The Whisperer Remembers ... Joe Gilliam.

The Steelers have always been one of the pillars of the football universe and greater sports galaxy. A standard that all others tried their best to follow, the team in the menacing black and gold blazed a championship trail that has over time become the envy of others. Throughout all of their historic runs, whether they were winning championships or just playing good, rugged, Steelers football, superior quarterback play was a hallmark of their brand. From Big Ben to Terry Bradshaw…to this man, the one who almost made Terry a footnote.

He was big, strong and nimble for his size, or any size for that matter with a rocket launcher for an arm. This man strode into training camp in 1972, looking to stake his claim to the coveted starting spot. The kid was indeed a talent, possessing all the things coaches and scouts dreamed of finding. By the conclusion of training camp, the job belonged to Terry Bradshaw, although most openly admitted that the guy who finished second was in fact the better quarterback.

We may never know the truth of it all, who should've started and who should've sat, but for a fleeting moment in time, this man represented hope in a world when hope for men who looked like him playing that position seemed hopeless. So, with that Whisperer Nation, today, stand your ground and give your best applause and standing ovation as we celebrate the man who always stood his … former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback … Mr. Joe Gilliam.