America Loves Countdowns

Countdown #19: Best 1980's Pittsburgh Sports Memories

I grew up during the 1980's and immediately became a loyal Pittsburgh sports fan. Unfortunately, it was a completely unremarkable time for local sports. The "City of Champions" stigma from the 70's came crashing down hard. The 80's brought multiple losing seasons for all of our sports teams, as well as horrid drafts, bad coaching, lack of star talent, and messy drug trials. It was also the only decade out of the past four which did not bring any championships to the city. However, to prove it wasn't all bad, this week's America Loves Countdown® series takes a look at ten good memories from an otherwise drab decade for Pittsburgh sports.

Ironhead Heyward
Craig "Ironhead" Heyward was a classic Pittsburgh running back. He was a workhorse who pounded thru college defenses for Pitt. In 1987, he set Pitt records by carrying the ball 387 times and rushing for over 100 yards in each of Pitt's 12 games. His 1791 yards that season ranks second in Pitt history behind Tony Dorsett's Heisman season of 1976. He was a fun player to watch and became a huge fan favorite in the Burgh. Heyward went onto to have a fairly successful pro career as well. Sadly, Ironhead passed away last year at the young age of 39.

1984 AFC Divisional Playoffs
Because it occured during a down decade, the 1984 playoff game between the Steelers and Broncos is largely forgotten in Steelers lore. The 9-7 Steelers headed out to Denver to take on a much better 13-3 Broncos team led by second-year QB John Elway. Not only were the Bronocs heavily favored, but Mile High Stadium was also a nearly impossible place to win. However, the Steelers shocked everyone by keeping the game close until the final minutes, when an interception by DB Eric Williams set up a short TD run by Frank Pollard, giving Pittsburgh a stunning 24-17 upset and a trip to the AFC Championship Game in Miami.

Tony Peña
The Pirates were a miserable team with one major bright spot: catcher Tony Peña. He was selected to four All-Star games and won three Gold Gloves from 1980-86. For kids like me who liked to play baseball, Peña was idolized. I used to imitate his non-traditional catching stance. Like most of Pittsburgh, I was devastated when the Pirates traded him on April 1, 1987 (I remember the date well because many people actually thought it was just an April Fool's joke at first). Fortunately, it turned out to be a great trade. The Bucs acquired Andy Van Slyke and Spanky LaValliere, who would help them form the nucleus of a division-winner in the early 1990's.

Gary Anderson
The Steelers did not have a good offense at any point during the decade. Gary Automatic was the offense. The team had trouble getting into the endzone, but Anderson was always a sure bet to drill a few field goals. It got to the point where those of us watching him at Three Rivers Stadium would make a run for the restroom or concession stand before he kicked, just because we were so certain that he was going to make it. Gary ultimately became the league's all-time scoring leader. He was clutch too. Had Anderson played for the team a decade earlier or later, there is no question that he would have been actively involved in many huge post-season games.

The Pittsburgh Spirit
Once upon a time, the MISL was a fairly successful indoor soccer league. Pittsburgh had a team which played at the Civic Arena and developed a modest following. In fact, the Spirit at one time outdrew the Penguins in attendance! They had stars like Stan "Stush" Terlecki and Paul Child, and the club always tried to promote the games as a fun experience in addition to a good sporting event (think minor league baseball games). I used to go to all their games as a kid and I always had a good time, even when the Spirit lost. I became a big soccer fan, only to learn later on that what they were playing (i.e. five on five on a field the size of a hockey rink) was nothing like real soccer! Unfortunately the team folded after the 1985-86 season, bringing an end to a fun era in Pittsburgh sports.

1988 Pitt vs Providence
In the late 1980's, Pitt had some good basketball teams which were led by future NBA players Charles Smith and Jerome Lane. The biggest highlight of that era was a game against Providence in which Lane had a slam dunk that was forceful enough to shatter the backboard into a million pieces. It was a moment that was replayed over and over again, thanks in large part to ESPN announcer Bill Raftery's famous call of "Send it in, Jerome!"

