1968 Pittsburgh Steelers season

36th franchise season August 2023 March 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers 1968 2–11–1 4th NFL Century Art Rooney Bill Austin Pitt Stadium Did not qualify border:none; padding:0; 3 WR Roy Jefferson DE Ben McGee LB Andy Russell Roy Jefferson (2nd team) Steelers seasons The 1968 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 36th in the National Football League. 1968 continued the team's descent in the NFL's basement, finishing with a third league-worst 2–11–1 record (Eagles and Falcons both 2–12) and the dismissal of head coach Bill Austin at the end of the season, leading to the eventual hiring of Chuck Noll. To this date, Austin is the last head coach to be fired by the Steelers. The season is notable in that the Steelers had their last tied game before the NFL adopted the overtime rule in regular-season games in 1974 in Week 9 against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 28–28 stalemate; that game actually was the deciding game in the NFL Century Division that season, as the Cardinals had swept the Cleveland Browns but finished the season 9–4–1, 1/2 game behind the 10–4 Browns. Since that game, the Steelers have only had two tied games, both happening after the overtime rule took effect. In addition, the Steelers lost to the Baltimore Colts at home, 41–7, in Week 3, as the Colts went on to play in Super Bowl III, in which they were upset by the AFL's New York Jets. After that loss, the Steelers would go another 40 years before losing to the Colts at home again, winning 12 straight (including three postseason meetings, among them the now-famous 1995 AFC Championship game as well as the 1975 Divisional Playoff Game that saw the introduction of the Terrible Towel) before losing to the now-Indianapolis Colts, 24–20, on November 10, 2008.https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20081109023&prov=ap Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos Offseason No major player transactions happened in the offseason, although the team would draft Notre Dame running back Rocky Bleier with their last pick (16th round) in the 1968 draft. Bleier's drafting by the team was mainly at the insistence of Steelers owner Art Rooney, who thought Bleier was Catholic for attending Notre Dame, even though Bleier was actually Presbyterian. Bleier would play ten games for the Steelers before being drafted again—this time by the military to fight in Vietnam. Despite being wounded the following summer, Bleier would go on to be a major contributor to the Steelers' success in the 1970s. The most notable offseason change happened with the team's uniforms. After just two seasons, the team ditched the so-called "Batman"-themed uniforms and adopted a modified version of their pre-1966 black design for both jerseys. The team brought back the Northwestern-style stripes on the sleeves, but put a white stripe in between each gold stripe on the black jerseys and black trim on each of the stripes on the white jerseys. The team also adopted white numbers on the home jerseys (the lone carryover from the "Batman" jerseys), while the team retained the gold pants from the "Batman" uniforms as well as the team's helmet, which was adopted in 1963. Save for wearing white pants with the white jerseys in 1970 and '71, as well as changing the font of the jersey numbers in 1997, these uniforms remain in use as of 2022. NFL draft 1968 NFL/AFL draft 1968 Pittsburgh Steelers 1 10 Mike Taylor Offensive tackle USC yes no 2 36 Ernie Ruple Defensive end Arkansas yes no 3 61 Jon Henderson Defensive back Colorado State yes no 7 174 Doug Dalton Running back New Mexico State no no 8 201 Danny Holman Quarterback San Jose State no no yes no Roster 1968 Pittsburgh Steelers 10 Kent Nix 17 Dick Shiner 30 Willie Asbury 38 Earl Gros 42 Dick Hoak 25 Don Shy 45 Dick Compton 89 Marshall Cropper 16 Ken Hebert y 24 Jon Henderson y 87 Roy Jefferson 86 J. R. Wilburn 82 John Hilton American football 84 Tony Jeter 88 Rich Kotite 74 John Brown offensive tackle T 52 Mike Connelly C 57 Sam Davis American football G 79 Larry Gagner G 56 Ray Mansfield C 72 Fran O'Brien American football T 77 Mike Taylor offensive tackle y T 66 Bruce Van Dyke G 71 Dick Arndt DT 64 Chuck Hinton American football DT 75 Ken Kortas DT 60 Ben McGee DE 78 Frank Parker American football DT 73 Ernie Ruple y DE 65 Lloyd Voss DE 67 Dick Capp OLB 67 Jerry Hillebrand OLB 59 Ray May MLB 34 Andy Russell American football OLB 50 Bill Saul MLB  9 John Foruria FS 49 Lou Harris no SS 20 Paul Martha FS 28 Clendon Thomas SS/FS 44 Bob Wade basketball CB 47 Marv WoodsonCB/SS 35 Booth Lusteg K 39 Bobby Walden P 26 Rocky Bleier y RB Military 53 John Campbell American football LB IR 76 Mike Haggerty T IR 29 Bob Hohn CB IR 62 Ralph Wenzel guard G IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 September 15 New York Giants L 20–34 0–1 Pitt Stadium 2 September 22 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–45 0–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 3 September 29 Baltimore Colts L 7–41 0–3 Pitt Stadium 4 October 5 at Cleveland Browns L 24–31 0–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 