11 Old School Photos of Pittsburgh Legends You've Never Seen Before

Take a trip down memory lane with us, and check out some old school photos from your favorite Pittsburgh sports stars. You might have seen some of the these before, but the hit of nostalgia is always worth it.

The year was 1990 and The Pittsburgh Penguins selected the young cock-eyed Czechoslovakian Jaromir Jagr 5th overall in the NHL Draft. Jagr would help the Penguins win back-to-back cups in 91 and 92.

Fun Fact: Jagr could also be heard reading the weather forecasts for Pittsburgh in his broken English on the DVE morning show.

You’ve seen video of The Bus running over Brian Urlacher in the snow at Heinz Field before, but did you know he learned that move during his time at Notre Dame? Moments after this shot was taken, Jerome Bettis plowed through Penn State Linebacker Reggie Givens much in the same fashion.

Fun Fact: Aside from being a battering ram, Bettis is a freak at bowling, having said that bowling a perfect 300 game for him was better than winning the Super Bowl.

“Is that Coach Cowher?” you might be asking yourself. Well you’re wrong. It’s Hall of Famer William Laird Cowher to you. “The Chin” is seen here enjoying an ice bath during his 1982 stint as a linebacker with The Cleveland Browns when they were deemed “The Kardiac Kids” for playing in so many close games.

Fun Fact: Cowher is known for his cameos in The Waterboy and The Dark Knight Rises, but he also played himself on an episode of the animated Nickelodeon show “Kablam” in 1998.

Alright I’m sure you’ve seen this one before. But what’s cooler than Dave Parker ripping a cigarette in the Pirates dugout between innings? Answer — nothing. Many people claim that Parker was nicknamed “The Cobra” because of his tall and slender frame, but Jagoff Sports thinks it’s because he actually has a massive dick.

Fun Fact: During a game in 1979, Parker literally “knocked the cover off the ball.” One of the seams on the ball ruptured, making nearly half of the cover come loose, and the outfielder could barely throw the ball back into the infield.

Kevin Greene might be my favorite Steeler of all time. The guy is a high-energy machine with a loud, in-your-face attitude. During his career in the NFL, Greene would make short stints wrestling in the WCW. Here he is giving a big thumbs down to wrestling commentator and Cleveland Brown’s fan Jerry Lawler before Summer Slam 1995.

Fun Fact: Greene tried to walk-on at Auburn as a punter his sophomore year, but didn’t make the team as a linebacker until his Junior year.

Who could forget when Pirates catcher Jason Kendall practically snapped his own foot off trying to run out a throw to first base? It was July 4th, 1999, and I remember playing with sparklers around the cookout when there was an audible gasp from everyone who was watching it happen live on TV.

“I’m still nauseous,” Brewers first baseman Mark Loretta said when asked about it later that day. “It looked like he had a wooden leg. The bone was sticking out and it was perfectly rounded. I’ve never seen anything like that.” Gross.

Fun Fact: Kendall has expressed interest in taking over as the manager for the Pirates on multiple occasions, but his modest salary request is likely too expensive for Bob Nutting.

You might not recognize him, but this epic photo shows Dan Marino and a couple of his college pals acting out a plate appearance in Posvar Hall at the University of Pittsburgh. Why is there a home plate in the hallway of a university building? The home plate is actually from old Forbes Field and was kept as a relic in the same spot where the field actually resided.

Fun Fact: Chuck Noll admitted in a 1992 interview that he passed on Marino because of rumors that the young quarterback was a pot-smoking hippie.

Bonus Image:

The late great Roberto Clemente is seen here at Shea Stadium with his three sons and his (smokin’ hot) wife Vera Clemente. Baseball games looked so much cooler back in those days. Everyone dressed fancy, and guys drank whiskey in the dugout. We should go back.

Fun Fact: Everyone knows about Ben’s motorcycle accident, but did you know that during his rookie season, Clemente was in a car accident that forced him to miss several games?

I wish there was a better image of this moment, but the only one I could find was on Kurt Angle’s really strange and self-centered website. Angle joined Steeler linebacker Levon Kirkland and quarterback Mike Tomczak as an honorary captain during the coin toss before one of their games at Three Rivers Stadium.

Fun Fact: Kurt Angle has been arrested for DUI on three or more occasions and is actually a huge psychopath.

With the return of the XFL coming up in a few short weeks, I felt it was a great time to look back at the league’s first, and only championship quarterback — Tommy Maddox. Maddox was the league’s regular season MVP, and after hoisting the “Million Dollar Game” trophy, he went on to play some seriously mediocre football with the Steelers from 2001-2005.

Fun Fact: The only championship game in the XFL’s history was played at the LA Coliseum in front of 24,153 people.

Ahhhh yes… that time Iceburgh tried to carve Jean-Claude Van Damme’s face into a Primanti Brother’s sandwich. Who could forget? If you haven’t seen Sudden Death in a couple years, it’s worth watching again for the nostalgia of 90’s Penguins hockey and bad action movies. Plus the roof of the Civic Arena opens at the end which was the only time I ever remember that happening.

Fun Fact: Netflix is set to launch a remake of the film in June of this year called “Welcome to Sudden Death”.