Noll, the Steelers won four Super Bowls in six years from 1974-79.

Russell was the Steelers captain for 10 years and was a starting outside linebacker on the Super Bowls IX and X teams. He retired after 12 seasons in 1976. Russell wanted to reach a goal in his final season of winning three straight Super Bowls.

After a 1-4 start, the Steelers won 10 straight in 1976."We had five shutouts that year and Sports Illustrated said the 1976 team was the best the Steelers ever had," Russell said.

Running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier both suffered injuries in a first-round playoff win over Baltimore that year. Minus the two stars, the Steelers lost to Oakland in the AFC title.

Then came retirement.

"It was time to move on," Russell said. Russell was proud of his durability in his playing days.
"I never missed a game from high school through the NFL," he said.

Russell appreciated the value of teamwork during his playing days and appreciates it today in his flourishing professional career.

"I was blessed with great partners in the NFL and in my business," he said.