Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 92: James Harrison evolved into dominant defender
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.
If James Harrison had quit football after being cut a handful of times in his first two seasons, he would have been just another guy to wear No. 93 for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Instead, he became the best to wear No. 92.
For a decade, that jersey number and honor belonged to Jason Gildon, a three-time Pro Bowl pick who broke L.C. Greenwood’s team record for most sacks in franchise history.
Now it belongs to Harrison, who broke Gildon’s record in 2016. The amazing thing is, recording 80½ sacks in 14 seasons is hardly what Harrison is best remembered for with the Steelers.
As a 6-foot, 245-pound edge rusher capable of bull-rushing, swimming inside or beating left tackles to the outside, Harrison redefined the outside linebacker position. He was a five-time Pro Bowl pick, twice selected All-Pro and, with 16 sacks in 2008, became the first undrafted player to be named the AP’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
That season ended with Harrison making one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history: His 100-yard interception return off Hall of Famer Kurt Warner as time expired in the first half was an exhausting signature moment that helped the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII for their sixth Lombardi Trophy.
That play was the highlight of Harrison’s career, which saw him leave the Steelers for the Cincinnati Bengals in a contract dispute in 2013 only to come out of retirement a year later to defy Father Time and play parts of four more seasons with the Steelers before being released over playing time.
Not only did Harrison surpass Gildon but also former Pitt defensive end Marc Spindler, who had 22½ career sacks, and former Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun, who, in 2013, had a franchise record shutout streak of 173 minutes, 6 seconds (since broken by Tristan Jarry) to make his mark on No. 92.
It’s one as indelible as his interception return was incredible.
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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