I am a Japanese and sending this from Japan. For me, #58 was the star in 70's. We had such a poor TV program to watch NFL in 70's in Japan. Now, I am so glad to be able to watch many memorial and historical games on UA-cam and others. I can recall how super #58 was!!! Thank you, Mr. Lambert!!
You are telling me that the country where most of the television tubes came from Japan. That you didn't get to see the game or see it well? Sorry buddy.......it was awesome! Jack didn't just rally his team. He rallied many teenagers like myself back in the days.
"If I could start my life all over again, I'd be a professional football player....And you damn well better believe I'd be a Pittsburgh Steeler." - Jack Lambert, Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at Canton, Ohio 1990
Truly, the greatest Steelers linebacker ever. This man is the reason I fell in love with Steelers football back in 1974 and still love the Steelers to this day. Of all the sports memorabilia that I have, my most cherished possession is the shirt my parents bought me when I was seven years old in 1975. I still have it and I Will only part with it when I pass it on to my Steelers loving son when I die.
Something you might now know about the people that follow the Steelers is that there is a Steeler Club in every city I have lived in across the US. From Myrtle Beach, SC to Nome, Alaska with it's population of 2000 residents .....there were Steelers that formed a posey to watch the game. Jack Lambert was our John Wayne to the American West.
Lambert arrived in Pittsburgh the day after he was drafted and began watching game films. He never stopped. Opposing players swore Lambert must have been in the huddle. Lambert was such an intense student of the game, it was said of him, "His first step was always in the right direction." In addition to his intelligence, his wingspan, and his height, Lambert had extraordinary speed. Many acclaimed him as one of the two or three fastest men on the team. Oh, and his lateral pursuit was unparallelled.
@tomodonovan Nothing... They would do nothing. In the 49ers vs Ravens SB, the refs tried to break up a scuffle and one of the Ravens DBs shoved an official out of his way and continued to push and shove, as that official tried to get in between the players. They didn't even penalize that player, let alone DQ him. That WAS the last live NFL game that I have watched, going on ten plus years now.
Thank you so much for the memories! Im 61 now..and this brought back a time of grid iron football... watching these amazing football games with my grandfather...the Pittsburgh Steelers were my favorite team and i was a huge fan of Jack Lambert's...and the steel curtain...what an amazing time that was.. again, thank you!
Joe Greene was being interviewed in SI. He said, he did not know why they called him Mean Joe Greene, he said Jack Lambert was so mean he even hated himself.
Steel curtain defense is what legends are made of. None shown brighter than Lambert. I remember always seeking 58 out before the snap because you knew something intense and interesting could happen at any second. In a sense like Polamalu that you got those jaw dropping WOW moments. I'll forever be a die hard Steeler fan through thick and thin because what began in the early 70s and stil lives on..
A story told to me from one of the ball boys of the 70s team. 4th quarter against the oilers ..Lambert sitting on his helmet on the sidelines. He yells out to the ball boy "hey Mike!.. there's a bottle of Jack Daniels in my locker.. pour it in a cup..bring it to me!" No joke
In 2005 I Met him in Butler PA. At a signing . Got my regulation #58 throwback jersey autographed . And got a handshake. He wasn't really overly friendly. And diddnt say much. But I sure Was in awe of being in the presence of my childhood hero.
I have been fortunate to watch the NFL since the 1971. I’ve seen a lot of great teams, players and coaches. I have read the history of the game and I immensely appreciate the players from all the different decades and eras. I have put together my all-time 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams. I’ve watched great linebackers from almost every NFL team. The linebacker position was very difficult to choose three players so I ended up going with a 3-4 alignment for my first team. I have (left to right) Ham, Lambert, Ray Lewis and Lawrence Taylor. As I said the position is tough to choose but these four stood out for a variety of reasons. Lambert was just a special talent that ignited the Steelers and put them over the top. They already had Hall of Fame talent at a lot of positions on defense but he was able to raise his playing level to help his team win 13 playoff games in a six year span from ‘74 to’79 and 4 SB’s in 6 years. The epitome of a hard nosed player and a legend in the blue collar city of Pittsburgh, PA.
Scouts: Too small to play middle linebacker. 4 superbowls and hall of fame player later he changed that position. Thanks for remembering Jack Lambert. Every team that achieves greatness has a period in time that people remember. The Steel Curtain era is just such a time.
I was 10 years old in 1970. Born in PA. I was a big Steelers fan! I had the privilege to watch this great player and his team mates ham,Blount , Greene , shell , Webster , swan , stallworth,Bradshaw etc.. and all the others fom dominate the NFL! It was the greatest decade to be a Steelers fan . I still bleed black and gold and mywife has become a big fan.
