A Football Life: Mean Joe Greene

is there a better name than Mean Joe Green I mean that name just flows and I ask kids about that and I say mean and they say Joe Green he asked me one time he said Andy why do they call me mean and I said because you're mean just remember Joe as has been a good football player and not really mean you going to be a football player when you m today is the best day of your life he might be the finest quarterback in producer in the last 10 years like that's all I need fortunately for me I didn't lose my life didn't lose my job football convinced me that life is a team game rest your life nobody can ever tell you that you couldn't do it my favorites Don't Close Your Eyes when I'm taking a picture of you there you [Music] go that's pretty he is a husband a father of three and a grandfather of seven what's that you got in your lips girl he loves family so when we have family time it's all about family thanks sweetie when we're at home it's never Mean Joe Green it's Dad and Papa Joe when we went to uh North Texas and you saw me interacting with the people and you were surprised a little bit why um I guess just because we know you as Grandpa and then all these people are trying to talk talk to you and coming up to you so it's little new yeah these two they had the same reaction you didn't know like [Music] whoa The Man known to his family as Papa Joe was known to the world as mean Joo long before he was a beloved grandfather he was one of the most feared defenders in NFL history in 13 Seasons as a defensive tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers Joe Green was a 10-time pro bowler a two-time defensive player of the year and a four-time world champion he became an NFL icon and a first ballot po ofer any special play that you remember that he made or game that you remember like wow pretty cool um when he when he fought the Eagles lineman Joe was he was a little bit of a scary guy to be perfectly honest with you not the friendliest type of guy on first impression or first meeting him I first met Joe on an aircraft carrier it was at the senior bow he was playing from the south Senior Bowl team I was playing for the north I just remember walking out on the de of this aircraft carrier and there were airplanes and there was Joe Green and they were both impressive it was just sort of a presence that was there and still is today growing up in Hawaii when I was a kid and I started paying attention to football it was guys like the Steel Curtain and Mean Joe Green who was here where's me and Joe there he is right there those were the guys that were playing and so I became a Steelers fan green was part of arguably football's greatest Dynasty the Steelers of the 70s featured nine Hall of Fame players throughout the decades one of football's most stored franchises has produced a long list of all-time great players yet to this day there is one Steeler that stands above all others there is nobody else out there that I would put headed Jo green by far the best stealer of all time Joe was the guy and it was an honor and a privilege you know to play with the greatest Steeler of all time to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Dan Rooney when the Steelers owner was inducted into the Hall of Fame he chose Joe Green as his presenter because he was special he did signify this team he meant everything by the way he performed won way he carried himself on and off the field he was it he was the [Music] guy we just wanted to uh make an announcement that uh this season we are going to officially retire Joe Green number 75 I think Joe is the obvious person from the 70s team to go wor in terms of having this number retired Joe stands as the beginning of Reform and change for a football team in for a city when Joe came the Steelers were bad they they didn't look like they were going to get better but Joe had that blue collar work ethic and he was the Cornerstone of the defense and so when the Steelers won their first Super Bowl in the four Super Bowls we won in six years I think Joe stands out as that Foundation the pillar that was the beginning of all of that and so it's easy to see why they would select Joe as as the alltime greatest stealer is the greatest stealer more mean Joe go or Papa Joe snapshots of his life reveal the true [Music] picture when I was a senior in high school my class voted me to be class president and I declined I think about that a lot and it was basically because because I was shy and didn't want to have to talk in front of the class or the student body it's amazing what what time does he was raised by his mother in the small town of Temple Texas my Giver name is Charles Edward green what I was told uh about my nickname Joe how I got it uh was from my auntie and born in 46 that was during the reign of Joe Lewis as heavyweight champion and she thought I was Hefty and bulky enough to be called Joe Lewis and she started calling me Joe and it kind of stuck I was the big kid and the amazing thing is that I recall these days when I used to leave school I hit the door running because there was always some kid older than me but wasn't as large as me W to get a reputation by beating me up that happened a lot in the early years uh 8th nth grade he could get as much bullet and picked that as the rest of us this guy's name was Speedy he was about two three years older than me and he was he had he was a good sized guy and when Speedy got bored he'd go look for Joe and he beat up J Speedy was a a bully he was not a small guy himself