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Rocky Bleier often jokes that he had his finest season in the NFL thanks to Turkey Jones. Jones was the villainous Cleveland lineman who injured Terry Bradshaw by slamming him head first into the turf during the 1976 season. With Bradshaw on the sidelines, the Steelers threw the football very infrequently as back up quarterback Mike Kruczek's primary duty became handing off to Bleier and Franco Harris—both of whom ran for more than 1,000 yards that year. "Yeah, thank God Turkey Jones hurt Bradshaw," Bleier says, tongue in cheek. "That's what enabled me to gain a thousand yards. It wasn't because of talent. It may have been one yard at a time, but it was a thousand yards."
PM: Andy Russell jokingly refers to you as the only man in NFL history ever to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season without ever changing direction. RB: That's right (laughing). But at least I got a thousand yards. PM: Your friend's sense of humor aside, you were a classic north and south runner, weren't you? RB: That's right, I was. You have to know what you can and cannot do. I didn't have great speed. I didn't accelerate that much. When I left my stance, I was pretty much at top speed. Cutting wasn't necessarily my forte. It was just read the block, hit the hole and pick up as much yardage as you can. PM: You and Franco Harris complemented each other very well in the Steelers' backfield. What made that work? RB: The reason it worked was that I wasn't trying to be Franco. Sometimes personalities conflict or egos get in the way of performance. I had a role to play, and performing my role fed my ego. I got a chance to play and I got a chance to start. I got recognition for my part of the game. I wouldn't say I made Franco better, but we did complement each other. It wasn't as if I was trying to carry the ball as much as Franco, or wanted his position, or would mope around because I didn't get enough yards or enough carries. That wasn't the case. PM: Are you surprised by the success you've had as a motivational speaker? RB: Yeah, I am, because I can't talk (laughing). Ask my wife. She always says, "I don't know how you do what you do, because you can't talk. You can't carry on a conversation." Plus I had a fear of speaking like anybody else, and so I was surprised by the response I got when I started doing this. I think I did about 120 speeches that first year, and I've been doing them ever since. I don't ask why that is. It is what it is. And the people continue to call.
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The easy-going Bleier, who turned 60 this year, is known for his self-deprecating humor. He's also highly sought after as a motivational speaker, and has been for nearly 20 years now. Bleier, who lives in Mount Lebanon with his wife, Jan, estimates that he does 85 to 100 speeches across the country annually, primarily for corporate audiences. His story of courage and perseverance as a soldier wounded in Vietnam who fought back to become a Super Bowl champion is as inspirational now as it ever was. 
Recently, Pittsburgh magazine caught up with Bleier for a Q-and-A session. |
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