Let's revisit... name your fave Pittsburgh Stealers DEATH

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

It's a well known fact that the Stealers of the 70s legacy is forever tarnished by their obvious juicing. However. I am not so sure you're all of aware of the weird and wacky deaths these juice monkeys have endured over the years. Remember five years ago and this story was such a hot topic? Instead of all the boring Rapistberger talk we'll have to soon endure, let's revisit this, shall we? For me, you can't top Terry Long meeting his maker by pounding a gallon of Quaker State. RACK that dude:


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 62321.html


One was lifting weights at home. Another was training for a triathlon. A third was watching a game at a friend's house.
Regular guys doing regular things.

Then there were the others.

One drank antifreeze. Another was in a high-speed chase.

Two things in common among all:

They were Pittsburgh Steelers; and they died in the last six years.

Fresh off their first Super Bowl victory in 26 years, the Steelers have experienced the emotional gamut. The franchise has lost 18 former players -- age 35 to 58 -- since 2000, including seven in the last 16 months.

"There is no explanation," said Joe Gordon, a Steelers executive from 1969 through '98. "We just shake our heads and ask why."

The numbers are startling. Of the NFL players from the 1970s and '80s who have died since 2000, more than one in five -- 16 of 77 -- were Steelers.

"It's just an anomaly that we can't explain," said John Stallworth, who starred at receiver for Steelers teams from 1974 to 1987. "From an emotional standpoint it just makes you sad and makes you feel like the time we spent together was even more precious."

Freak accidents led to some of the deaths, and at least one was a suicide. Others share hauntingly familiar details.

Seven died of heart failure: Jim Clack, 58; Ray Oldham, 54; Dave Brown, 52; Mike Webster, 50; Steve Furness, 49; Joe Gilliam, 49; and Tyrone McGriff, 41. (In 1996, four years before the steady succession of Steelers deaths, longtime center Ray Mansfield died of a heart attack at 55.)

There is speculation that steroid abuse could have played a role in some of the deaths, but no hard evidence. It's just as plausible that weight issues were a factor. Counting Mansfield, five of the eight heart-attack victims played on the offensive or defensive line.

The circumstances surrounding some of the other deaths were unusual:

•Steve Courson, 50, was killed outside his Farmington, Pa., home in November while trying to remove a 44-foot tree from his property. The former guard was crushed while apparently trying to save his dog, after a gust of wind changed the direction of the falling tree. His black Labrador retriever was found alive, tangled in Courson's legs.
•In March 2005, David Little was bench-pressing weights alone at his Miami home when the coroner determined he suffered a heart arrhythmia, causing the 46-year-old former linebacker to drop a 250-pound barbell on his chest. The bar rolled across his neck and suffocated him.
•Terry Long, 45, an offensive guard whose eight-year career was derailed by a positive test for steroids, committed suicide in Pittsburgh in June 2005 by drinking antifreeze. Twice divorced, he had serious legal problems stemming from his failed food-processing business and had made two previous suicide attempts.
•The youngest of the Steelers to die was 36-year-old Justin Strzelczyk, a tackle who had a series of run-ins with the law after he retired. He died after a 40-mile, high-speed chase on the New York Thruway in September 2004. Driving his Ford F-250 pickup at speeds in excess of 100 mph, Strzelczyk made obscene gestures and tossed beer bottles at the police following him. The chase came to a fiery end when, while on the wrong side of the road, he slammed into a tanker truck.
The string of deaths -- most recently that of receiver Theo Bell, who died June 21 of kidney disease and the skin ailment scleroderma -- have reverberated through the Steelers, the city of Pittsburgh and beyond.
"Just the fact that the Steelers are such an integral part of this community -- probably more so than most NFL cities -- it obviously hits home for a lot of people," Gordon said. "It's hard to accept."

Men who won a combined 20 Super Bowl rings, the deceased Steelers were part of one of the most hallowed organizations in sports. "When I was young I convinced myself that I was going to do something with my life so that my death wouldn't be the end of me," Stallworth said. "In the lives of these men, they were a part of something special. People in Pittsburgh and around the country will remember them for that."

