'Burgh's Best to Wear It, No. 75: Joe Greene nearly wore another number to fame with 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. 75: Joe Greene

Had Chuck Noll found room for a defensive tackle he inherited in 1969, the most decorated player in franchise history might have worn No. 72 throughout his Pittsburgh Steelers career.

Joe Greene, drafted fourth overall that year, wore those digits during the 1969 preseason while the veteran tackle wearing No. 75, Ken Kortas, tried to make a favorable impression on Noll, the Steelers first-year coach.

It only took a few weeks for Noll to recognize what he had in Greene — and what he didn’t have in Kortas, who had played in all 42 games over the previous three seasons.

The Steelers traded Kortas two weeks before the start of the regular season, Greene was issued No. 75 — the number he wore in college at North Texas State — and the rest was, well, history.

No other player has worn No. 75 since Greene retired after the 1981 season. It remained out of issue until November 2014 when Greene’s jersey became just the second uniform number in franchise history to be retired.

In his 13 years with the Steelers, Greene became the backbone of the Steel Curtain defense that earned four Super Bowl championships in a six-year span. Starting with his inaugural season, when Greene was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year on a team that finished 1-13, his talent stood above all others on defense.

Greene was named to 10 Pro Bowls, earned first-team All-Pro recognition five times and was selected NFL Defensive Player of the Year after the 1972 and ’74 seasons. Although sacks were not an official statistic during his playing career, Greene was credited with 66 quarterback takedowns, which still ranks fourth in franchise history.

Greene also started 172 of a possible 181 regular-season games and 17 more in the playoffs.

No wonder Greene received the sport’s ultimate honor — induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — in 1987. Or that he was included on the NFL’s all-time team as part of the league’s 75th and 100th anniversary classes.

Greene joined Noll’s coaching staff in 1987 and remained with the organization for the next five seasons. He returned in 2004 as a special assistant for player personnel, and he held that post until his second retirement from football in 2013.

Kortas, the player who wore No. 75 before Greene came along, spent the ’69 season with the Chicago Bears and was out of the league at age 27.

In any other city, the honor of the best athlete to wear No. 75 undoubtedly would go to Jimbo Covert.

The Freedom High School graduate and standout offensive lineman wore the number during his four years at Pitt, where he became an All-American as a senior in 1982. The university retired his number during a halftime ceremony in November 2015.

A first-round pick of the Chicago Bears, Covert spent all eight of his NFL seasons with the Monsters of the Midway, where he wore No. 74. Until injuries shortened his career, Covert started 110 of a possible 111 games at left tackle and was a two-time Pro Bowl and two-time first-team All-Pro selection.

Covert was named to the Centennial Slate class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020. The College Football Hall of Fame inducted him in 2003.

It is only because of Joe Greene that Covert comes in second on the Trib’s list.

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