Time Machine: Ted Petersen, March 2, 2022

Time Machine: Ted Petersen, March 2, 2022

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome Steelers Nation, and I'm stand severeign and it's my
pleasure to bring in former Steeler offensive lineman Ted Peterson.
Pete really good to see against great. I'm doing great
and great to see you as well. Thank you. Um,
draft choice nineteen seventy seven. You're coming to a franchise
of Eastern Illinois waving for Tony Romo. By the way,

(00:22):
you're in our eyes. You're the most famous Eastern Illinois graduate.
Kind Um, what was it like coming to a Super
Bowl champion, one that had been dynastic? Well, I was
scared to death because of this. You have to remember,
you know, I'm in college and the Steelers had won
two Super Bowls while I was there. Then I was drafted,

(00:45):
as you said, in the fourth round in seventy seven,
and just thinking about competing against the the Steeler defense
of that time. You you would remember that in nineteen
seventies six they didn't make it to the Super Bowl,
but they they had one of the top two or
three defenses of all times. And of course I had

(01:06):
to come and uh try to win a spot on
the team by competing against them in front of Ole
and the other coaches. So that was pretty intimidating that defense,
by the way, I'm sure fans remember. And that's what
your Terry Bradshaw went out and they had to go
to the running game with Mike Cruzack. Uh nine games
they a lot of grand total of twenty eight points,

(01:27):
five shutouts, um and when their last game and only
lost to the Raiders because Franko and Rocky were hurt.
So that sets the stage. So Joe green still in
his prime L C. Greenwood, what was that like in
trainee camp? Said here, kids, try your luck with these guys.
Dlight White. Well, you forgot Ernie homes homes yea. And

(01:48):
he in particular was pretty uh pretty fearsome because you know,
he would go kind of easy nine out of ten plays,
you know, wouldn't play real hard. And then I happened
to take him off one time. You know, you're trying
to make the team, right, so you're caught between a
rock and a hard place because you're either going to

(02:08):
block him well and getting a fight or not block
well and then chucks on on your on your back,
you know what I mean. So I could remember, uh,
you know, hitting into him pretty good. Playing center. Mike
Webster was getting some gatorade and I blocked into him
pretty good, you know, and he he looked me in

(02:30):
the eyes and said, okay, Peterson, so you want to
play football? And then next time I see him cranking
up his forearm which is the size of my leg,
and he just clocked me across my face mask, you know.
And I'm thinking, we'll welcome to the NFL. But yeah,
an angry, fat good thing for an offensive offensive lineman. Um,

(02:50):
you mentioned playing center. Webby of course was was the center,
but they asked you to play all three positions. And
I'm wondering had you had that versatility in college or
was just new to you? And how much? I mean,
maybe your virgatility help you make the team, but did
it hinder your development at one position in particular? Uh?

(03:10):
Two parts to the question. First of all, the Steelers
love drafting. If you remember, they love drafting tight ends
and centers. Centers have to snap the ball and and
block obviously, so it it takes a special talent and
athletic ability. No Chuck wanted athletes. Go find the athletes.
So Bill Nuton comes to Eastern, hands me a basketball

(03:33):
and says, shoot around in the gym. I start out
as so they thought I was pretty good athlete. And
I started out as a tight end at Eastern and
ended up playing center, so I had maybe both of
what they liked as pretty athletic. I could run well,
as all the Steelers lineman did back then, and they
expected you to play more than one position, but to

(03:56):
get real comfortable in one spot, you to stay there
for a while. You're correct. Interesting you mentioned Bill Nunn.
Everybody is aware of his history and what he meant. Uh,
not only the football but society in general. Eastern Illinois
a smaller school, but we think about, you know, finding
the Donnie Shells and the L. C. Greenwoods. Um, and

(04:17):
I'm wondering him coming to you. Um. They were looking
for football players, whether they could find them, they did,
and and uh, I think the Cowboys started doing that
as early as the Steelers. You know, no one looked
at the smaller schools at one time, and then the
Cowboys and the Steelers started finding people like that, so
it wasn't so unusual. So I benefited from that that approach.

(04:43):
Mentioning Mike Webster, so many of the offensive lineman who
came into the organization in that era said they just
kind of followed Webby around like he was the lead
duck and then you see all the little ducklings behind him.
Um did you watch what Webby did both on the
field and off the field in terms of workout and
preparation as most of the other guys did. I did.

(05:05):
But I also followed John Colb as well. You know,
I played all the spots. Um, I played a little
guard some. I'm in the Super Bowl too, But you
know what, I never took a snap at center in
the regular season, preseason a little bit, so, you know,
behind Webby. But John Coleb really was a great model
for me because he played tackle and I was basically

(05:27):
a tackle meant to be, meant to play there. But
they were great role models all the way around for us. John,
of course now a member of the Steelers Hall of Honor,
deservedly so absolutely. Um So, your second year in, you're
in a Super Bowl. Your third year in, you're in
a super Bowl and you win him. Did you begin
to think, oh, well, this is gonna happen every year,

(05:48):
you know what. I don't know if I did, but
I was certainly happy to be there because when I
have to tell you, when I was in college, I
wanted a national championship ring so bad, you know, and
never got close. Two years after I graduated, they win
the national championship at Eastern. But UM, in my rookie year,

