L. C. Greenwood, Member of ‘Steel Curtain,’ Dies at 67
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
L. C. Greenwood, a 6-foot-6 blend of power, speed and style who as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Steel Curtain” defense in the 1970s helped lead his team to four Super Bowl victories, died on Sunday in Pittsburgh. He was 67.

The cause was kidney failure, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office said.

Greenwood, who had been skinny in college but bulked up to 245 pounds as a professional, played left defensive end, lining up alongside three players with whom he formed one of the most oppressive defensive lines in the history of the National Football League: “Mean” Joe Greene at left tackle, Ernie Holmes at right tackle and Dwight White at right end.

In technical football terms, they were the front four in a 4-3 defense. But after their repeated success prompted a local radio station to name the group as a whole, they became the Steel Curtain.

Greenwood, a master of the quarterback sack, was known for balancing a freewheeling playing style with a remarkable ability to avoid injury. Flying off the left edge, he might not have been as famous as the man rushing in beside him — Greene was the only member of the foursome elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame — but he was no less fierce or feared.