Some were as much pioneers as players. Gilliam was among the NFL's first black quarterbacks. He started for Pittsburgh in 1974 before Terry Bradshaw reclaimed the job.

When Gilliam's career ended, his life took a downward turn. He struggled with addictions to cocaine and heroin, and sometimes was homeless. In 1995, he was discovered sleeping in a cardboard box under a bridge in Nashville.

But his life was on an upswing just before his death. Saying he was drug free, he lectured children on the perils of drug abuse. In 2000, on Christmas Day, he died while watching a football game at a friend's house.

Of the 22 players who were part of all four Pittsburgh Super Bowl teams of the 1970s, Webster was the last to retire and, after Furness, the second to die.

An All-Pro center who played in a franchise-record 220 games, "Iron Mike" was known for playing bare-armed no matter how cold the conditions, and for dominating larger defenders. He paid a price, however. Doctors said the battering he had taken damaged the frontal lobe of his brain, affecting his attention span and concentration. That likely contributed to the many setbacks he endured after his career, among them a failed marriage, a string of bad investments, and occasional homelessness.

Also after his career, he admitted he tried anabolic steroids as a player, but maintained they were not responsible for his condition. He died of a heart attack in September 2002.

"Webby was my hero," longtime Steelers tackle Tunch Ilkin said. "That broke my heart. I'd seen what was going on with his life at the end."

For years, the Steelers have been dogged by rumors that several of them used performance-enhancing drugs in the 1970s. In an interview last year, Jim Haslett, then coach of the New Orleans Saints, admitted to experimenting with steroids as a Buffalo linebacker, and said the use of those drugs among NFL players started with the Steelers. The NFL didn't begin testing for steroids until 1987, becoming the first professional sports league to do so.

Although Haslett didn't deny making those comments, he later apologized to Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who called the accusation "totally false." Former Pittsburgh receiver Lynn Swann agreed with Rooney, saying he was "very surprised" by Haslett's claim.

"He's misinformed," Swann said. "He was not a part of that team. I was on that team, and I don't use steroids. And I couldn't tell you of who was on that team if anybody used steroids. Pittsburgh the epicenter of steroid use in the NFL? No. I find that very difficult to believe."

However, Peter Furness told the Providence Journal last year that he suspects his brother, Steve, who played defensive tackle for the Steelers from 1972 through '81, used steroids. Steve Furness died in 2000.

In a 1985 interview with Sports Illustrated, Courson became the first NFL player to speak on the record about his steroid use. During his playing days, he had 20-inch biceps and could bench press 600 pounds. He later said that contributed to a life-threatening condition that weakened his heart muscles -- though he also pointed to his hard-living lifestyle as a factor.

For years, Courson was Mr. Steeler. He played in Pittsburgh from 1977 through '83, when he was part of two championship teams. In the last few years of his life, however, he stopped wearing his Super Bowl rings and contemplated starting over in the mountains of Colorado. He felt betrayed, his girlfriend said, by his teammates' refusal to come clean about their steroid use.

"He wanted them to come out and be straight, seeing as it wasn't illegal back then," said Denise Masciola, who dated Courson the last few years of his life. "None of them would. They thought it would hamper their reputation. He felt like they left him just hanging."

Former Pittsburgh safety Donnie Shell, now director of player development for the Carolina Panthers, had hoped Courson would work with Carolina players last fall. A few months earlier, the former teammates had discussed getting together.

"Then I saw it come across the crawl that Steve Courson is dead," Shell said. "You don't know why until you hear the results of the news. Sometimes it's just shocking to hear."

Shell, like Gordon, sees no rhyme nor reason to the deaths. Only a relentless drumbeat of tragedies -- and a reminder that life can be too short.

"There's nothing you can do," he said, "except pray for the families, cherish the memories that you had with them -- they're good memories -- and move on."

