For Immediate Release
January 26,
2009
WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE SYMBOL ON THE
HEADGEAR OF THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS?
WASHINGTON, D.C. – What do Troy Polamalu,
Coca-Cola and Steel have in common? As fate* would have it,
Steelers safety Polamalu will appear in a Coca-Cola ad Super Bowl
Sunday—and not only bring back memories of the 1980 commercial
where “Mean Joe Green gets comforted by a kid who hands him a
coke1”—but will carry two strong brands and the
crushing strength of the Steelers’ defensive line with
him.
The Pittsburgh Steeler’s famed three-star logo
is one of the most familiar symbols in sports, partly because
steel’s inherent strength and toughness is a perfect match for the
Steelers’ highly-touted, bone-crunching defense. Only the
Steel trademarked logo found on the Steelers helmet brings worldwide
recognition and appreciation for these strengths.
Seven decades after Art Rooney purchased the NFL
franchise and five Super Bowl victories later, it has come to symbolize
the strength of the team and the Steel City it represents. But how
many fans know what the starlike figures mean and where the logo came
from?
In fact, the three four-pointed starlike figures
within the circle, called hypocycloids for their geometric origin, made
it to the NFL in 1962, when Rooney adopted the Steelmark for his
football team. The Steelers logo is based on the Steelmark logo
belonging to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The
Steelmark was originally created for United States Steel Corporation to
promote the attributes of steel: yellow lightens your work; orange
brightens your leisure; and blue widens your world. The
logo’s meaning was later amended to represent the three materials
used to produce steel: yellow for coal; orange for iron ore; and
blue for steel scrap.
Back in the early 60s, the Steelers had to petition the AISI in order
to change the word "Steel" inside the Steelmark to "Steelers" before the
logo was complete. Cleveland's Republic Steel suggested to the
Steelers that they use the Steelmark as a helmet logo.
The Steelers are the only NFL team that sports their logo on only one
side of the helmet. At first, this was a temporary measure because the
Steelers weren't sure they would like the look of the logo on an
all-gold helmet. They wanted to test them before going all-out.
Equipment manager back then Jack Hart was instructed to put the logo
only on one side of the helmet—the right side. The 1962 Steelers
finished with a 9-5 mark and became the team with the most wins in
franchise history to date. The team finished second in the Eastern
Conference and qualified for the Playoffs. They wanted to do something
special for their first postseason game, so they changed the color of
their helmets from gold to black, which helped to highlight the new
logo.
Because of the interest generated by having the logo on only one side
of their helmets and also due to the team's new success, the Steelers
decided to leave the helmet that way permanently. Today's helmet
reflects the way the logo was originally applied and it has never been
changed.
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the
public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace
as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role
in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking
technology. AISI is comprised of 25 member companies, including
integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 130 associate and
affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel
industry. AISI's member companies represent over 70 percent of
both U.S. and North American steel capacity. For more news about
steel and its applications, view AISI’s Web site at www.steel.org.
*Coca-Cola
planned the commercial before they knew the Steelers were going to the
Super Bowl.
1USA Today, Troy Polamalu is the New Mean Joe
Greene, by Tom Weir, November 21, 2008,
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