The Pittsburgh Steelers will report to training camp in Latrobe on July 25, 2012 – only 39 days from today. We’re taking a quick look at current and former Steelers as we countdown to football.
While Willie Parker’s career with the Steelers ended as quickly as it began, I hope that he always holds a pretty special place in Steelers lore. That first game against the Titans in 2005 when both Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley were out with injuries is one of the all-time great performances. Parker ran for 161 yards on 22 carries and pretty much forced Bill Cowher to name him the starter.
He would of course go on to dominate the league the rest of the season, including that magical 75 yard touchdown run in Super Bowl XL.
Parker was also pretty good after 2005. He broke the team record for rushing yards in a single game, racking up 226 in only 3 quarters against Cleveland in December of 2006. He made the Pro Bowl in both 2006 and 2007 and though he battled injuries during much of 2008, he was still the team’s starting running back for another Super Bowl win against Arizona before signing with Washington.
There was a lot of anticipation that Parker would return to Pittsburgh and play here but, ultimately, he signed with the UFL’s Virginia Destroyers in 2011.
