When Art Rooney Sr. joined the NFL in 1933, he brought with him a passion for football and a deep connection to Pittsburgh. His new NFL franchise debuted uniforms featuring the City of Pittsburgh crest on the front, worn for just one season. In 2025, marking their 93rd season in the NFL, the Steelers will wear a version of that 1933 jersey during their Sunday night game on October 26 against Green Bay at Acrisure Stadium. This event will be the fourth time the Steelers have donned throwback uniforms honoring team or city history.
Fans may remember a similar jersey worn by the Steelers in 1994 as part of the NFL’s 75th Anniversary celebrations. The City of Pittsburgh crest was prominently displayed on those jerseys, which featured colors from William Pitt’s family crest—a castle and shield with blue-and-white checkerboard patterns.
The introduction of throwback jerseys began during this anniversary celebration when teams could choose to participate. On September 18, 1994, both the Steelers and Indianapolis Colts wore these special jerseys during their matchup. For Pittsburgh, this meant bright gold jerseys with black stripes and the city crest prominently displayed alongside an NFL anniversary patch.
This design posed challenges for broadcaster Myron Cope due to difficulties reading player numbers on air. He voiced his disapproval openly during broadcasts.
The upcoming 2025 edition features larger numbers to avoid such issues for broadcasters and viewers alike.
More recently, between 2018-2024 (excluding some years), they celebrated past achievements through uniform designs inspired by Super Bowl-winning teams from decades ago—featuring block lettering reminiscent of those eras—and gray facemasks added last year completed these ensembles.
Before adopting block-lettered styles came “bumblebee” throwbacks modeled after their look in ’34; characterized by black/gold horizontal stripes paired w/tan pants worn twice annually until ’16 concluded use thereof altogether