and he kept messing with him and messing with him and messing with him my mom had given me $5 for my insurance for the football team and Speedy took the $5 and I said speedy and you took my $5 well yeah I did what you going to do about it it was on it it was over and he caught him and he was down he was down between bleachers and Joe whooped him something never had a problem out of speeding no more after that day I didn't have to run anymore from from these kids that wanted to beat me up you know because of all the that had happened in the past I was playing catchup I I was beating up everybody I could you know I ow you and I started playing football and football I don't know I guess it gave me a better sense of worth of who I was as a as a as a kid as a person he was very aggressive I remember one time we was playing his team and they had this real good running back and Joe hit him and drove him into the light post and busted the lights out of the light post I thought they was going to arrest J he could go off you know he played mean he was known for doing you the thing that enraged me most was when we were losing and I think that was it the losing and the the way I grew up having having to fight so in a nutshell it was I I wasn't really playing football I was fighting green moved on to North Texas State University where the hot-headed player made a cool first impression on a fellow student I was a freshman he was a sophomore and he came into the uh cafeteria and he was laughing and I saw him laughing and I said that's the man I'm going to marry so I fell in love with him at first sight so I asked around to see who he was dating and then one of his home girl girls introduced us they said oh Joe is a really nice guy but he's NE Joe is a nice guy but he's mean I didn't ask them but I wondered how could a person be a very nice guy but be so mean he was one of the nicest people I had ever met in fact he was probably the nicest guy admit he was actually really mean you know I could kind of motivate him a little bit you know for his plan you know because if I was back playing strong safety and I I talk get back to H I said homeboy I'm making too many tackles back here you know he said well they double teaming me whatever I said I don't care and then you just go to work you start beating up [Music] people you did have the physical attributes to do whatever he wanted to do out there on the field just a matter of pushing that right button my first ball game as a varsity player was when we played University of Texas at El Paso here and we just had a great game defensively that's when they started the mean green chant they started chanting me and green you look so good to me before Joe set foot on his college field the north Texas sports teams were nicknamed The Eagles but the dominant defense he was part of inspired a name change and ever since the late 60s the school's teams have been known as the mean green at the same time green was making a big impression on campus Tales of his North Texas heroics were making their way across the country I remember when I I saw all the films and heard all the reports you know you know this Superman and I was flying back from the West Coast with my wife and I got off the plane left my wife on the plane I she can come with me but I have to go see this guy alive y third down you know he would just completely destroy everybody around him he had the athletic ability and the temperament you know he had it all the shy kid who had grown into a legend on the fields of Texas was about to change the image of a franchise and a city I know I'm in the way I'm going to get this microphone in face way my okay next selection the Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers first round selection Joe Green gou NE defensive tackle North Texas State I was depressed I was just depressed I I did not want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler because I knew of the record in 36 years of existence the Pittsburgh Steelers had played in just one playoff game and lost [Music] it entering 1969 the was a new head coach in charge who had just bet the house on a kid from Texas who was anything but a household name the day after the draft the headlines in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Joe who with a question mark yeah if you understand the context of the time people expected that Steelers probably drafted another noname who was no good i' never heard of of Joe Green I I did i' never actually heard of North Texas State I was just kind of shocked that oh here we go another high draft choice that's not going to work out after a brief hold out green reported to Camp where skeptical veterans waited to test the rookie medal they were trying to kill me Ray Manfield was the the Steeler Center really tough guy Ray said I'm going to show this rookie what the NFL is all about Ray fired out Joe took him and just just threw him up in the air I mean he was just gone and they crushed the the running back and and we were all like oh my god did you see that we were huge fans all of that fast Joe Green the Defensive Rookie of the Year to the Steelers he's the dawn of a new [Music] era you know you go back to the early films he was so much better than a lot of the guys here he was so much better it seemed like he was a man on an island despite Green's heroics Pittsburgh went 1 in3 his rookie year the first of three consecutive losing Seasons those years were some tough years we were miserable we were terrible after some of the losses we