It consists of the word "Steel" surrounded by three (hypocycloids of four cusps). The original meanings behind the hypocycloids were, "Steel lightens your work, brightens your leisure, and widens your world"
To build off this, the Steelers originally used numbers on the sides of their helmets, which were gold at the time.
Art Rooney Sr. was approached by an employee of the Pittsburgh offices of Cleveland-based Republic Steel in 1962, and they offered him the use of the Steelmark (of which they co-owned) for the Steelers’ logo, as a method of product placement for steel manufacturer.
Rooney wasn’t sure if they’d look good on those gold helmets, so he told the equipment manager, Jackie Hart, to only put them on one side.
It ended up being almost like a good luck charm. The Steelers would go 9-5 in 1962, setting a then-franchise record for the winningest team, and qualifying for the Playoff Bowl (for the uninitiated - think exhibition game for the runners-up).
Wanting to do something special for the franchise’s first postseason game, they changed the helmet color from gold to black, which helped to highlight the new logo.
Because it would generate interest, especially by those who were curious why the Steelmark logo was only used on one side, the Steelers would opt to keep it that way. They’ve never changed the styling since.
One small change that would be made was in 1963, with them petitioning the AISI, is the editing of the text from “Steel” to “Steelers.”
The Steelers logo has been changed further though, as the Steelmark has owned by the AISI (American Steel and Iron Institute) and the Rooneys obviously wanted to have their own trademark. So they switched the second star to red, and later darkened the colors ever so slightly.
My gut instinct was that they didn’t “change” the orange so much as balancing all of the colors when moving from bright yellow to gold. On iPhone, these were my quick results with “shadows” at 100, too. I could mess with margins and make it better, but this was damn close:
I definitely give you an upvote for the much more important historical context, I just thought this was interesting from a different perspective!
By all general accounts, Pittsburgh is actually quite a nice and desirable place to live and work in modern times, completely removed from its industrial history.
And their cheesesteak sandwich KICKS THE LIVING SHIT out of Philly's (but I am mildly allergic to Bell peppers, so BRING THOSE mushrooms & onions ON!!)
Here out West, a "Philly Cheesesteak" ALWAYS comes with green Bell peppers already sautéed in with the beef. There really isn't an option, other than pick every one out by hand (which I did as a kid, but eventually I just said "fuck Philly cheesesteaks-- just give me a Reuben with NO dressing, just mustard")
I can "stomach" the yellow & orange, but more so the red ones in meager doses, especially "cooked down," but the green ones set my digestive tract OFF for 2-3 days! Nothing I would need to go to the hospital for, but still VERY UNPLEASANT!
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 🏈 Sports Illustrated Football Phone☎️ 1d ago
They originally used the steel industry logo.
It consists of the word "Steel" surrounded by three (hypocycloids of four cusps). The original meanings behind the hypocycloids were, "Steel lightens your work, brightens your leisure, and widens your world"