Noll, "Chuck" (Charles H.)
Football
b. Jan. 5, 1932, Cleveland, OH
After captaining the University of Dayton football team in 1952, Noll joined the NFL's Cleveland Browns. Originally a linebacker with the Browns, the 6-foot-1, 218-pounder later became one of the "messenger guards" bringing plays in from Coach Paul Brown.
Noll retired as a player after the 1959 season and became an assistant coach with the AFL's Los Angeles (later San Diego) Chargers and the NFL's Baltimore Colts. He took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969.
A defensive specialist as an assistant, Noll painstakingly built the Steelers into a winning team by emphasizing aggressive defense and a strong running game, using occasional long passes to loosen opposition defenses.
Led by the "Steel Curtain" defense, the running of fullback Franco Harris, and quarterback Terry Bradshaw's leadership and accurate passing, Pittsburgh had 13 straight winning seasons and appeared in the playoffs 11 times from 1972 through 1984.
Pittsburgh won its first ever NFL championship in 1974, beating the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in Super Bowl IX. The following year, the Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in the Super Bowl.
Noll became the first coach to guide a team to three Super Bowl victories when Pittsburgh beat Dallas 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII after the 1978 season. He added a fourth championship in 1979, when the Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams 31-19.
Named the "Team of the Decade" for the 1970s, the Steelers began to decline in 1985. Noll retired after the 1991 season with a record of 193-148-1 in regular season games and a 16-8 mark in the playoffs.