Mario Lemieux
In the 1984 NHL Draft, the Penguins got the most gifted player in the history of the game. They also got a man who would save the entire franchise on multiple occasions. There is no bigger legend in the city of Pittsburgh than Mario Lemieux. While his career reached amazing new heights in the 90's, he certainly made people take notice during the 80's. He scored 85 goals in 1988-89, won two All-Star MVP awards, captured his first Hart Trophy in 1987-88 (breaking Gretzky's streak of eight in a row), and had the single greatest scoring performance ever on New Year's Eve in 1988 (where he became the only player ever to score all five different ways in one game). Keep in mind that he accomplished all this while playing for perennial last-place teams.

Dan Marino
Marino set numerous passing records at Pitt. He threw for 8597 yards and completed 79 TD passes. He led Pitt to back-to-back 11-1 seasons to kick off the decade. His greatest moment came during the 1982 Sugar Bowl. Georgia led Pitt by 3 with 42 seconds left in the game, and Marino was faced with a 4th and 5 from the Bulldogs 33 yard line. He calmly fired a TD pass to TE John Brown, which was thrown perfectly even though Brown had two defenders closing in on him. Marino went on to set NFL records just like he had done in college, and will forever be remembered as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game.

1989 AFC Wild Card Game
The 1989 season still holds up as one of the most astounding in Steelers history. The team was coming off of its worst season ever during the Chuck Noll era (they went 5-11 in 1988) and when they lost their first two games in 1989 by a combined score of 92-10, most of The Nation started preparing for a possible shot at the #1 draft pick the following spring. But the Steelers came back to win 9 out of their last 14 games and squeak into the playoffs where they had to play at the Astrodome against an Oilers team who had already beaten them twice that season. But Bubby Brister and company somehow sent the game into overtime, where a Rod Woodson fumble recovery and a 50-yard Gary Anderson FG (still an NFL record for longest OT kick in the post-season) gave the Steelers the improbable upset. Fittingly, this game took place on December 31, 1989 - the final day of the decade.

1989 Patrick Division Finals - Game 5
After years of frustration, the Penguins finally made the playoffs in 1988-89. In the first round, they pulled off a surprising sweep over the New York Rangers, which set them up for a showdown with Philadelphia in the Patrick Division Finals (aka the second round). Although the Flyers would win the series in seven games, Game 5 at the Civic Arena proved to be one of the most memorable hockey games in team history. The Pens scored six goals in the first period! (four of which were scored by Lemieux, who tied four different NHL records by the time the night was over despite suffering from a neck injury). When Rob Brown added yet another goal later in the game, Flyers goalie Ron Hextall decided he had seen enough and went after Brown, prompting an ejection. Oddly enough, it seemed to spark Philly. They scored a bunch of goals to make the score 9-7 late in the 3rd period before Mario got an empty-netter to ice the victory. It gave the Flyers much-needed momentum heading into the final two games of the series. Still, Game 5 was one for the ages, and number one for the 1980's.

Honorable Mentions:

• The Pittsburgh Maulers: The Maulers only lasted one season in the USFL and they only won three games, but at least they had some decent players (like Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier).
  
  
• John Elway vs. Jack Lambert: After his first game as a pro (against the Steelers at Three Rivers), Elway said this about facing LB Jack Lambert: "He had no teeth, and he was slobbering all over himself. I'm thinking, 'You can have your money back, just get me out of here. Let me go be an accountant.' I can't tell you how badly I wanted out of there."
  
  
• Rob Brown: I may have imitated Tony Peña when I played baseball, but nothing was more fun than doing the Robby Brown arm-windup celebration after scoring a goal in street hockey. Brown once put up a 115-point season, which would have made him by far the best player on the Pens had it not been for #66.
  
  
• Big Daddy Reuschel: Pitcher Rick Reuschel was named NL Comeback Player of the Year in 1985 when he posted 14 wins on a bad Bucco team that lost 104 games. Reuschel actually won 1/4 of the team's games that season! (side note: it just dawned on me that other than those three seasons in the early 1990's, the Pirates have sucked for my entire lifetime!).