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CATCHING UP WITH
ANDY RUSSELL
with Jim Lachimia

Andy Russell is proud of the fact that he helped the Pittsburgh Steelers rise from perennial losers to Super Bowl champions. The former 16th round draft choice from the University of Missouri began his NFL career in the pre-Chuck Noll days and was one of the few players from that era who was talented enough to stick around for the glory days. Russell, who teamed with Jack Lambert and Jack Ham to form one of the top linebacking corps ever, was an integral part of the famed Steel Curtain defense that carried the team to its first two Super Bowl championships.

Russell's stats The same drive, determination and intelligence that made Russell a great football player also enabled him to become a smashing success in business. Heck, he opened his own investment firm when he was still an active player. For the past 10 years, Russell - who is now 64 and resides in Presto, Pa., with his wife Cindy - has been managing director of the merchant-banking firm Laurel Mountain Partners, which is headquartered in the Dominion Tower on Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. The classy and humble Russell says he's been blessed with great teammates on the football field and in business endeavors.

Recently, we caught up with him during another busy day at the office.

PM: For as much success as you had on the football field, would you say that you've had even more as a businessman?

AR: Certainly financially I've had more success in the business world (laughing). We knew we weren't going to make much money playing football back in the sixties. It wasn't about money then. I was making more in my off-season job than I was playing. And in those days, you had to have an off-season job. You really couldn't survive without one.

PM: That's a lot different than the way things are today, isn't it?

Andy Russell AR: I come from a different era. I had a father who made me promise I would never play pro football because he would be embarrassed to have a son playing a game for a living. That's how different it was. I convinced him to let me play because I would use the money for an MBA. And he didn't want to pay for it (laughing).

PM: What was the most money you ever made as a player?

AR: I don't even remember. I know I made a little bit more each year, but the richest I've ever felt in my life was my rookie year when I was making almost a thousand dollars a game. Doing something I had a passion for and being paid to do it was an interesting experience.

PM: How did you and some of the other Steelers of the 1970s react to the team winning the Super Bowl this year? Were you all happy to see a new generation of Steelers experience that?

AR: All of us were just extraordinarily pleased for the current players. It was nice to get that monkey off their backs about winning the fifth championship. You know, everyone talked about 'one for the thumb' - but really it was their first ring, and we can relate to what that felt like back in '74. It was great to see them do it and we were all extraordinarily impressed.

PM: In the past, you've talked about how being a Steeler wasn't always the wonderful experience it is now. Can you tell us a little more about that?

AR: Back in the '60s, the media coined us the S.O.S. - Same Old Steelers - and said we were destined to lose many games every year. That was difficult because we were proud athletes, we wanted to win and we gave a great effort. But unfortunately we couldn't seem to get over the hump. If you went into a bar, you didn't get anybody asking for your autograph, and they might even make fun of you. We just kind of thought, that's how they should treat us. It wasn't like we disagreed with them particularly. Guys even had a hard time renting apartments. People didn't want to rent to Steelers because they thought it might be a black eye for their apartment building. It was very strange. The contrast is so dramatic today.

PM: You've been an avid mountain climber for many years now. What is it about that activity that appeals to you so much?

AR: When (former Steelers center) Ray Mansfield and I quit playing, we got together and said, 'What are we going to do to replace football? We've got to replace it.' Business is exciting, but it's not going to replace the physical aspect of football. A lot of our friends were saying, 'You're washed up old jocks. You're done.' But you're 35 or 36 years old and you're not really ready to quit. We eventually figured out that adventure travel was what we wanted to do, and we started doing various gut tests around the world, including mountain climbs. When we did those, we totally exhausted ourselves and it felt very much like it felt after a football game. It was that total bliss you have from expending all of your energy. You're completely drained, but you're happy.

Coming in September