'Burgh's Best to Wear It, No. 43: Troy Polamalu plays waiting game for Canton enshrinement

The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number.

No. 43: Troy Polamalu

If everything went according to plan, Troy Polamalu would be preparing an induction speech for his enshrinement next month into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

With the coronavirus pandemic putting a hold on the ceremony, Polamalu won’t be getting his sport’s ultimate recognition until 2021.

Polamalu took the postponement in stride, writing on his Twitter account: “What’s another year compared to eternity in bronze?”

Polamalu will have to settle for a consolation prize this summer: the best Pittsburgh athlete to wear No. 43, a distinction chosen by the Tribune-Review sports staff.

The charismatic safety had no peers on the football field, and he had no genuine competition for the Trib honor.

In a dozen seasons with the Steelers, Polamalu had 32 career interceptions, tied for third in franchise history among safeties, and he returned three picks for touchdowns. He forced 14 fumbles and recovered seven, of which two also went for scores.

He was selected to the Pro Bowl eight times and was a four-time first-team All-Pro, including in 2010 when he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Polamalu’s value to the Steelers went beyond stats and rankings. He revolutionized the position, whether it was by taunting quarterbacks while playing at the line of scrimmage, dropping deep into coverage like a center fielder or his knack for always being in the right place at the right time.

Perhaps Polamalu’s most memorable play was his 40-yard interception return with 4 minutes, 24 seconds left in the 2008 AFC championship game against the Baltimore Ravens. Polamalu stepped in front of rookie Joe Flacco’s pass at the 40-yard line. Momentum carried Polamalu toward the near sideline, but he deftly reversed course and cut back across the field before finding a lane along the far sideline en route to the end zone.

The zig-zagging touchdown, which ended with Polamalu holding the ball high above his head, sealed the Steelers’ 24-13 victory that set up their sixth Super Bowl championship two weeks later.

Polamalu reluctantly walked away from football after the 2014 season, and the Steelers have kept his No. 43 in storage.

In February, Polamalu was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, becoming the 27th member of the Steelers to be summoned to Canton, Ohio. Polamalu was scheduled to join Centennial Slate inductees Bill Cowher and Donnie Shell as Steelers representatives this year.

Now, he’ll have to wait a little longer.

Until Polamalu’s arrival, the most noteworthy player to wear No. 43 for the Steelers was wide receiver Frank Lewis, a member of the 1974-75 Super Bowl championship teams. Lewis had 128 catches and 16 touchdowns in seven seasons with the Steelers before spending his final six years with the Buffalo Bills.

Don Robinson wore No. 43 during his 10 seasons pitching for the Pirates. As a 21-year-old rookie in 1978, Robinson went 14-6. The next year, he went 8-8 and won two playoff games — one in the NLCS against Cincinnati and one in the World Series against Baltimore — while pitching in relief.

Robinson won a career-best 15 games in 1982 and went 65-69 with a 3.85 ERA in 343 games with the Pirates until he was shipped to San Francisco at the 1987 trade deadline. Robinson finished with a 109-106 record in 15 MLB seasons. He had 34 complete games and six shutouts.

Mike Williams wore No. 43 while saving 140 games — third-most in Pirates history — from 1998-2003. He was selected to the All-Star Game twice, and his 46 saves stood as a single-season franchise record until Mark Melancon saved 51 games in 2015.

Another No. 43 Pirates footnote: Paul Wagner, leading the NL in losses in 1995, came within one out of no-hitting the Colorado Rockies that season. His bid for history was broken up by Andres Galarraga’s infield single up the middle.

The Penguins’ best-known No. 43 is winger Conor Sheary, who totaled 23 goals and 53 points in the 2016-17 season while helping the Pens win back-to-back championships. The previous year, Sheary had four goals and 10 points in the playoffs.

Sheary was traded to Buffalo following the 2017-18 season, but the Penguins re-acquired him in February and he appeared in eight games with them before the NHL season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Two other Hall of Fame players wore No. 43 briefly before switching to more familiar digits. Slugger Ralph Kiner wore it as a rookie in 1946 before settling on No. 4. Pro basketball legend Connie Hawkins wore No. 43 briefly with the Pittsburgh Rens. He then turned to No. 42, wearing that jersey at his remaining ABA and NBA destinations.

Check out the entire ’Burgh’s Best to Wear It series here.