5 October 13 at Washington Redskins L 13–16 0–5 D.C. Stadium 6 October 20 New Orleans Saints L 12–16 0–6 Pitt Stadium 7 October 27 Philadelphia Eagles W 6–3 1–6 Pitt Stadium 8 November 3 at Atlanta Falcons W 41–21 2–6 Atlanta Stadium 9 November 10 at St. Louis Cardinals T 28–28 2–6–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 10 November 17 Cleveland Browns L 24–45 2–7–1 Pitt Stadium 11 November 24 San Francisco 49ers L 28–45 2–8–1 Pitt Stadium 12 December 1 St. Louis Cardinals L 10–20 2–9–1 Pitt Stadium 13 December 8 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–28 2–10–1 Cotton Bowl 14 December 15 at New Orleans Saints L 14–24 2–11–1 Tulane Stadium Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 (Sunday September 15, 1968): New York Giants Giants 7 21 0 6 Steelers 13 7 0 0 at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 45,698 Referee: Bernie Ulman TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Hoak 6 run (kick failed)6–0 New York Giants – Morrison 10 pass from Tarkenton (Gogolak kick)7–6 Pittsburgh – Gros 5 pass from Nix (Shockley kick)13–7 New York Giants – Morrison 13 pass from Tarkenton (Gogolak kick)13–14 New York Giants – Minniear 1 run (Gogolak kick)13–21 New York Giants – Tarkenton 4 run (Gogolak kick)13–28 Pittsburgh – Compton 9 pass from Nix (Shockley kick)20–28 New York Giants – FG Gogolak 23 20–31 New York Giants – FG Gogolak 17 20–34 Week 2 (Sunday September 22, 1968): Los Angeles Rams Steelers 3 7 0 0 Rams 7 24 7 7 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 49,647 Referee: George Rennix TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Los Angeles – Casey 5 pass from Gabriel (Gossett kick)0–7 Pittsburgh – FG Lusteg 20 3–7 Los Angeles – FG Gossett 12 3–10 Pittsburgh – Gros 1 run (Lusteg kick)10–10 Los Angeles – Casey 55 pass from Gabriel (Gossett kick)10–17 Los Angeles – Bass 28 pass from Gabriel (Gossett kick)10–24 Los Angeles – Bass 10 run (Gossett kick)10–31 Los Angeles – Bass 1 pass from Gabriel (Gossett kick)10–38 Los Angeles – Ellison 4 pass from Plum (Gossett kick)10–45 Week 3 (Sunday September 29, 1968): Baltimore Colts Colts 3 21 3 14 Steelers 0 0 0 7 at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 44,480 Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Baltimore – FG Michaels 38 0–3 Baltimore – Mitchell 4 pass from Morrall (Michaels kick)0–10 Baltimore – Brown 2 run (Michaels kick)0–17 Baltimore – Boyd 25 interception return (Michaels kick)0–24 Baltimore – FG Michaels 19 0–27 Baltimore – Stukes 60 interception return (Michaels kick)0–34 Baltimore – Hilton 13 interception return (Michaels kick)0–41 Pittsburgh – Gros 7 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)7–41 Week 4 (Saturday October 5, 1968): Cleveland Browns Steelers 3 7 0 7 Browns 7 10 7 14 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 81,865 Referee: Fred Swearingen TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – FG Lusteg 25 3–0 Cleveland – Leigh 20 run (Cockroft kick)3–7 Cleveland – Warfield 28 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)3–14 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 13 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)10–14 Cleveland – FG Cockroft 27 10–17 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 13 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)10–24 Cleveland – Kelly 2 run (Cockroft kick)10–31 Cleveland – Barney 8 lateral from Kelly (Cockroft kick)10–38 Pittsburgh – Martha 60 fumble return (Lusteg kick)17–38 Week 5 (Sunday October 13, 1968): Washington Redskins Steelers 0 10 0 3 Redskins 6 3 7 0 at D.C. Stadium, Washington, D.C. Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 50,659 Referee: Norm Schachter TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Washington – Jerry Smith 17 pass from Jurgensen (no kick-fumble)0–6 Washington – FG Gogolak 24 0–9 Pittsburgh – FG Lusteg 24 3–9 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 33 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)10–9 Washington – Jerry Smith 49 pass from Jurgensen (Gogolak kick)10–16 Pittsburgh – FG Lusteg 30 13–16 Week 6 (Sunday October 20, 1968): New Orleans Saints Saints 3 7 3 3 Steelers 0 6 6 0 at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 32,303 Referee: Bud Brubaker TV announcers: Scoring Drives: New Orleans – FG Durkee 23 0–3 New Orleans – Wheelwright 1 run (Durkee kick)0–10 Pittsburgh – Gros 2 run (kick failed)6–10 Pittsburgh – Hoak 71 run (kick failed)12–10 New Orleans – FG Durkee 37 12–13 New Orleans – FG Durkee 31 12–16 Week 7 (Sunday October 27, 1968): Philadelphia Eagles Eagles 0 3 0 0 Steelers 0 0 0 6 at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 26,908 Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Philadelphia – FG Baker 38 0–3 Pittsburgh – FG Lusteg 34 3–3 Pittsburgh – FG Lusteg 15 6–3 This game was dubbed the "O. J. Bowl" as it was rumored that the losing team would get to draft O. J. Simpson. He would eventually be drafted by the Buffalo Bills. Week 8 (Sunday November 3, 1968): Atlanta Falcons Steelers 14 7 13 7 Falcons 0 0 7 14 at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 47,727 Referee: George