Terry Bradshaw was honored last week at Heinz History Center, and the old question came back with it: why do the Pittsburgh Steelers still have not retired No. 12? Bradshaw is 77 and has made peace with Pittsburgh since retiring 43 years ago.
He won four Super Bowls, took Super Bowl MVPs in 1978 and 1979, and remains the only player in franchise history to win league MVP. Those numbers put him at the center of the Steelers’ 1970s run, yet the jersey hangs in the same state it always has.
Heinz History Center spotlight
The honor last week put Bradshaw back in front of the franchise’s own history. That timing matters because it revived a question that has lingered long after his playing career ended, with No. 12 still available while Ernie Stautner is the only other retired number mentioned in this story.
Bradshaw’s place in the organization is not in dispute. The 1970s Steelers reached four Super Bowls largely because of him, and he was central enough to that era to collect two Super Bowl MVP awards and finish 4-0 on the game’s biggest stage.
Art Rooney II and No. 12
The push now lands on Art Rooney II, who has been urged to make the retirement happen. Joe Starkey put the case bluntly: “Can you imagine how the place would rock if the Steelers honored Bradshaw the right way?”
Bradshaw’s relationship with Pittsburgh has not always been smooth. Joe Gordon once described him as “the most insincere person I have ever known,” and Bradshaw said he regretted not attending Art Rooney Sr.'s funeral while adding that he had no intention of attending Chuck Noll's funeral because of their bitter relationship.
That friction is part of why the jersey question has lasted so long. Bradshaw is now described as having made peace with Pittsburgh, but the Steelers still have not matched his resume with a retired number, leaving No. 12 as the unresolved symbol of a franchise legend’s place in team history.
