Jack Lambert
- Style
- Horseshoe
- Peak Era
- 1970s
- Born
- 1952
- Fan Votes
- 0 legendary · 0 meh
About Jack Lambert
John Harold Lambert was born in 1952 in Mantua, Ohio, and played at Kent State before the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him in the second round in 1974. Considered undersized for a middle linebacker, he won the starting job as a rookie and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year.
He was the snarling heart of the Steel Curtain defense that won four Super Bowls in six seasons (IX, X, XIII, XIV). Lambert was Defensive Player of the Year in 1976, a nine-time Pro Bowler, and led the Steelers in tackles for ten straight seasons. A toe injury ended his career after 1984, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
After football he retreated to rural Pennsylvania, worked as a volunteer deputy wildlife officer, and has guarded his privacy as ferociously as he once guarded the middle of the field.
Why the Stach Became Iconic
The missing front teeth got the attention, but the mustache framed them. Dark and drooping past the corners of the mouth, it made Lambert look like something out of a horror movie every time he bared his gums at a quarterback.
It is arguably the most intimidating mustache in NFL history, and the image of him over center, teeth gone, lip curled, is 1970s football in a single frame.
Career Highlights
- Kent State Golden Flashes (1971–1973)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (1974–1984) — Super Bowl IX, X, XIII, XIV champion
- NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year 1974; Defensive Player of the Year 1976
- Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1990
- He lost his front teeth in high school basketball, and the gap-toothed snarl became his trademark.
- He famously body-slammed Cowboys safety Cliff Harris in Super Bowl X after Harris taunted the Steelers kicker.
- He was a quarterback in high school before moving to defense.
- After retiring he worked as a volunteer deputy wildlife conservation officer in Pennsylvania.
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