Rennix TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Jefferson 27 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)7–0 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 61 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)14–0 Pittsburgh – Shy 3 run (Lusteg kick)21–0 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 9 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)28–0 Pittsburgh – Gros 1 run (kick blocked)34–0 Atlanta – Ogden 29 pass from Berry (Etter kick)34–7* Atlanta – Harris 55 pass from Berry (Etter kick)34–14 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 38 pass from Nix (Lusteg kick)41–14 Atlanta – Long 24 pass from Berry (Etter kick)41–21 Week 9 (Sunday November 10, 1968): St. Louis Cardinals Steelers 14 7 7 0 Cardinals 0 0 21 7 at Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 45,432 Referee: Norm Schachter TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Hoak 30 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)7–0 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 80 punt return (Lusteg kick)14–0 Pittsburgh – Gros 21 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)21–0 St. Louis – Williams 71 pass from Hart (Bakken kick)21–7 St. Louis – Williams 11 pass from Hart (Bakken kick)21–14 St. Louis – Conrad 80 pass from Hart (Bakken kick)21–21 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 52 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)28–21 St. Louis – Roland 1 run (Bakken kick)28–28 Week 10 (Sunday November 17, 1968): Cleveland Browns Browns 14 10 0 14 Steelers 7 3 0 21 at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 41,572 Referee: Fred Swearingen TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Cleveland – Kelly 7 run (Cockroft kick)0–7 Pittsburgh – Wilburn 10 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)7–7 Cleveland – Green 62 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)7–14 Pittsburgh – FG Lusteg 13 10–14 Cleveland – Green 11 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)10–21 Cleveland – FG Cockroft 27 10–24 Cleveland – Morin 2 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)17–24 Pittsburgh – May 27 interception (Lusteg kick)24–24 Cleveland – Warfield 36 pass from Ryan (Cockroft kick)24–31 Pittsburgh – Wilburn 19 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)31–31 Cleveland – Harraway 33 pass from Ryan (Cockroft kick)31–38 Week 11 (Sunday November 24, 1968): San Francisco 49ers 49ers 14 21 3 7 Steelers 7 7 0 14 at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 21,408 Referee: Tommy Bell TV announcers: Scoring Drives: San Francisco – Willard 1 run (Davis kick)0–7 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 10 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)7–7 San Francisco – Willard 3 run (Davis kick)7–14 San Francisco – Crow 54 pass from Brodie (Davis kick)7–21 Pittsburgh – Kotite 20 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)14–21 San Francisco – Lewis 16 pass from Brodie (Davis kick)14–28 San Francisco – Alexander 66 interception return (Davis kick)14–35 San Francisco – FG Davis 15 14–38 Pittsburgh – Kotite 4 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)21–38 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 5 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)28–38 San Francisco – Belk 6 interception return (Davis kick)28–45 Week 12 (Sunday December 1, 1968): St. Louis Cardinals Cardinals 3 0 0 17 Steelers 7 3 0 0 at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 22,682 Referee: Bernie Ulman TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Lusteg kick)7–0 St. Louis – FG Bakken 22 7–3 Pittsburgh – FG Lusteg 24 10–3 St. Louis – Smith 34 run (Bakken kick) 10–10 St. Louis – FG Bakken 16 10–13 St. Louis – Edwards 1 run (Bakken kick)10–20 Week 13 (Sunday December 8, 1968): Dallas Cowboys Steelers 0 7 0 0 Cowboys 7 14 0 7 at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 55,069 Referee: Bud Brubaker TV announcers: Scoring Drives: Dallas – Baynham 5 pass from Meredith (Clark kick)0–7 Dallas – Hayes 90 punt return (Clark kick)0–14 Dallas – Hayes 53 pass from Meredith (Clark kick)0–21 Pittsburgh – Hilton 37 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)7–21 Dallas – Rentzel 65 pass from Meredith (Clark kick)7–28 Week 14 (Sunday December 15, 1968): New Orleans Saints Steelers 7 0 0 7 Saints 7 14 0 3 at Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST Game weather: Sunny, 37 degrees Game attendance: 66,131 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring Drives: New Orleans – Lorick 22 pass from Kilmer (Durkee kick)0–7 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 55 pass from Shiner (Lusteg kick)7–7 New Orleans – McCall 25 pass from Kilmer (Durkee kick)7–14 New Orleans – Brown 53 punt return (Durkee kick)7–21 New Orleans – FG Durkee 31 7–24 Pittsburgh – Wilburn 17 pass from Nix (Lusteg kick)14–24 Standings References 30em External links 1968 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com 1968 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com Category:Pittsburgh Steelers seasons Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steel