I remember the first game he played in against the Oilers during Earl Campbell's Rookie Season. The talk was no one could tackle Earl one on one. Lambert said he could. The first time they encountered each other, Campbell put his head down and mowed right over Lambert and gained seven yards causing Lambert to leave the field. He stood on the sidelines vowing it would never happen again and it didn't. The rest of that game and all the future games against the Oilers, Lambert stopped Campbell. Not taking nothing away from Campbell, it was just Lambert was that determined to never let it happen again.
Jack Lambert you there? I’ll never forget how Jack paid a visit to one of my friends that had Lukemia- I don’t know how he found out but his visit met so much at the time … The story had happy ending… You see Jack wasn’t just a legendary Line backer- For us he was also a legendary Human being!!! Pittsburgh Fans love this guy more than he will ever know! YOUR THE Greatest!!
Loved this scary monster. Hard to pick a "favorite" Steeler of those days because they all were so damned good. But Lambert just seemed able to get things started when they began to languish. Like a sparkplug to cold engine. Let's say Number 58 is on my Top Ten Steelers List.
I waited in line for almost 8 hours to meet jack lambert in 1990, when he was being inducted to the HOF. I was 13. He was my hero. Even as a little kid, my dad said I would put my finger on jack on the TV screen and follow him. I played LB for a h.s. team ranked 15th in the country. We're a pittsburgh team and everyone wanted to wear that 58. When I finally got my chance to speak to my hero, who taught me you can be one man on one side of the chalk and a maniac on the other, I told him- jack, you need to come back. The defense needs you. He bowed his head, put down the sharpie, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Kid, the spirit is willing, but the body is not." That man gave me the thrill of a lifetime and waited till every person in that mall and outside of it got an autograph. GOAT!
My favorite Lambert story is SB X when he threw Cliff Harris to the ground and changed the momentum of the game. My second favorite story comes from an article I read about the 1974 draft in which the Steelers drafted 4 future Hall of Famers. The Steelers went to Kent State to see Gerald Tinker a wide receiver who played in the NFL. It had rained the days before their arrival and when they went to see Kent State's practice they did not have a dedicated practice facility. The coach didn't want to tear up the game field so they practice in a GRAVEL PARKING LOT. As the scouts watched the practice they noticed this guy who was in on every tackle and got up and picked the gravel out of knees and elbows and went back to the huddle. They knew they found their middle linebacker - Jack Lambert!
This is as extensive a story as you can get. Great job! Why the heck hasn’t NFL Network produced a documentary on Lambert and Jack Ham (The Two Jacks) for their A Football Life series yet? Unforgivable!
@@yezzir8929 No, Only Butkus was even close to intimidating the way Lambert could. Singletary was good and the other player you mentioned not even close.
My favorite player of all time watched him growing up and had a chance to meet him at Kent State nice guy off the field but on the field he was a beast
My little brother & I bled Black & Gold back in the '70s! What a great time! My Dad (football coach) was/is a big old school Packers fan (via Lombardi). He was no fan of the Steelers BUT would watch Steeler games with us & often commented about Lambert: "Now that's a tough nose football player, reckless abandon, always at the ball". If you know my Dad, that's a seldom earned compliment! Jack has always been an inspiration & always will be!
I seen him play at Kent State and with Steelers that what a football player is never see any one like. TJ Watts as his way of playing but nothing like the great Jack Lambert.
Loved watching him play! He was probably the reason I enjoyed watching linebacker position with his intensity and intelligence. Glad he played in the era that he did because today he wouldn’t have a paycheck left after the league got done finding him for destroying quarterbacks!😂😂😂
The American dream: in January of 1974 Jack Lambert is sitting in his dorm room watching superbowl 8 the dolphins vs the Vikings. One year later in January 1975 the Steelers are in Super Bowl 9 vs the Vikings and Jack is the starting MLB… that’s awesome.
I grew up about two miles from Kent State stadium on Summit Road, where the Browns used to have their training camp, and Jack went to school. Many hot late summer afternoons we'd ride our bikes over there and watch the Browns practice. Then I'd ride back home and get in my uniform for pee wee football practice. My pee wee team, the Rams, our color's were orange, brown, and white. I don't know who the Browns drafted the year Lambert came out but man he would have looked good in a Browns uniform. The Stealers, and Ichigan, have always had a knack for getting Ohio boy's
you know somebody’s a bad ass when they have to change the rules of the game because of them. Jack Lambert was one of those guys. I was lucky to see it all happen as I lived near Pittsburgh and got to see all the games on TV or in person at three Rivers Stadium as the Steelers were winning their four Super Bowls then. Every position on those teams were manned by a star in their own right. And that was both offensively and defensively. It was something to see believe me and I got to see it all happen in real time. Lambert started the steel curtain and also Smash Mouth football got started in Pittsburgh when he got there.
