The Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the 1970s featured many unheralded prospects from HBCUs who developed into NFL stars. Mel Blount, John Stallworth, and Donnie Shell are all Hall of Famers and just a few examples of players from historically Black colleges who, under the scouting of Bill Nunn, became key contributors in Pittsburgh.
The quarterback immortalized with that generation of Steelers is Terry Bradshaw, but another HBCU draft selection battled with Bradshaw for the starting job early in their careers. Joe Gilliam joined the Steelers as an 11th-round draft pick in 1972 out of Tennessee State. By 1974, he had won the starting quarterback job and opened the season as Pittsburgh’s starter.
While Gilliam was eventually surpassed by Bradshaw, who reclaimed the job and never looked back on his way to four Super Bowl titles, he made a lasting impression in Pittsburgh with his talent. Former teammate J.T. Thomas recalls the potential that Gilliam had – and the factors that held him back.
“Joe Gilliam was an awesome quarterback,” Thomas said in an interview on the Chasing Hardware podcast. “I think if Joe had been more in tune to the situation he would have been in. Joe taught Bradshaw how to read defenses. Gilliam was a very smart, talented quarterback. But you have to understand the challenges that a lot of guys from Historically Black Colleges have. All their lives, they’ve been in a Black environment. All of a sudden, they get into pro ball, it’s a new environment.”
Thomas said that Mel Blount explained the transition to him best. Players from HBCUs could spend their entire football careers surrounded primarily by Black coaches and teammates before entering professional football and confronting a very different racial and cultural environment in 1970s America.
According to Thomas, Gilliam came from a middle-class family and had not experienced some of the situations he encountered in the NFL. He didn’t necessarily know how to navigate them.
“But as a talent, the guy was unreal. Smart, intelligent,” Thomas said. “He was just an amazing quarterback. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t see that talent mature. Because I think, if it had matured, you might not have seen Bradshaw.”
The 1974 season is remembered fondly in Pittsburgh, and rightfully so. Pittsburgh won its first of their four Super Bowls in six seasons. But the season began with one of the most fascinating quarterback situations in franchise history. Gilliam was named the starting quarterback to begin the season, becoming the first African American quarterback to start a season opener in the modern NFL. The moment transcended football in 1970s America, and Gilliam found himself on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Gilliam started Pittsburgh’s first six games before Bradshaw returned to the lineup. Terry Hanratty also took snaps during the season as the Steelers searched for stability at quarterback. Eventually, Bradshaw emerged as the long-term starter, beginning a run that would make him one of the defining quarterbacks of his generation.
Gilliam’s career, meanwhile, took a much different path. He struggled with addiction and legal problems after his time in Pittsburgh, and he never started another NFL game after 1974. He bounced around to training camps with the New Orleans Saints and USFL and semi-pro teams after that.
Gilliam’s talent makes him one of the most fascinating “what ifs” in Steelers history. Would he have been able to guide them to four Super Bowls the way Bradshaw did? Or was the Blond Bomber’s play style crucial to the success of Pittsburgh in the 70’s? Everything worked out for Pittsburgh in the end, but unfortunately for Gilliam, his personal story was one remembered for its potential, not its reality.
