‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 52: 'Iron Mike' Webster brought strength to super Steelers

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. 52: Mike Webster

One of the iconic images of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers is the offense breaking the huddle and center Mike Webster — always adorning short sleeves, no matter the weather conditions — leading the way to the ball.

Webster did it more frequently than any player in franchise history and was the anchor of an offensive line that won four Super Bowl rings in a six-year span. So beloved was Webster that quarterback Terry Bradshaw, while introducing his teammate at Webster’s Hall of Fame induction in 1997, implored the center to snap the ball to him one more time.

Never one to let a teammate down, Webster obliged.

For those reasons, Webster easily was the Tribune-Review sports staff’s choice as the best Pittsburgh athlete to wear No. 52, a number no Steelers player has worn since his departure after the 1988 season.

A member of the famed 1974 draft class, Webster was selected by the Steelers in the fifth round and spent his first two seasons sharing snaps with Ray Mansfield, a workhorse center in his own right.

Webster emerged as the starter for good in the final game of the 1975 season and started 150 games in a row, his streak lasting through the 1986 season. A nine-time team captain, Webster earned All-Pro recognition seven times and was selected for the Pro Bowl on nine occasions. In 2010, Webster was voted one of the NFL’s top 100 players, and he is included on the league’s 100th anniversary all-time team.

And when the man known affectionately as “Iron Mike” Webster left for Kansas City in 1989, he followed in Mansfield’s footsteps by passing the torch to another Hall of Fame center, Dermontti Dawson.

Webster’s run of 220 games played in a Steelers uniform has stood the test of time for three decades but is poised to fall this year if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suits up for three games.

Playing every Sunday was Webster’s mantra as he noted in his Hall of Fame speech.

“You only fail if you don’t finish the game,” Webster said. “If you finish, you win. Sometimes you can be down and struggling, but as long as you keep working at it, you win.″

Sadly, for all of his strength and success on the field, Webster experienced hardship off it after his playing days ended, and his mental health struggles were captured in the movie “Concussion.” After his death in 2002 at age 50, Webster became the first ex-NFL player diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a disease attributed to repeated blows to the head.

Webster’s case awakened the NFL to the dangers of the sport, and several lawsuits have followed as hundreds of former players have sought compensation for their football-related health issues.

While Webster is the most recognized former Steelers player to wear No. 52, he wasn’t the first to make an impact on the franchise wearing those digits.

George Tarasovic, a hard-nosed linebacker/defensive end from Boston College, was with the Steelers from 1952-63 and wore No. 52 during the 1957-58 seasons. A former second-round pick, Tarasovic had 11 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries during his time with the Steelers. Former New York Giants running back Alex Webster called Tarasovic, “one of the toughest SOBs I ever played against.”

Among former Pirates players to wear No. 52 are Carrick native and current broadcaster John Wehner and closer Joel Hanrahan. Rusty Fitzgerald, in 1996, is the only Penguin player to ever wear No. 52.

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