I met Jack in the early 1990's at the Harmarville Bowling alley for a children's birthday party. He brought his boys and I brought my two. I noticed him sitting off by himself not wanting to be seen by anyone. After the party I reluctantly went and introduced myself and my boys who were in obvious awe of the man. He was very quiet, respectful and spoke to each of us. However it was clear he did not want to be seen by others so we quickly made an exit. He will always be remembered as a class act on and off the field.
I grew up in Pittsburgh during the 60s and 70s and can tell you there was an electricity in this town that was infectious. You could do a video for Ernie Holmes, Joe Green, LC, Greenwood and Dwight white, in fact you could do a video for the entire team as an eyewitness to their greatness, you are spot on. Thank you.
As a die hard browns fan jack was someone I had a lot of respect for He was tough. The only one we had was turkey Jones who picked up Tarry Bradshaw and threw him down on his neck putting him out of the game. Tarry who I always liked and still do still talks about it. Back when the browns and steelers were a real hard hitting fighting rivalry
here is a paraphrase of a Lambert line. annoyed by Elway's previous refusal to be drafted by the Balitimore Colts, Lambert said "for 15 yards, I could end his career"
Proud to be a charter member of the original "Lambert's Lunatics". This man and that TEAM gave us such inspiration during a decade of change in our hometown. For awile (besides the girls, of course)... the Steelers were all that really mattered. Hardly comparable to today's game - those days, though long gone, are still full of memories worth revisiting. What great times... will always cherish the experience.
In retirement Jack Splat, another nickname he had, worked as a PA Game Warden. Many a story of times hunters just ran in to him out in the woods of PA. Imagine that!!!!
I encountered Deputy Game Warden Jack Lambert near Indiana, Pa in the late 80's. He field checked our shotguns to confirm we were hunting legally, checked our licenses & ID and only talked briefly. He wanted to become a Game Warden after retirement from football. He was a very impressive individual to encounter. He was very professional, yet he still could go bear hunting with a switchblade.
I was friends with Mike Webster in the late 70s, the nicest and strongest man you could ever know. We were the same age. It still upsets me how my friend's life ended. I was also friends with Jack Lambert. I have a lot of crazy stories to tell about Jack and one about a mid-season practice incident between Jack and Mike. I knew LC Greenwood, he had to be 7 feet tall, the tallest person I've ever met, and I'm 6'2. I took many photos of Joe Greene in the 70s but didn't get to know him until the '80s when he was defensive coach for the Dolphins. I was also friends with Steve Courson in the late 70s, another tragic death. Ernie Stautner lived 3 houses away from my parents. Roy Gerralla lived below my girlfriend's apartment, he helped me carry her into her apartment a few times when she got drunk. I was friends with "Upper Saint Clair Clair". She really lived in Mt Lebanon but that is what everyone called her. She had a birthday party and the Star at the party was Lynn Swan. There was also this quarterback from Pitt named Dan Marino. That is where they met and they have been married ever since. Franco Harris, The Steelers, and Three Rivers Stadium were customers of mine when I worked for IBM 1975 to 1980. I'm a SAG Actor and I've done commercials with Terry Bradshaw, Payton Manning, John Elway, and a few other NFL Quarterbacks. These guys don't look very tall when you watch TV and they are standing next to 6'6" offensive and defensive linemen. But they are all over 6'3". BTW I hate to break it to everyone but Joe Green was not that strong! Webster, Courson, and Kolb worked out at my friend's Gym. I photographed the Steelers pre-season and during the season inside 3 Rivers. If Webster, Courson, and Kolb were pressing 450 lbs, they would take off 200 lbs for Greene. Chuck Knoll would look the other way, I have photos to prove it! That is why I am still a Steeler fan, even after moving to Ft Lauderdale 44 years ago!
I told my 4 boys that are Steeler fans ( they better be or my mom could be screaming ) That to know why the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the Greatest Football Teams, you must know the players who made them Great, like the Steel Curtain Defense and Offense, I’m 69 and I can name every player from the 70’s Super bowls HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO ! 6 !
Part of Lamberts success was the Steelers use of defensive linemen to neutralize the offensive linemen allowing Lambert to take on running backs coming through a gap.
Jack Lambert was a teammate of former Alabama Crimson Tide Head Coach, Nick Saban when they played together at Kent State. Mean Joe Green allegedly once said that Jack Lambert was so mean that he hated himself. I love his nickname, Count Dracula In Cleats. Its hard to believe that it has been 50 years and 51 seasons since the 1974-75 NFL season when The Pittsburgh Steelers and their rookie middle linebacker, Jack Lambert won the first of their four Super Bowl victories in the 1970s.
Jack is now a retired game warden just outside of Wothington PA. I saw him once coming out of a grocery store just outside of Kittanning on a superbowl sunday. He hunted around Rural Valley as no one bothered him there.
