50 free Pittsburgh Steelers trivia questions with answers. Steelers trivia for Steeler Nation and anyone who has ever waved a Terrible Towel. This quiz covers the whole franchise: Art Rooney's $2,500 franchise fee, the Pirates name and the wartime mergers, the pre-merger decades of Same Old Steelers, the coin flip that landed Terry Bradshaw, and the 1974 draft that produced four Hall of Famers in one class. It also covers the moments and the legends: the Immaculate Reception, the Steel Curtain and the ninth-grader who named it, four titles in six years, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin, Big Ben, Polamalu, Bettis, Ward, James Harrison's 100-yard return, Three Rivers and Heinz Field, the one-sided helmet logo, the Rooney Rule and the Styx song that shakes the stadium. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is marked on every question. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia and the primary sources it cites, and each explanation adds one more thing worth knowing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Steelers joined the NFL in 1933 under what original name?
The Pittsburgh Pirates
Art Rooney paid a $2,500 franchise fee and borrowed the baseball team's name; the media called them the Rooneymen to tell them apart.
Q 02In which year did the franchise drop its original borrowed baseball name and become the Steelers?
1940
The team is the seventh-oldest in the NFL and the oldest in the AFC.
Q 03Which future US Supreme Court justice did the club sign in 1938 to the biggest contract in NFL history?
Byron White
'Whizzer' White played one year in Pittsburgh before joining Detroit.
Q 04What was the team nicknamed when the Steelers merged with their cross-state rivals for the 1943 season?
The Steagles
They went 5-4-1 in green and white; the next year's merger with the Chicago Cardinals produced the winless 'Card-Pitt', mocked as the Carpets.
Q 05Which Pittsburgh-born quarterback did the Steelers draft and cut in 1955 before he became a Colts legend?
Johnny Unitas
The team's pre-merger futility spawned the slogan 'Same Old Steelers'.
Q 06Art Rooney reportedly funded the early team with winnings from a 1936 parlay at which racetrack?
Saratoga
The tip came from Giants owner Tim Mara, a bookmaker; the win was worth about $160,000.
Q 07Which coach, hired from the Baltimore Colts for the 1969 season, turned the franchise into a dynasty?
Chuck Noll
His first team went 1-13, which won a coin flip for the No. 1 pick and Terry Bradshaw.
Q 08The coach hired in 1969 won how many Super Bowls in Pittsburgh?
Four
He also won nine Central Division titles and had winning records in 15 of his final 20 seasons.
Q 09The 1974 Steelers draft is considered the best ever because it produced how many future Hall of Famers?
Four
Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster; no other team has matched it.
Q 10The Steel Curtain nickname came from a 1971 radio contest won by whom?
A high-school ninth-grader
Seventeen people submitted the name to WTAE, so a drawing decided the winner; it played on Churchill's Iron Curtain.
Q 11Which four defensive linemen anchored the Steel Curtain?
Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes and Dwight White
Linebackers Lambert, Ham and Andy Russell backed them up.
Q 12'Mean' Joe Greene's nickname is usually traced to the athletic teams of which university?
North Texas
North Texas plays as the Mean Green; his 'Hey Kid, Catch!' Coca-Cola ad aired during Super Bowl XIV.
Q 13The Immaculate Reception, the Steelers' first playoff win, came against which team in 1972?
The Oakland Raiders
Q 21Proceeds from Terrible Towel sales go to which institution?
The Allegheny Valley School
The Coraopolis school for people with disabilities has received more than $8 million.
Q 22The Steelers are the only NFL team to place their logo on just one side of the helmet. Which side?
The right
Art Rooney ordered it as a test on the gold helmets in 1962, and fans liked it enough to keep it that way.
Q 23The three shapes in the Steelers logo are called what?
Astroids (hypocycloids)
The logo is based on the Steelmark of U.S. Steel; the yellow, orange and blue came to represent the ingredients of steel.
Franco Harris caught a deflected Bradshaw pass intended for John 'Frenchy' Fuqua; Myron Cope first used the name on air.
Q 14Which fan club, with Frank Sinatra as its 'Brigadier General', wore military helmets bearing number 32?
Franco's Italian Army
Fans wore army helmets bearing his number 32; he was MVP of Super Bowl IX.
Q 15Terry Bradshaw was drafted first overall in 1970 out of which school?
Louisiana Tech
Pittsburgh won the pick on a coin flip with the Bears after both went 1-13 in 1969.
Q 16Beating the Rams 31-19 in the 1979 season's title game earned the Steelers which distinction?
First team to win four Lombardi Trophies
The win at the Rose Bowl completed four titles in six seasons.
Q 17What Super Bowl first was the only score of the first half in Super Bowl IX, the Steelers' first title?
A safety
Fran Tarkenton was downed in his own end zone; Pittsburgh beat Minnesota 16-6.
Q 18Which receiver was the first at his position named Super Bowl MVP, in the 21-17 win over Dallas in Super Bowl X?
Lynn Swann
His 64-yard touchdown catch was the highlight; he later ran for governor of Pennsylvania.
Q 19Which team did the Steelers beat 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII, the first Super Bowl rematch?
The Dallas Cowboys
It was played at the Miami Orange Bowl, the last Super Bowl in that stadium.
Q 20Broadcaster Myron Cope conceived the Terrible Towel in which year?
1975
The AP called it arguably the best-known fan symbol in pro sports; it has been to Everest and the International Space Station.
Q 24Which 1979 Styx song is played before defensive stands to rally the crowd at Steelers home games?
Renegade
The tradition began in 2002; hometown rapper Wiz Khalifa's 'Black and Yellow' is another anthem.
Q 25Which venue, home to the Steelers for 31 seasons, was imploded in 2001?
Three Rivers Stadium
It opened in 1970, the year the team moved to the AFC in the merger and pocketed a $3 million relocation fee.
Q 26The Steelers' North Shore stadium, opened in 2001, carried what original name?
Heinz Field
Acrisure bought the naming rights in 2022; the University of Pittsburgh Panthers share the North Shore venue.
Q 27Steelers coach Bill Cowher grew up in which Pittsburgh suburb, about five miles from Three Rivers?
Crafton
He reached the playoffs in each of his first six seasons, a feat only Paul Brown had managed.
Q 28Ben Roethlisberger, drafted 11th overall in 2004, played college football at which school?
Miami (Ohio)
He was Offensive Rookie of the Year and at 23 became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
Q 29Super Bowl XL in Detroit made the Steelers the first team to win it all from which playoff position?
Sixth seed
The 21-10 win over Seattle was 'one for the thumb', the record-tying fifth title, in Jerome Bettis's hometown.
Q 30Which Steelers receiver, later a Dancing with the Stars champion, was MVP of Super Bowl XL?
Hines Ward
Born in Seoul to a Korean mother, he caught a touchdown from fellow receiver Randle El, the first wideout to throw a Super Bowl TD pass.