Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction x
Chapter 1 The 1930s
The Inimitable Chief 1
A Man Called Blood 7
A Comedy of Errors 10
And Justice For All 12
Chapter 2 The 1940s
New Name, Better Record 17
No. 1 Picks, We Hardly Knew You 20
The Year the Steelers Finally Got It Right 22
The Last of a Dying Breed 24
Nowhere to Go but Up 28
Chapter 3 The 1950s
After the War 32
The Big Four from 1950 35
Better Late Than Never 42
Talent Abounds 43
Another Heisman, Another NFL Bust 48
The One That Got Away 49
Marion Motley 51
A Premium in Picks 52
A Disturbing Trend 60
Chapter 4 The 1960s
The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same 62
No. 1 with a Bullet 65
An Odd Journey 71
No Player Was Bigger Than the Team 79
Turning the Corner 93
The Emperor's New Team 97
Chapter 5 The 1970s
Heads or Tails? You Make the Call 104
Hey, What About Us? 108
A New Plateau Is Reached 114
Simply the Best 119
More of the Same 126
A Dunn Deal 133
The Team of the Decade States its Case 139
Chapter 6 The 1980s
Hope Fades Fast 142
Great Expectations 144
The Search Continued 157
Chapter 7 The 1990s
Reigning Emperor About to Change 165
Three Teams, 16 Games, Two Seasons, and No Stats 169
You Can Go Home Again 170
Too Much, Too Fast 183
A Square Peg in a Round Hole 187
Chapter 8 The 2000s
Out with the Old … 194
… In with the New 199
A Foundation Is Built 202
Franchise QB Finally Secured 204
Time for a Change 209
Chapter 9 The 2010s
In with a Bang 214
Not in the Cards 217
The Page Turns 219