[Goober McTuber]

Mike Webster and I both arrived at UW at the same time. We ate in the same cafeteria freshman year. I was really cool; he was a loud, obnoxious prick. Karma, Mike, karma.

[Screw_Michigan]

Large, obnoxious pricks at UW? Shocking.

Sin,

Fucking nobody.

[Goober McTuber]

I knew “large pricks” would get your attention, Screwball. Life’s work and whatsuch.

[indyfrisco]

This is the best one:

Steve Courson, 50, was killed outside his Farmington, Pa., home in November while trying to remove a 44-foot tree from his property. The former guard was crushed while apparently trying to save his dog, after a gust of wind changed the direction of the falling tree. His black Labrador retriever was found alive, tangled in Courson's legs.

He probably had cases of peanut butter he didn't want to go to waste.

[BSmack]

Most of those early deaths can be attributed to either brain damage caused by too many concussions or the effects of obesity. The rest fall in the category of bad luck.

That being said, anybody who thinks that steroids were not rampant throughout the entire NFL during the mid to late 70s is fucking kidding themselves. Performance enhancing drugs are a way of life in the NFL. That's why the league is doing absolutely nothing about guys who have ADMITTED to using a banned, but untestable substance.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-0 ... ravens-nfl

[Goober McTuber]

So you're saying few, if any, of those deaths are due to steroid use?

[BSmack]

So you're saying few, if any, of those deaths are due to steroid use?

Yes I am.

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

That being said, anybody who thinks that steroids were not rampant throughout the entire NFL during the mid to late 70s is fucking kidding themselves.

Is it true they are thinking of re-naming Heinz to HGH Field?





"Because I was associated with the Steelers, the assumption was that I was giving everyone on the Steelers growth hormone or steroids," Rydze told ESPN.com in his first in-depth interview on the subject. "You say a team doctor for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and you are saying he is buying growth hormone from a pharmacy in Florida -- what the hell else are you going to think?"

Exactly. What the Hell else should we think? First roids in the 70s and now HGH is the drug of choice for the Stealers.

TAINTED.

[Goober McTuber]

So you're saying few, if any, of those deaths are due to steroid use?

Yes I am.

And you base that on...?

[BSmack]

Exactly. What the Hell else should we think? First roids in the 70s and now HGH is the drug of choice for the Stealers.

TAINTED.

Yet it is players for the Ravens and Bengals who have openly admitted to using HGH. And they have never been punished. Spare me the bullshit about HGH being the exclusive property of one or two teams. It is EVERYWHERE in the NFL. Or do you believe that it is natural for teams to have offensive lines that average 330 lbs?

[Cueball]

So you're saying few, if any, of those deaths are due to steroid use?

Yes I am.

And you base that on...?

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

Spare me the bullshit about HGH being the exclusive property of one or two teams.

Can you name me another team's doctor of 22 years who got busted in the manner that yours did? Face it, your team has a long history of Stealing championships. Buncha juice monkeys.

[Goober McTuber]

Exactly. What the Hell else should we think? First roids in the 70s and now HGH is the drug of choice for the Stealers.

TAINTED.

Yet it is players for the Ravens and Bengals who have openly admitted to using HGH. And they have never been punished. Spare me the bullshit about HGH being the exclusive property of one or two teams. It is EVERYWHERE in the NFL.

I don’t think that anyone is questioning that (except maybe the Bengals). What’s really got you pissed is that the Steelers were the pioneers.

[mvscal]

Driving his Ford F-250 pickup at speeds in excess of 100 mph, Strzelczyk made obscene gestures and tossed beer bottles at the police following him. The chase came to a fiery end when, while on the wrong side of the road, he slammed into a tanker truck.

I'd have to say this one is outfuckingstanding.

[BSmack]

Driving his Ford F-250 pickup at speeds in excess of 100 mph, Strzelczyk made obscene gestures and tossed beer bottles at the police following him. The chase came to a fiery end when, while on the wrong side of the road, he slammed into a tanker truck.

