Some of us played with him in Pittsburgh and many played against him but we all knew who Pro Football Hall of Famer Jack Lambert was when he starred for the Steelers in the 1970s.
It has been 50 years since the Steelers’ most productive Draft class ever was selected in 1974. The names include Hall of Famers Swann, Stallworth, and Webster but the near-cult hero in the group was Jack Lambert. He went on to play middle linebacker for 11 seasons in Pittsburgh and was named to the Pro Bowl nine times.
“Jack understood the Steeler way right away,” the legendary Joe Greene recently told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “Some guys come in and that’s something they don’t get. They don’t get the special attitude or character that you need to win. Jack immediately felt like he was right at home in our locker room.”
Lambert, the Steelers second round pick that year, is an Ohio native who played at Kent State. He developed quickly into the classic Steeler during the team’s four Super Bowl-run in the ‘70s.
“Jack fit perfectly with the city of Pittsburgh’s mentality at the time,” says Steelers alum Rocky Bleier. “He was really an extension of the blue-collar workers with the way he played.”
Lambert intimidated younger opponents on occasion with his gap-tooth scowl at the line of scrimmage. Things were not so different in the Steelers locker room for teammates who did not measure up to his intensity.
“Jack brought a leadership to the team that was so much needed,” says Bleier, who also has four Super Bowl rings. “I’ve always thought that one of the most important things in the leadership of a team is peer pressure or someone getting in your face because you screwed up. It takes a special kind of personality to be able to do that. Jack morphed into that guy in our locker room. His world was black & white. There was no gray area.”
It is often discussed whether 20th century NFL figures such as Lombardi, Butkus and Nitschke could succeed in today’s NFL.
“Every team today wishes they had a Jack Lambert,” says his former teammate Mel Blount. “You knew what you got when you dealt with him.”
As the annual get-together starts tonight in Canton with more than 100 returning Hall of Famers, the celebrated stories about ‘Black Jack’ Lambert will resurface. It is part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame tradition. The Steelers and their fans would not have it any other way!