had man he W the most controllable person we're playing in Philadelphia and Philadelphia has the ball and if they can make a first time the game's over they made it they made the first time and he went up took the football and threw it in the stands and I said to my father this guy's special if he's that intense that he's going to do something like that we got a guy that we want hey Cleveland how you like us now he didn't like the name Mean Joe Green as we well know it just was a mon that was placed upon Him nice payback nice but he kind of lived up to it and there was a kind of a Fear Factor you just did not get on the wrong side of Joe some people asked that question what was Joe really mean yeah that was the perfect name for him he hated to lose that was part of his demeanor he's here to win he's here to beat that guy across from him and he's not going to be nice about it Green's eye was not confined solely to his opponents I used to raise heck with those fishes I had a tendency to bristle at Authority for whatever reason it was always source of irritation and anger when you got hailed cuz I thought it was cheating people had to hold Joe well uh you shouldn't be doing that you know and that's the way Joe felt Joe would give you a warning if he thought you were doing something wrong and if you didn't take his warning then Joe would become a vigilante and deserve it of the name Mean Joe Green while he played football you got to remember too that was a different era it would have been very interesting to see how Joe would have reacted the cable TV and and talk radio today defense personal foul grabbing the face mat Joe get very emotional and when Joe got emotional you had to stand back a little bit they're going to hit Joe with another quick 15 boy there's a fast 30 yd so where did all this dirt go that you kicked I mean usually have baseball players do it all the time I saw what's this guy uh manager we we pile up dirt on the on own plate I it was unintentional it it was just a reaction and when I look back and I think about it it was been disruptive and belligerent I don't know how many other teams would have tolerated my Antics if any other player had acted that way except for Joe Green coach Noah would have cut him but Joe Green he could see that this is a guy that can turn things around in 1972 and 73 the Steelers made the playoffs only to fall short of the Super Bowl both times I reached well I'd call it a Breaking Point in 74 that's when I thought thought it's not going to happen here Green's frustration boiled over after a late season loss to the Oilers our offense didn't do a thing that day first day we came back to practice I went to my locker took out what I thought was necessary and I was leaving I was surprised I was I must admit that and thought you know Joe's letting his emotions get in the way that was quitting quitting how about that that's a bad word quit but that's what I was doing and as I was taking those steps I was saying somebody please stop me Lionel Taylor Our receiver coach he said hold up a minute he sat down in the car and we talked I don't know what we talked about but anyway I was glad we talked that's how went back back and that's when it started 6 weeks after nearly quitting the team green LED Pittsburgh to its first Super [Music] Bowl the Steelers defense would hold the Vikings offense scoreless and allow just 17 yds rushing intercepted by Joe and could be happier I don't think walking amongst the guys my head was this big you know it felt that way to be a Steeler and we the black and gold yeah it was special and I think the journey is what made it so sweet all the 13 losses in the one and 13 was in my head and the Pittsburgh Steelers SOS same old Steelers and golly all of that stuff that's what made that one so special cuz it was the first and it brought Pittsburgh into the picture of football teams in the National Football League that okay you got to deal with us [Music] now let's go Joe go t [Applause] baby Pittsburgh capped its 1975 season by winning a second straight championship in Super Bowl 10 the Steelers defense was becoming the stuff of Legend especially the front four a unit comprised of Joe Green Dwight white Ernie Holmes and LC Greenwood I really really enjoyed being a part of that group LC we came in together Ernie he was mean yeah Ernie was mean and Dwight Mad [Music] Dog Dwight would talk the entire ball game s is a sck you know what I'd say sometime twice shut up what you shut up Joe is the most serious one of the bunch you know they all were different in their ways but by the time they got to be the still Curt they all looked up to Joe arguably was probably the best defensive tackle ever play the game his hands were gigantic they used to tell the guys don't put lazy hands on the guy you want to put crushing hands bruising hands when you touch him you want to feel it when you punch you trying to punch all the way through his body and then the quickness of your hands we were sitting at a bar and there was a tip there and he'd say let's move our see how fast can you move your hand and I think I have pretty quick hands he he could do it faster wen't they normal they're a little bigger than average so am I I Joe is a big man and Joe was extraordinarily strong before the world of weightlifting and nutrition Joe was was a big weightlifter you know tremendous natural strength you got people out there wearing numbers today that they're not athletes they're big well they're bigger but they don't have people faster or stronger