I met lambert at an event where he and other steelers were at a bar/restaurant tending bar..in the men's room I met lambert sneaking a smoke. A giddy fan came up to him with a pittsburgh maulers shirt on. Needless to say mr.maulers shirt met Jack but it was not a friendly mr lambert..it was priceless to see the guys face when lambert turned on him
Lambert hit Earl Campbell so hard every time, it was a wonder that neither broke. Lambert turned Bo Jacksons hip pointer, into a hip replacement on an open field tackle. I was sad about Jacksons hip, but as a fan in the moment, I loved how hard that hit was.
My favorite images of him are the slow motion Dracula scowl in the snow at Three Rivers. Also the one where he tackles a Brownie in Cleveland and uses the guys head to help him get up then points his finger in his face. 😂
Lambert was just a mean son of a bitch! And thats what we loved about him.... The best middle linebacker the league has ever seen....and he has the gold jacket to prove it! "JACK SPLAT"
Watching this part of the video I remember him, his style of playing defensive tackle wasn't just about the sport of the game, his style of play was too intimate you 1st, 2nd was to hurt you so bad, that you wouldn't forget you, and to avoid you at all costs, when he picked you up, then he would slam you down, there was a reason, like watching any hard hitting sport, I think it's because of his very early days, growing up in a small place, it teaches you very early in life, in order to survive, you have to 1st out think them,then 2nd you have to figure out there weakness, 3rd you have to have the ability to outlast them in the pursuit of greatness, which should be part of your legacy, then you can go home and make an impact on your town, another ward's put your town, on the map, if that means anything to someone reading my comments, as I have done my whole life, it's not about your family, it's actually about you, to be not the norm, but the your individual talents, to be different. That's how you will be noticed, very fast, by upper management as a asset to the company or establishment.
I am a Japanese and sending this from Japan. For me, #58 was the star in 70's. We had such a poor TV program to watch NFL in 70's in Japan. Now, I am so glad to be able to watch many memorial and historical games on UA-cam and others. I can recall how super #58 was!!! Thank you, Mr. Lambert!!
You are telling me that the country where most of the television tubes came from Japan. That you didn't get to see the game or see it well? Sorry buddy.......it was awesome! Jack didn't just rally his team. He rallied many teenagers like myself back in the days.
👴🏻🥃 PEE WEE HERMAN WAS A BETTER PLAYER.
Check out Lawrence Taylor giants ❤
@@Rj-dq1qeIn the Early 70'S Most Televisions 📺 were made in the United States. RCA Channel Master Emerson Sylvania.
I only own 1 jersey. Number 58, Lambert. And I will be buried in it.
I remember attending his football camp in the early 80s. I will never forget meeting him as a 10 year kid. That was the greatest week of my life.
My favorite Steelers linebacker EVER!!!...
Mine as well
Absolutely.
Yours and millions more😂😂😂😂
I still have his jersey from the 70's!
@@Strydr8105 Plenty of Harrison, Ham, Watt, Greene, and Lloyd guys out there too!
As a Pittsburgher, I consider myself fortunate to watch his entire career.
He’s the ultimate football player.
"If I could start my life all over again, I'd be a professional football player....And you damn well better believe I'd be a Pittsburgh Steeler." - Jack Lambert, Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at Canton, Ohio 1990
👊
Absolutely brother
Steelers baby
Jack Lambert was, is and always will be my favourite player EVER!!
The best ending to a HOF induction ever.
Truly, the greatest Steelers linebacker ever. This man is the reason I fell in love with Steelers football back in 1974 and still love the Steelers to this day. Of all the sports memorabilia that I have, my most cherished possession is the shirt my parents bought me when I was seven years old in 1975. I still have it and I
Will only part with it when I pass it on to my Steelers loving son when I die.
Something you might now know about the people that follow the Steelers is that there is a Steeler Club in every city I have lived in across the US. From Myrtle Beach, SC to Nome, Alaska with it's population of 2000 residents .....there were Steelers that formed a posey to watch the game. Jack Lambert was our John Wayne to the American West.
Lambert arrived in Pittsburgh the day after he was drafted and began watching game films. He never stopped. Opposing players swore Lambert must have been in the huddle. Lambert was such an intense student of the game, it was said of him, "His first step was always in the right direction." In addition to his intelligence, his wingspan, and his height, Lambert had extraordinary speed. Many acclaimed him as one of the two or three fastest men on the team. Oh, and his lateral pursuit was unparallelled.
He was one of my favorites back then, when football was football. We had so many great players in the 70's!
Jack has a reputation as being a nice guy when you meet him in person, one of football's greatest ever players at any position.
I was always amazed by how he could hit that hard with those spindly legs.
He pounded some of the biggest Backs in the league... often.
