In November the Steelers will retire Joe Greene's No. 75. The only other number the Steelers have ever retired is Ernie Stautner's No. 70.
I had the pleasure of knowing Joe and watching him play football at North Texas State University (now UNT). When he was drafted by the Steelers I told friends and family that they could not have made a better choice. He was a superb player and is a really good person.
Surprisingly, although they are not officially retired, there are several other players (such as Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis) whose numbers are not issued to more recent players.
I was surprised to learn of the retirement of Greene's number as the Steelers don't officially retire numbers. But if anyone deserves such recognition it's Greene.
While the numbers aren't "retired," no Steeler player since the retirements of Terry Bradshaw(12), Joe Greene(75), Jack Lambert(58), Franco Harris(32), and Jack Ham(59) have been issued their numbers. Mel Blount's 47 has been reissued a couple of times.
