The Altoona Mirror
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/category.detail/nav/765/Sports.html
May 6, 2012
DUNCANSVILLE - Four-time Super Bowl champion. Member of Pro Football's Hall of Fame. Named to the NFL's 75th anniversary All-Time team. Ranked by The Sporting News as one of the 100 greatest football players of all time.
There's not much Mel Blount hasn't attained. Heck, he was so good the NFL had to change its rules because of him.
The former Pittsburgh Steeler star was the keynote speaker Saturday when the Blair County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People celebrated its annual Freedom Fund dinner at the Calvin House.
"The Steelers of the '70s was a fascinating journey," Blount said prior to the dinner. "I came in 1970. [Coach] Chuck Noll came in 1969 and made Joe Greene his first draft choice. I came with [Terry] Bradshaw, he was the No. 1 pick, [receiver] Ron Shanklin was the No. 2 pick and I was No. 3.
"It was the beginning of a journey that I won't ever forget."
Blount, who played both cornerback and safety at Southern University, was a pro standout from 1970 to 1983. The Steelers were the NFL's most dominant team during most of Blount's career, winning four Super Bowl titles along the way.
"There were a tremendous amount of good people we met along the way," he said. "The talent. The great athletes. But, more importantly, the Steelers of the '70s were not only great athletes, they were great people.
"To this day, there is such a bond that we could not see each other for six or seven years, but when we do it's just an immediate bond," he said. "Not only the players, but the media people - the Myron Copes and Bill Hillgroves - people who covered us and wrote stories ... guys who were part of that experience.
"It's just a big family and is still special to this day."
Blount chuckled when asked about the Mel Blount Rule which the NFL instituted because of the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder's "bump and run" pass defense which overpowered receivers.
"It stemmed from the 1976 season when our defense was dominating," Blount said of the rule change. "We had a great front four, great linebackers and great people in the secondary."
Noted for his physical play, Blount and his teammates jammed the receivers and wouldn't let them get off the line and get into their routes.
Browns' coach Paul Brown was on the competition committee, along with Dolphins' coach Don Shula, and they were especially looking at the play of the cornerbacker and thought something needed to be done to free up the receivers.
"They came up with the rule and called it the Mel Blount Rule because I was a bump-and-run specialist," he said. "They blame me for it, but it's an honor. The older I get it's something to know that rule has changed the game entirely on offense."
As for the current controversy over the New Orleans Saints' bounty hunters and the suspension of the team's coaches and several players, Blount called it "unfortunate."
"There isn't any place in the game for that," he said. "It all goes back to people with character. I think the commissioner is doing the right thing."
Blount thinks the game would change for the better with improved equipment.
"Make sure the athletes have the best and most modern equipment because they are bigger, faster and stronger," he said. "Otherwise, I think football is in great shape. It continues to evolve."
Following his playing days, Blount worked for Commissioner Pete Rozelle as Director of Player Relations for the NFL from 1983 to 1990. He also became active in charity work and founded the Mel Blount Youth Home for victims of child abuse and neglect in his hometown of Vidalia, Ga., in 1983. In 1989, he opened a second youth home in Claysville, near Pittsburgh.
Blount still follows the Steelers closely, though.
"Once a Steeler, always a Steeler. You breathe it, you live it," he said, "We follow the Steelers and we love the Steelers. The young players ... they've won two Super Bowls since we won four and it's just a great family to be a part of."
(sports@altoonamirror.com)
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