Actor Ed O'Neill shares story of getting cut by Steelers, memories of Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood

In the latest episode of his “Games with Names” podcast, former New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman interviewed actor and one-time Steeler Ed O’Neill.

Before making it big as Al Bundy on Fox’s “Married with Children” or Jay Pritchett on ABC’s “Modern Family,” O’Neill was a football player at Ohio University and eventually Youngstown State. Undrafted out of college, O’Neill signed with the Steelers in 1969, part of Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll’s first team.

During the show with Edelman, O’Neill told the story of the day he got cut — presumably July 20, 1969. That was also the day Apollo 11 landed on the moon.

“I was packing up. I thought, ‘I don’t want to have to go home and have to explain this,’” O’Neill recalled. So he asked to be dropped off close to a friend’s place at a bar in the city.

”I order a beer, and they’ve got the TV up high on the wall. The news comes on, and they’re showing (Neil) Armstrong walking on the moon. And I’m thinking, ‘Well, at least somebody had a good day!’ And then they went to the sports. And, of course, it’s Pittsburgh, so they show ‘Linebacker Ed O’Neill released today from the Steelers.’ And there’s my picture.”

At that point, O’Neill says others in the bar recognized who he was.

“‘You’re Ed O’Neill?’ Now they’re all buying me drinks,” O’Neill laughed. “I end up at 3:00 in the morning in some car with some girl and state (policeman) pulling me over.”

At that point, O’Neill claims the officer recognized his name.

“He says, ‘Did you get cut today from Pittsburgh?’ I said, ‘Yep.’ He let me go,” O’Neill said.

“They love them Steelers,” Edelman laughed.

“Even if you got cut. It doesn’t make any difference,” O’Neill said.

“You’re still part of the team,” Edelman replied.

Ed O'Neill was getting drinks bought for him after being cut by The Pittsburgh Steelers pic.twitter.com/uW1EDx8ySU

— Games with Names (@gameswithnames) June 18, 2024

Also, during the show, O’Neill talked about playing with “Mean Joe” Greene.

“He was great off the field. He was a sweet guy in real life. But on the field, he was brutal,” O’Neill said (at 57:19 of the video stream). “He used to punch guys. He’d hit guys in the stomach with a fist. He had a great uppercut to the solar plexus. He’d nail these guys. ‘Boom!’ And they’d drop like a sack. He was brutal. He didn’t lift weights. Just normal, naturally (strong). Never touched a weight. But fast. … He was a tremendous player.”

O’Neill also gave some initial impressions of L.C. Greenwood.

“He was a rookie when I was a rookie. I would’ve bet my life they would’ve cut him. He played like he was on roller skates. He was 6-foot-7. And he was long and thin. And I thought he looked like a basketball player,” O’Neill said (at the 1:04:40 mark). “But they worked with him. He had potential. He became a great player.”

Also during the program, O’Neill talked about Super Bowl IX, Chuck Noll, cameos on his shows with Terry Bradshaw and his FX show “Clipped.”