I'd have to say this one is outfuckingstanding.

That was on the New York State Thruway near Utica. I've driven that stretch of road more than a few times and still am amazed that he was able to get a pickup truck up to 100 mph going the wrong way. Never mind how he got the damn truck through the median at such a high speed.

[BSmack]

Spare me the bullshit about HGH being the exclusive property of one or two teams.

Can you name me another team's doctor of 22 years who got busted in the manner that yours did?

The relevant question is this; can you name a team in the NFL who has a roster significantly different from the Steelers in terms of weight, height and speed. Anybody in the league trotting out 225 lb linebackers? 260 lb centers?

Nope?

Then STFU.

[R-Jack]

I'm with BSteal on this one. If steroids were a direct cause, there would be a lot more teams with similar death issues. IIRC, the Chargers were passing anabolics around like candy as early as the 60's. No fucking way the Raiders were clean with all the reckless personalities back then either.

It could be they had a bunch of crazy motherfuckers on the team.

[mvscal]

I'm with BSteal on this one. If steroids were a direct cause, there would be a lot more teams with similar death issues.

Or maybe the Squealers were just exceptional in their abuse of steroids. The "everybody was doing it" line of bullshit doesn't play. The proof is in the graveyard.

[indyfrisco]

I've driven that stretch of road more than a few times and still am amazed that he was able to get a pickup truck up to 100 mph going the wrong way.

Maybe the truck was on steroids too.

[Dinsdale]

And you base that on...?

A couple tards at work here -- is disproving a completely unsubstantiated rumor your usual MO in a debate?

Good luck with that.

Of course... you could always take the initiative, and try and establish some link between steroid use and... early deaths? Increased health problems? Degenerative conditions?


Why don't you just go ahead and link us up to that one study that shows the link... you know, that one?

Oh wait -- no credible study has yet to show any link whatsoever between the two, as much as people have tried to link them.


So, you don't know what you're talking about, yet still want someone to disprove your completely unfounded allegations?

Nice job, dorks.

[Goober McTuber]

Typical Dinsdale MO. Lots of authoritative bluster, minimal amounts of knowledge.

http://www.globalchange.com/steroids.htm

http://www.everydayhealth.com/liver-can ... ancer.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabolic_s ... se_effects

http://dwb.unl.edu/teacher/nsf/c10/c10l ... roids.html

Plenty of links to liver damage and cardiovascular disease. You're probably a juicer yourself.

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

You're probably a juicer yourself.

The tall, skinny barhound is also a juice monkey? You saw his pic, right? If Dins took a piss test it would test positive for bud and maybe booze… not so much on the 'roids.

[Goober McTuber]

You're probably a juicer yourself.

The tall, skinny barhound is also a juice monkey? You saw his pic, right?

No, I’ve never seen his picture. He just seemed to have a somewhat defensive stance on steroids.

[indyfrisco]

No, I’ve never seen his picture. He just seemed to have a somewhat defensive stance on steroids.

You can now change your stance on whether Dins is a juicer or not.

[mvscal]

•Steve Courson, 50, was killed outside his Farmington, Pa., home in November while trying to remove a 44-foot tree from his property. The former guard was crushed while apparently trying to save his dog, after a gust of wind changed the direction of the falling tree. His black Labrador retriever was found alive, tangled in Courson's legs.

This one has some tragic nobility. His best friend was in danger and he just reacted without thought for himself and saved his buddy at the cost of his own life. I can respect that.

Dog salute!

[H4ever]

•Steve Courson, 50, was killed outside his Farmington, Pa., home in November while trying to remove a 44-foot tree from his property. The former guard was crushed while apparently trying to save his dog, after a gust of wind changed the direction of the falling tree. His black Labrador retriever was found alive, tangled in Courson's legs.

This one has some tragic nobility. His best friend was in danger and he just reacted without thought for himself and saved his buddy at the cost of his own life. I can respect that.

