Pro Football Hall of Famer Mean Joe Greene, the greatest Pittsburgh Steeler of all-time, turns 66 today.

1. Joe Greene was the first draft pick the Pittsburgh Steelers made in the Chuck Noll era. The Steelers had the 4th pick in Round 1 and took Greene, a defensive tackle from North Texas State. The hiring of Chuck Noll and the drafting of Joe Greene would be the starting points of one of the greatest sports dynasties ever. Joe Greene is without question the  greatest Pittsburgh Steeler player ever.

2. Mean Joe Greene would play 13 seasons with the Steelers from 1969-1981. He would make 10 pro bowl teams. In two seasons he was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He would be a central figure in 4 Pittsburgh Steeler Super Bowl victories in the 1970’s. Joe Greene was Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1969. A member of the All-70’s team. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

3. The Mean Joe Greene, Coca-Cola commercial which aired during the 1980 Super Bowl was one of the great commercials ever. It won a Clio Award for best ad of the year. It was the famous “Hey kid, catch” commercial where Greene tosses his jersey to a kid after a game.

4. Mean Joe Greene was regularly double and triple- teamed by teams throughout his career. He was that good. The Steelers an outstanding defense thoughout the 1970’s and it was all centered on #75 Joe Greene. Greene would record 78.5 quarterback sacks in his career. The defensive line of Dwight White, Ernie Holmes, Joe Greene and LC Greenwood was one of the most dominate defensive lines ever. The Steelers defense was called the “Steel Curtain” and Greene was the anchor.

5. After his career Joe Greene was an NFL assistant coach for 16 seasons with Pittsburgh, Miami and Arizona. He was a finalist in 1991 to replace the retired Chuck Noll as head coach. As much as I think of Joe Greene, they made the right choice in Bill Cowher. Greene’s top position as an NFL assistant was defensive coordinator.

6. Joe Greene’s name at birth- Charles Edward Greene. For some reason Mean Chuck Greene..doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Joe Greene in his prime was 6’4″ 275.  His nickname came from the nickname of the North Texas defense the Mean Green.

7. Joe Greene was strong, quick and intense. He wasn’t a choirboy on the field. He was kicked out of a few games. Once he even spit in the face of Chicago Bears madman Dick Butkus and challenged him to a fight. As intense as he was on the field off the field he seemed to be a pretty mellow guy. When I was 12 I met him and got his autograph. He was very friendly. Didn’t challange me to a fight or anything! I remember Mean Joe getting kicked out of a playoff game against Denver for punching a guard in the groin.

8. Greene was known for the ‘stunt 4-3 defense’ in which he would line up at an angle between the center and the guard and would go into the line taking on 2-3 blockers. It limited the number of sacks he would get but it would open up other defensive players to get the tackles.

9. Joe Greene knew when to retire. It was clear in the 1981 season that he had slowed down. I remember the news conference in which he retired. It was sad to see him go but you knew it was time for him to retire. Before he turned to coaching he did NBC NFL coverage for a year. He wasn’t  all that great at that. Very few former players are.

10. It was Joe Greene who came up with the phrase “One For The Thumb”- they had 4 Super Bowl rings, they were looking at one more. It would be years before they finally got the 5th one. The “One For The Thumb” was for 1981. By that time the great Steeler team was old and slowing down. Joe Greene did get two more rings, he was part of the Steelers upper management when they won Super Bowls 5 and 6 recently. The great Joe Greene was named the #13 greatest player in NFL history by nfl.com.