My favorite Jack Lambert moment when he threw Cliff Harris on the ground in the Super Bowl awesome
Nobody came to Cliff's defense! They just got him away from Lambert😂
And Wagged his finger in his Face! 👍
It makes you wonder what the refs would do in today's Super Bowl.
Who gets the penalty flag. Who gets tossed from the game.
Agreed. One of the coolest things I've ever seen.
@tomodonovan
Nothing...
They would do nothing.
In the 49ers vs Ravens SB, the refs tried to break up a scuffle and one of the Ravens DBs shoved an official out of his way and continued to push and shove, as that official tried to get in between the players.
They didn't even penalize that player, let alone DQ him.
That WAS the last live NFL game that I have watched, going on ten plus years now.
Thank you so much for the memories! Im 61 now..and this brought back a time of grid iron football... watching these amazing football games with my grandfather...the Pittsburgh Steelers were my favorite team and i was a huge fan of Jack Lambert's...and the steel curtain...what an amazing time that was.. again, thank you!
that was my favourite time, him and jack ham were the best
Joe Greene was being interviewed in SI. He said, he did not know why they called him Mean Joe Greene, he said Jack Lambert was so mean he even hated himself.
Steel curtain defense is what legends are made of. None shown brighter than Lambert. I remember always seeking 58 out before the snap because you knew something intense and interesting could happen at any second. In a sense like Polamalu that you got those jaw dropping WOW moments. I'll forever be a die hard Steeler fan through thick and thin because what began in the early 70s and stil lives on..
A story told to me from one of the ball boys of the 70s team. 4th quarter against the oilers ..Lambert sitting on his helmet on the sidelines. He yells out to the ball boy "hey Mike!.. there's a bottle of Jack Daniels in my locker.. pour it in a cup..bring it to me!" No joke
Every kid playing football in the 70's wanted to be Jack Lambert !
I met Jack in a bar in MT Lebanon, we drank 4 beers together. I can only say he is one bad as MAN!
Jack Lambert is my favorite Steeler of all time. I have several framed pictures of him hanging on the wall in my STEELER room in my home in Florida.
In 2005 I Met him in Butler PA. At a signing . Got my regulation #58 throwback jersey autographed . And got a handshake. He wasn't really overly friendly. And diddnt say much. But I sure Was in awe of being in the presence of my childhood hero.
He had it heart and intelligence coupled with physical demeanor
My all-time favorite Steeler! Watching the Steelers on defense was just as exciting as watching any high powered offense
I have been fortunate to watch the NFL since the 1971. I’ve seen a lot of great teams, players and coaches. I have read the history of the game and I immensely appreciate the players from all the different decades and eras. I have put together my all-time 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams. I’ve watched great linebackers from almost every NFL team. The linebacker position was very difficult to choose three players so I ended up going with a 3-4 alignment for my first team. I have (left to right) Ham, Lambert, Ray Lewis and Lawrence Taylor.
As I said the position is tough to choose but these four stood out for a variety of reasons. Lambert was just a special talent that ignited the Steelers and put them over the top. They already had Hall of Fame talent at a lot of positions on defense but he was able to raise his playing level to help his team win 13 playoff games in a six year span from ‘74 to’79 and 4 SB’s in 6 years. The epitome of a hard nosed player and a legend in the blue collar city of Pittsburgh, PA.
Scouts: Too small to play middle linebacker. 4 superbowls and hall of fame player later he changed that position. Thanks for remembering Jack Lambert. Every team that achieves greatness has a period in time that people remember. The Steel Curtain era is just such a time.
I was 10 years old in 1970. Born in PA. I was a big Steelers fan! I had the privilege to watch this great player and his team mates ham,Blount , Greene , shell , Webster , swan , stallworth,Bradshaw etc.. and all the others fom dominate the NFL! It was the greatest decade to be a Steelers fan . I still bleed black and gold and mywife has become a big fan.
How about the detailed videos on each these good players?? You can give a few favourite names...
I remember the first game he played in against the Oilers during Earl Campbell's Rookie Season. The talk was no one could tackle Earl one on one. Lambert said he could. The first time they encountered each other, Campbell put his head down and mowed right over Lambert and gained seven yards causing Lambert to leave the field. He stood on the sidelines vowing it would never happen again and it didn't. The rest of that game and all the future games against the Oilers, Lambert stopped Campbell. Not taking nothing away from Campbell, it was just Lambert was that determined to never let it happen again.
One of the few players I remember being able to tackle Campbell one on one in the open field.
@@PonderingOne Donnie Shell put Campbell out of a game with cracked ribs.
He was a beast !! Loved him !!
My favorite Steeler, PERIOD!!!! Have a tattoo of him on my right arm.