(06:09):
how about this my rookie year, we lose to UM
the Denver Brows. Denver loses to Dallas. Dallas showed more
interest in me than any other team pre draft, so
I'm thinking, oh, that was my chance to get a
Super Bowl ring. So then the following year we played
Dallas in Super Bowl thirteen and we win, and of

(06:30):
course we won the next year, so it was pretty cool.
But uh, leading into the Super Bowl year, my first
one in seventy eight, I heard Joe Greene say to
a reporter, you know, we'll we'll see you at the summit.
And you know, I'm from Illinois. It's real flat out there.
I didn't know what a summit was, you know, of
any kind. He men, of course see it. He thought

(06:53):
we were going to the super Bowl. So that was
pretty exciting time in the in that year, Ted, and
in that game, UM, you had still the core nucleus
of the earlier Super Bowl championships in sevent and I
wonder if their experience in that regard was translated or
transmitted to guys who had not yet experienced that. Uh. Absolutely, absolutely.

(07:18):
My rookie year in seventy seven, there was nine guys
that made the team, and which is unusual you know
at that time, but still there was I don't know
how many guys. Uh, well, sixteen guys won four Super Bowls?
I think, is that correct? And uh so there was
a great core and probably their experience, not to mention

(07:39):
their extreme talent, you know, really led us to you know,
win a close one over the Cowboys because they were
pretty good at that time, so they certainly were. Both
those games were two of the most exciting super Bowls
ever played. They were, Um, what do you remember about
first Super Bowl thirteen? Um, and your participation and then
against the Rams in fourteen and Shadina, Well, the first

(08:01):
of all, the my first Super Bowl experience, I have
to tell you that I was a little in all.
We we we come up to the Orange Bowl and
buses as we normally do, and we couldn't really get
off the bus because the people swarmed around us and
there was police on horseback trying to make a path
for us to get in there. And I thought, well,
this is how the Rolling Stones are when they you know,

(08:24):
and uh, and it was. It was quite a game,
and I was more I wasn't a spectator, but I
was more of a special teams player at that time.
And then the following year, for Super Bowl fourteen, John
injured his shoulder. I played the last nine games of
the season, including the first playoff games, and uh, he

(08:44):
got rehabbed, so he started at left tackle against against
the Rams, and then Sam Davis got hurt, and uh,
a real cool thing. And I wasn't really a guard, um,
but he asked the offensive line coach, Roley Dodge, he says,
put ted in there, you know. So I got a
chance to play some guard in in Super Bowl fourteen,

(09:06):
and largely because of John. Obviously, you've made a great
impression to get that endorsement. Yeah, well, well thank you.
But John and I were very close and uh and
I'm certainly looking forward to his induction this evening as well.
You mentioned always wanted to get that national championship, right,

(09:28):
didn't get it was the feeling of when winning a
Super Bowl, regardless of your level of participation either one
of those games. Obviously, more of the second than the first?
Um Did it reach the level of expectation? As kids,
we all dream about hitting a home run the bottom
of the night to win the World Series or catching
a touchdown pass. Did the actual excitement of achieving championships

(09:52):
with the Steelers reach your level or your anticipation of
what that might feel like. I think it did stand
as much as humanly so all I can remember, well,
you know what I wanted in college and didn't achieve that,
and then here we have this opportunity. And I remember
after we won the game, it takes several months to

(10:12):
get the rings right, So I remember praying, you know, Lord,
please don't let me die so I can at least
see it. Let me just give a look at what
at this time probably probably and uh so, but but
as time goes on, you know, and then I well,
as you know, I won two super Bowl rings, or

(10:33):
as a part of two Super Bowl teams. And when
you think back, you think of the relationships, not exactly
specific plays, although you think of some or games or
super Bowl rings, but the guys I played with, we're
just outstanding, great friends and just awesome football players. In

(10:54):
conjunction with that, Ted, you might have ended up in
Dullas or somewhere else from Illinois, but you stayed around
in Pittsburgh afterward for a time. And I'm wondering just
the experience of playing for the Rooney family, this organization,
the Steelers team, and the community of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.

(11:17):
Do you still look back on that and still feel
that they're just it was a perfect storm the way
what Steeler football means to this community. You know, a
perfect storm and just a perfect situation. You couldn't ask
for anything better. I mean, the Steelers are they have
to be the model for the NFL as far as

(11:38):
an organization goes. When you look at the last three
head coaches spanning help me on and uh, and you
look at what other teams do, it's a revolving door
and you wonder why, well it an organization is always
led by the from the top down. It really seems

(11:59):
like it. And you know, Art Senior when I was there,
was just the absolute best, what a great man. Everybody
just loved him, and Dan carried that on in Art today.
So um, yeah, it's just been the perfect situation. Then
talking about the fan base, the Steeler Nation is a

(12:19):
real entity you know, I'm not living in Pittsburgh anymore.
I did for thirty one years total. But no matter
where I go, even in Illinois, there's always Steeler fans
And that's pretty cool and I can relate obviously, and
I know where they're coming from. Steers is very real,
it is, Ted. You're an important part of that legacy.
Thank you so much. It was great to see you,

(12:40):
if my pleasure standing. Thanks for having me