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Long wait for Stallworth ends today
John Stallworth, a former wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers
AP Photo
Steelers wide receiver John Stallworth
William T. Larkin/Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver John Stallworth goes high to haul in a pass
AP Photo
He wasn't the quarterback and, to the best of anyone's recollection, he didn't date figure skaters and never cut a country & western record.
He never had a mythical ethnic entourage.
No rule changes were enacted because of his dominance.
He wasn't a highly touted first-round draft pick or the product of a nationally renowned football program.
And his nickname ("Stall") was as dull as the Steelers of the 1970s were dominant.
No wonder former Steelers teammates such as Terry Bradshaw (1989), Franco Harris (1990), Mel Blount (1989), Lynn Swann (2001) and Joe Greene (1987), among others, preceded Stallworth into professional immortality.
"I was never a flashy kind of guy," Stallworth said. "I never did any dances. I never spiked the ball. I think, in my mind, what it says is there's a place for a guy who carries himself like that, who comes to work day in and day out, and does his job and does a good job of that, and maybe was spectacular at times.
"There's a place for that in a what seems like a world that seems to be drawn to the glitzy kind of thing. In my mind, it says the way you handled yourself, the way you carried yourself over 14 years was not bad, it was a good thing."
That message will be delivered with unmistakable clarity today in Canton, Ohio.
Stallworth will join George Allen, Dave Casper, Dan Hampton and Jim Kelly in the Hall's Class of 2002.
Now that he's finally arrived, it's only fitting that Stallworth will be greeted in spirit, if not in person, by so many of those that had helped him along the way (linebacker Jack Ham in 1988, linebacker Jack Lambert in 1990, head coach Chuck Noll in 1993, center Mike Webster in 1997, and Steelers president Dan Rooney in 2000 also come to mind along those lines).
Bradshaw and others threw enough balls Stallworth's way for him to catch 537 for 8,723 yards — both franchise records — and 63 touchdowns.
Harris ran, much to the delight of "Franco's Italian Army," well enough to allow Bradshaw and the passing game time to develop.
Swann, a No. 1 pick from Southern Cal, pushed his fellow rookie in the Steelers' fabled 1974 draft class. Stallworth was the relative unknown, fourth-round pick from Division II Alabama A&M, one that was so uncertain a prospect that he had been used as a defensive back in the Senior Bowl. Their personal battles for Bradshaw's attention and for the football helped spur Stallworth on to greatness.
Blount played bump-and-run coverage so effectively, often times against Stallworth in practice, that the NFL ultimately outlawed the technique, creating in the process an advantage in the passing game Noll recognized and exploited to Swann's and Stallworth's benefit.
Webster blocked.
Ham, Lambert and the defense dominated until the Steelers' offense came of age.
Joe Greene established a persona and a presence that would not allow the Steelers to underachieve.
Rooney presided over "The Team of the 1970s," which won four Super Bowls in six years.
Yet for all his teammates, coaches and administrators have done for him, Stallworth owes no debts of gratitude.
His induction, while late in the eyes of many, is confirmation that Stallworth did just as much for Bradshaw, Harris and the rest, even if his presence was relatively undervalued and his achievements under appreciated at the time.
"Having the opportunity to work against John every day, you feel like not only did I have a big part in helping him to get better, but that he made me a better player working against him," Blount acknowledged. "I'm just so happy for John."
Swann can relate.
As he pushed Stallworth in practices and games, Stallworth was pushing him right back.
Swann was grateful enough for those exchanges to campaign for Stallworth's induction during last year's enshrinement ceremony.
"If this is the greatest hour of my life, then I would tell you that this moment is only a half-hour," Swann said on the Hall's steps last summer. "It'll be the greatest hour when I can stand in the back and John Stallworth is wearing a yellow jacket."
Isn't that the way it's supposed to work on a team?
Isn't that the way it always worked for the Steelers?
"What made our receivers stand out in my mind was the fact that we ran the ball, ran the ball, ran the ball, and when we did throw it, everybody in the park knew we were going to throw it, and yet, they still performed, they still made it happen," Noll said. "To me, that's a real test."
The Super Bowl records Stallworth owns — a 24.4 career yards per catch average and a 40.3 yards-per-reception effort in Super Bowl XIV — the 75- and 28-yard touchdown passes Stallworth produced against the Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII, and his unforgettable, game-winning 73-yard touchdown grab in Super Bowl XIV against the Rams say all that needs to be said about Stallworth's ability to ace that test.
For extra credit, Stallworth recorded a touchdown reception in an NFL record eight consecutive postseason games, ensuring that consistency and dependability would be a part of his legacy as well as greatness.
Stallworth and Swann expected nothing less from themselves and from each other.
"Chuck had said something about doing a dance in the end zone, always act like you've been there," Swann said. "To that degree, John and I always felt like we should be there. Our attitude was we can do it, we will do it, and when we do it, we'll go back and we'll do it again. Whether it was a big game or just a regular-season game, where seemingly there wasn't a whole lot on the line, we wanted to go out and excel. In our minds, we wanted to go out and play well enough in every game that we created a highlight.
"We weren't doing it because individually we wanted to be highlights, but we wanted to have that impact for our team. We wanted, when the team gave us an opportunity, to be able to take advantage of it in the best way."
It took being named as a finalist for the Hall "seven or eight times," in Stallworth's estimation, before that approach and the resume it produced were recognized.
Perhaps Stallworth's insistence on eschewing fanfare and celebrity throughout his career (1974-87) had something to do with that.
Perhaps he was overlooked in favor of more recognizable teammates for too long.
Whatever the approach, Stallworth says it was worth the wait.
"I wish it could have happened sooner," Stallworth said. "I had a feeling that it would, having gone through so many years of making the finalist list. I kind of thought that eventually with the passing of time, it would happen.
"It's an exciting time. It's an affirmation about things that I thought were important to my career, being very consistent, staying focused, working really hard to get things done and maintain a certain profile and certain attitude about the work that I did."
Now, apparently, comes the hard part.
"He's gotten over that sense of relief that he's in and he'll never have to go through the process again, which can be numbing in and of itself," Swann said. "But it's like putting together a wedding. You're going to be going through all these things. You have this process that you have to go through and this ritual that you're looking forward to going through because it's supposed to be for the rest of your life. And when it's all over, you're not going to remember half of it."
If nothing else, Stallworth figures to remember those who have been there with him then, now and in between.
"People ask me what was the highlight of my career? Was it a big catch a Super Bowl? What was it?" Stallworth said. "It's the relationships. Having an opportunity to play for Chuck Noll. Having an opportunity to play in the Rooneys' organization. Having an opportunity to play with guys like Mel Blount and (safety) Donnie shell and Joe Greene and Lambert and Ham and (defensive end) L.C. Greenwood, I could go on and on, (linebacker) Andy Russell.
"Having an opportunity to associate with those guys, to learn from those guys to see how they handled good times and bad times. For a young guy coming in 21 years of age, they were excellent role models. The lessons I learned from them about life are lessons I carry with me today."
All the way to Canton.