Jack Lambert you there? I’ll never forget how Jack paid a visit to one of my friends that had Lukemia- I don’t know how he found out but his visit met so much at the time …
The story had happy ending… You see Jack wasn’t just a legendary Line backer- For us he was also a legendary Human being!!! Pittsburgh Fans love this guy more than he will ever know! YOUR THE Greatest!!
Loved this scary monster. Hard to pick a "favorite" Steeler of those days because they all were so damned good. But Lambert just seemed able to get things started when they began to languish. Like a sparkplug to cold engine. Let's say Number 58 is on my Top Ten Steelers List.
Fun fact, Jack Lambert and Nick Saban were college football teammates.
I waited in line for almost 8 hours to meet jack lambert in 1990, when he was being inducted to the HOF. I was 13. He was my hero. Even as a little kid, my dad said I would put my finger on jack on the TV screen and follow him. I played LB for a h.s. team ranked 15th in the country. We're a pittsburgh team and everyone wanted to wear that 58. When I finally got my chance to speak to my hero, who taught me you can be one man on one side of the chalk and a maniac on the other, I told him- jack, you need to come back. The defense needs you. He bowed his head, put down the sharpie, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Kid, the spirit is willing, but the body is not." That man gave me the thrill of a lifetime and waited till every person in that mall and outside of it got an autograph. GOAT!
Jack was definitely an influence on me in sports, etc. He was so inspiring to watch.
👍👍
My favorite Lambert story is SB X when he threw Cliff Harris to the ground and changed the momentum of the game. My second favorite story comes from an article I read about the 1974 draft in which the Steelers drafted 4 future Hall of Famers. The Steelers went to Kent State to see Gerald Tinker a wide receiver who played in the NFL. It had rained the days before their arrival and when they went to see Kent State's practice they did not have a dedicated practice facility. The coach didn't want to tear up the game field so they practice in a GRAVEL PARKING LOT. As the scouts watched the practice they noticed this guy who was in on every tackle and got up and picked the gravel out of knees and elbows and went back to the huddle. They knew they found their middle linebacker - Jack Lambert!
This is as extensive a story as you can get. Great job! Why the heck hasn’t NFL Network produced a documentary on Lambert and Jack Ham (The Two Jacks) for their A Football Life series yet? Unforgivable!
One of the TOP 3 MLB'S to ever play in the NFL.
You could argue Lewis, Singletary, and Butkus over him but I think that's about it
@@yezzir8929 No, Only Butkus was even close to intimidating the way Lambert could. Singletary was good and the other player you mentioned not even close.
My favorite player of all time watched him growing up and had a chance to meet him at Kent State nice guy off the field but on the field he was a beast
His interception in sb 14 saved the game pretty much was one of my favorite Jack Lambert moments
My fav linebacker
Lambert was the best ever
I remember him in a Browns game. He body slammed the guy out of bounds on this side of the TV sidelines. He is my favorite Steeler of all time.
My little brother & I bled Black & Gold back in the '70s! What a great time! My Dad (football coach) was/is a big old school Packers fan (via Lombardi). He was no fan of the Steelers BUT would watch Steeler games with us & often commented about Lambert: "Now that's a tough nose football player, reckless abandon, always at the ball". If you know my Dad, that's a seldom earned compliment! Jack has always been an inspiration & always will be!
I seen him play at Kent State and with Steelers that what a football player is never see any one like. TJ Watts as his way of playing but nothing like the great Jack Lambert.
Loved watching him play! He was probably the reason I enjoyed watching linebacker position with his intensity and intelligence. Glad he played in the era that he did because today he wouldn’t have a paycheck left after the league got done finding him for destroying quarterbacks!😂😂😂
The American dream: in January of 1974 Jack Lambert is sitting in his dorm room watching superbowl 8 the dolphins vs the Vikings. One year later in January 1975 the Steelers are in Super Bowl 9 vs the Vikings and Jack is the starting MLB… that’s awesome.
I would do anything to meet this great man. 🇺🇸
He's kept a very low profile for decades now. Rarely heard from or seen. Mysterious almost.
I’ve been watching NFL Films since the 70’s and I’ve never seen some of the footage you have. Or the rare photos. Wow!
I grew up about two miles from Kent State stadium on Summit Road, where the Browns used to have their training camp, and Jack went to school. Many hot late summer afternoons we'd ride our bikes over there and watch the Browns practice. Then I'd ride back home and get in my uniform for pee wee football practice. My pee wee team, the Rams, our color's were orange, brown, and white. I don't know who the Browns drafted the year Lambert came out but man he would have looked good in a Browns uniform. The Stealers, and Ichigan, have always had a knack for getting Ohio boy's
Highly intelligent and a fundamentally sound player. My all time favorite player
When football was football!