Dog salute!

Rack! Love my dogs.

[Dinsdale]

Typical Dinsdale MO. Lots of authoritative bluster, minimal amounts of knowledge.

http://www.globalchange.com/steroids.htm

http://www.everydayhealth.com/liver-can ... ancer.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabolic_s ... se_effects

http://dwb.unl.edu/teacher/nsf/c10/c10l ... roids.html

Plenty of links to liver damage and cardiovascular disease. You're probably a juicer yourself.

Let's see -- I asked for a study... stats... any sort of statistical evidence of this link between steroid use and... whatever it is some folks are claiming, and you linked it up with...


conjecture and speculation, completely devoid of any stats or even anecdotal evidence. This could be accurately described as a "FAIL!"

[Dinsdale]

He just seemed to have a somewhat defensive stance on steroids.

No.

While I don't really care what drug use other people engage in, so long as it doesn't directly æffect me, I do have a rather defensive attitude towards...

accuracy.


Again, show me a study... anything that links the two. And some wild claims from the disciples of Nancy Reagan ain't going to cut it.


Kinda like the whole global-warming thing -- if facts don't back up your assertion, come up with some completely unsubstantiated "fill-in-the-blank" assertions, and pawn it off as "the new facts."

[Dinsdale]

You can now change your stance on whether Dins is a juicer or not.

Merely a bad camera angle that hides the massive nature of my beach-worthy guns.

[Goober McTuber]

Typical Dinsdale MO. Lots of authoritative bluster, minimal amounts of knowledge.

http://www.globalchange.com/steroids.htm

http://www.everydayhealth.com/liver-can ... ancer.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabolic_s ... se_effects

http://dwb.unl.edu/teacher/nsf/c10/c10l ... roids.html

Plenty of links to liver damage and cardiovascular disease. You're probably a juicer yourself.

Let's see -- I asked for a study... stats... any sort of statistical evidence of this link between steroid use and... whatever it is some folks are claiming, and you linked it up with...


conjecture and speculation, completely devoid of any stats or even anecdotal evidence. This could be accurately described as a "FAIL!"

You obviously have no understanding of what footnotes are and how they are used. Shocking.

[Dinsdale]

Why don't you just go ahead and link us up to that one study that shows the link... you know, that one?

You obviously have no understanding of what footnotes are and how they are used. Shocking.

I'm not digging through an endless array of footnotes.

Answer the question, Claire.


So far, you're coming up empty... take another swing, slugger.

[Goober McTuber]

Why don't you just go ahead and link us up to that one study that shows the link... you know, that one?

You obviously have no understanding of what footnotes are and how they are used. Shocking.

I'm not digging through an endless array of footnotes.

You don't have to, you obtuse fucking tard. Just go to the Adverse Effects section in the wiki article and start clicking on those footnote links.

[Dinsdale]

Why don't you quit the song-and-dance routine, and C&P that statistical evidence you have.

TIA

[Truman]

"Just answer the question, Claire..."

Never expected to find the inspiration for Judd Nelson's John Bender character on a message board. And that's not a bad thing. It all comes full circle now.

Rack the BC reset, btw...

[mvscal]

Three miles upstream...

[Dinsdale]

Three miles upstream...

Once I was done with a rather invigorating session of playing squeal-like-a-pig, I then launched into a roid-rage for-the-ages, busted out my trusty compound bow, and dispatched a family of inbred Estacadans, leading of course to the shit-eating grin on glorious display about my semi-visage.


Pretty typical day on the river.

[Goober McTuber]

Why don't you quit the song-and-dance routine, and C&P that statistical evidence you have.

TIA

Why don't you pull your head out of your ass and read.

[Dinsdale]

So, that's a "no" on providing any sort of data?

It's been a few days, you've still come up empty.

All I did was ask you to back up your claims -- why haven't you (I know why, just waiting for you to admit it)?

[Goober McTuber]

You can lead a horse's ass to knowledge, but you can't make him think.