I see aot of Lambert in Payton Wilson watch him hes gonna be great 😮
Jack Lambert was, is and always will be my favourite player EVER!!
you know somebody’s a bad ass when they have to change the rules of the game because of them. Jack Lambert was one of those guys. I was lucky to see it all happen as I lived near Pittsburgh and got to see all the games on TV or in person at three Rivers Stadium as the Steelers were winning their four Super Bowls then. Every position on those teams were manned by a star in their own right. And that was both offensively and defensively. It was something to see believe me and I got to see it all happen in real time. Lambert started the steel curtain and also Smash Mouth football got started in Pittsburgh when he got there.
As a Steelers fan for nearly 50 years Lambert is one of my favorite players ever
He had Andy Russell and Jack Ham next to him for 2 years and Ham for another 6. They were no slouch's as line backers.
100% Natural muscle...no roids for Jack
I met Jack in the early 1990's at the Harmarville Bowling alley for a children's birthday party. He brought his boys and I brought my two. I noticed him sitting off by himself not wanting to be seen by anyone. After the party I reluctantly went and introduced myself and my boys who were in obvious awe of the man. He was very quiet, respectful and spoke to each of us. However it was clear he did not want to be seen by others so we quickly made an exit. He will always be remembered as a class act on and off the field.
I grew up in Pittsburgh during the 60s and 70s and can tell you there was an electricity in this town that was infectious. You could do a video for Ernie Holmes, Joe Green, LC, Greenwood and Dwight white, in fact you could do a video for the entire team as an eyewitness to their greatness, you are spot on. Thank you.
Just love Lambert. He was intimidating he always looked like he was going 2 have 2 4 dinner.
Lambert was the best linebacker ever.
I still have a Lambert Jersey from his HOF induction.
As a die hard browns fan jack was someone I had a lot of respect for
He was tough. The only one we had was turkey Jones who picked up Tarry Bradshaw and threw him down on his neck putting him out of the game. Tarry who I always liked and still do still talks about it. Back when the browns and steelers were a real hard hitting fighting rivalry
here is a paraphrase of a Lambert line.
annoyed by Elway's previous refusal to be drafted by the Balitimore Colts, Lambert said "for 15 yards, I could end his career"
Proud to be a charter member of the original "Lambert's Lunatics". This man and that TEAM gave us such inspiration during a decade of change in our hometown. For awile (besides the girls, of course)... the Steelers were all that really mattered. Hardly comparable to today's game - those days, though long gone, are still full of memories worth revisiting. What great times... will always cherish the experience.
In retirement Jack Splat, another nickname he had, worked as a PA Game Warden. Many a story of times hunters just ran in to him out in the woods of PA. Imagine that!!!!
I encountered Deputy Game Warden Jack Lambert near Indiana, Pa in the late 80's. He field checked our shotguns to confirm we were hunting legally, checked our licenses & ID and only talked briefly. He wanted to become a Game Warden after retirement from football. He was a very impressive individual to encounter. He was very professional, yet he still could go bear hunting with a switchblade.
@pauljw7697 But don't forget about his Raging Rapids Kennywood ad with Myron Cope in the mid 80's!!
@@joeheid2776 I thought they were riding the Log Jammer. Anyways, funny as hell.
My favorite STEELER of all time also
Even before the ball was snapped, his motor was revving. His legs never stopped moving. The offense knew it was gonna be a long, hard day.
Every Steelers player should watch this video...
“Put on a dress”. You gotta love him!
Definition of a Steeler.
❤he was tough man
Lambert was great, but don't forget Green, Greenwood, Holmes, White, Ham, Russell, Blount, Thomas, Wagner and Edwards.
I was friends with Mike Webster in the late 70s, the nicest and strongest man you could ever know. We were the same age. It still upsets me how my friend's life ended. I was also friends with Jack Lambert. I have a lot of crazy stories to tell about Jack and one about a mid-season practice incident between Jack and Mike. I knew LC Greenwood, he had to be 7 feet tall, the tallest person I've ever met, and I'm 6'2. I took many photos of Joe Greene in the 70s but didn't get to know him until the '80s when he was defensive coach for the Dolphins. I was also friends with Steve Courson in the late 70s, another tragic death. Ernie Stautner lived 3 houses away from my parents. Roy Gerralla lived below my girlfriend's apartment, he helped me carry her into her apartment a few times when she got drunk. I was friends with "Upper Saint Clair Clair". She really lived in Mt Lebanon but that is what everyone called her. She had a birthday party and the Star at the party was Lynn Swan. There was also this quarterback from Pitt named Dan Marino. That is where they met and they have been married ever since. Franco Harris, The Steelers, and Three Rivers Stadium were customers of mine when I worked for IBM 1975 to 1980. I'm a SAG Actor and I've done commercials with Terry Bradshaw, Payton Manning, John Elway, and a few other NFL Quarterbacks. These guys don't look very tall when you watch TV and they are standing next to 6'6" offensive and defensive linemen. But they are all over 6'3". BTW I hate to break it to everyone but Joe Green was not that strong! Webster, Courson, and Kolb worked out at my friend's Gym. I photographed the Steelers pre-season and during the season inside 3 Rivers. If Webster, Courson, and Kolb were pressing 450 lbs, they would take off 200 lbs for Greene. Chuck Knoll would look the other way, I have photos to prove it! That is why I am still a Steeler fan, even after moving to Ft Lauderdale 44 years ago!
Lambert was awesome, will go down as the greatest Steeler of all time. He was one very tough player who punished those he hit hard.
Love the man
That interception against Rams. In the the superbowl, at the end. When he stoled their dreams.
I got my 58 Jersey! Great video!
I followed the Steelers since 1960's.Of all the Steelers whoever played Jack Lambert is my all time favorite followed by Hines Ward and now TJ Watt
Awesome player total package
Monsters check their closets and under their beds for Jack Lambert.
Good Documentary. Well Done.
Lambert and Harris were my favorite players end of story.
I told my 4 boys that are Steeler fans ( they better be or my mom could be screaming )
That to know why the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the Greatest Football Teams, you must know the players who made them Great, like the Steel Curtain Defense and Offense, I’m 69 and I can name every player from the 70’s Super bowls
HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO ! 6 !
Hey, Thanks.
You can recommend a few names that should be covered in the videos..
Part of Lamberts success was the Steelers use of defensive linemen to neutralize the offensive linemen allowing Lambert to take on running backs coming through a gap.
Unfortunately can't play like that anymore. That's when the game was totally different
Dude was a beast. And Greg Lloyd was the meanest LB in history?
Jack Lambert was a teammate of former Alabama Crimson Tide Head Coach, Nick Saban when they played together at Kent State. Mean Joe Green allegedly once said that Jack Lambert was so mean that he hated himself. I love his nickname, Count Dracula In Cleats. Its hard to believe that it has been 50 years and 51 seasons since the 1974-75 NFL season when The Pittsburgh Steelers and their rookie middle linebacker, Jack Lambert won the first of their four Super Bowl victories in the 1970s.
Jack is now a retired game warden just outside of Wothington PA. I saw him once coming out of a grocery store just outside of Kittanning on a superbowl sunday. He hunted around Rural Valley as no one bothered him there.
Still my favorite player of all time!
The reason I am a Steeler fan
I met lambert at an event where he and other steelers were at a bar/restaurant tending bar..in the men's room I met lambert sneaking a smoke. A giddy fan came up to him with a pittsburgh maulers shirt on. Needless to say mr.maulers shirt met Jack but it was not a friendly mr lambert..it was priceless to see the guys face when lambert turned on him
Lambert hit Earl Campbell so hard every time, it was a wonder that neither broke. Lambert turned Bo Jacksons hip pointer, into a hip replacement on an open field tackle. I was sad about Jacksons hip, but as a fan in the moment, I loved how hard that hit was.
THE GREATEST FOOTBALL PLAYER IN HISTORY !!!!
Great video! Now please do a video on Lynn Swann and John Stallworth! Thanks 🙏!
Noted 🙏
@ Keep in mind; Lynn Swann and John Stallworth hatted each other during their rookie season!
My favorite images of him are the slow motion Dracula scowl in the snow at Three Rivers. Also the one where he tackles a Brownie in Cleveland and uses the guys head to help him get up then points his finger in his face. 😂
My favorite Lambert moment was when he knocked out Robert New house and gave him the finger in the Superbowl against Da Dallas Cowboys !
Roy "Jurr ella" Gerela
Lambert was just a mean son of a bitch! And thats what we loved about him.... The best middle linebacker the league has ever seen....and he has the gold jacket to prove it!
"JACK SPLAT"
I believe he was given that name by radio sportscaster Myron Cope, who also invented the Terrible Towel!
Mine would be from Myron Cope when he recalld tellk Jack "hey Jack i seen wht you did kicking that guy (a clevelad brown) in his backside.
Watching this part of the video I remember him, his style of playing defensive tackle wasn't just about the sport of the game, his style of play was too intimate you 1st, 2nd was to hurt you so bad, that you wouldn't forget you, and to avoid you at all costs, when he picked you up, then he would slam you down, there was a reason, like watching any hard hitting sport, I think it's because of his very early days, growing up in a small place, it teaches you very early in life, in order to survive, you have to 1st out think them,then 2nd you have to figure out there weakness, 3rd you have to have the ability to outlast them in the pursuit of greatness, which should be part of your legacy, then you can go home and make an impact on your town, another ward's put your town, on the map, if that means anything to someone reading my comments, as I have done my whole life, it's not about your family, it's actually about you, to be not the norm, but the your individual talents, to be different. That's how you will be noticed, very fast, by upper management as a asset to the company or establishment.