in football strength than Joe was he is probably for five yards the fastest guy on a team I he was explosive off the ball he would crowd the ball and he was quick off the ball he's one of the first people that came in and could explode off the [Music] B I like to think that I play with rocket fuel as opposed to diesel diesel is powerful but slow and methodical Rocket Field is explosive [Music] as fast as quick in Layon terms get [Music] after relentlessness refusing to be denied nothing ever stops the forward movement you just still coming is that JB let me see again as a kid green had declined to be class president because of shyness but by the mid 70s he had accepted his role as team leader look at his foot coming in Wicked man I was able to uh to grow up I was able to grow up I really think one of the key moments was when Chuck made me a captain [Applause] I couldn't be uh the guy that I was before arguing with official arguing with other players that was a distraction to my own guys and I didn't realize that until when I was a captain I had to be more responsible and I saw the effects of my bad behavior in a in a different light was very powerful the way he looked at it it wasn't just okay we got to name three guys we'll name him him and him it was something special to Joe I got to just drive him back home you got to get some dep straight over I think I started to take the game a bit more serious you need to do more than just go out on the field on game day and play and you still just stay in there what you ought to do because he's giv off so much to come that and rubb it right people quote about leaders and all this kind of rhetoric until you meet Joe Green you look up to that guy and you don't want to let him down with Joe Green I found that leadership really does matter perhaps nothing exemplified Green's team first Spirit better than a formation he helped create the stunt 43 he saw that between the center and the guard there was a large gap he jumped in the gap between the guard Center tilted his body he turned his shoulders like this and then he exploded through that hole it wasn't a design defense that a coach came up with and said hey this is what we're going to do it was something that Joe saw all right we got the we got the St man on the weak side that stun 43 is a brutal thing on the nose you are going to create double team you are going to force that offensive line to have two guys block you Joe Green realized that I'm gonna be double team every time here all right I may not make the big crazy plays Sensational plays but if we're going to win the championship I've got to do this if the best player on your team cares this much about winning and not about all pro what we all fall into place like Lemmings up next doing the Coca-Cola spot did change the image I enjoyed it I liked it it made me more [Music] approachable Joe Green and the Steelers celebrated two more Super Bowl championships as the NFL's dominant team of the decade it was the kind of success that earned Joe a number of roles in 1970s action movies as Hollywood cashed in on his tough guy image I just saw portions of the black six recently and one of the guys he put it on the big screen up there and and we had we had a good time laughing at it lady Coco I was a sniper I was supposed to kill Lola fana but I never said a word it wasn't much to see in uh smoking get out of here there you son or you going to have a penalty flag hanging out of your ass and that's been tried before your possibility for success is extremely [Music] remote they're forgettable aren't they the human nature is that you want to see yourself in a good light and I didn't think that was a good light Green's rugged public Persona and life changed dramatically after being selected for a television commercial by Madison Avenue creative wizard Penny hawy we were asked to do an exploratory that is to take the Coca-Cola brand and see where else it could go in its Communications the guys were sitting there saying okay well who could we get well we could get Lyn Swan Terry Bradshaw Franco Harris M Jo green and I said wait there's a guy called Mean Joe Green is he mean and they said yeah and I said well that's perfect we want the most intimidating human being we can find and boy did we get it in the commercial mean Joe would have a memorable encounter with a trembling 9-year-old played by a kid from a Showbiz family my mom and my dad were both in television as to our future weather well we expect the rain to my mom was on air Talent my dad was a director and a producer I had started doing commercials probably when I was around five or so so by the time we did the co-c commercial I'd probably done about 30 or 40 commercials up to that point go you fumbled on the first day when we shot the commercial there was a lot of downtime cuz they were doing a lot of work to the set and uh because of that there wasn't a lot to do so of course I had brought a football and went over to Joe and asked if he'd throw a football around and he said sure he developed a sweet little relationship with Tommy and made Tommy much more comfortable okay give him the line Jo okay they were trying to get him to drink the whole Coke and they had him maybe do that a couple of times and just said they were going to the guy was going to blow up after a while he went through an awful lot of soda and you know the The Legend Of course that he drank eight 18 16 o bottles equivalent to 2 and a/4 gallons L to say when I start to shoot first thing out of my mouth was a big burp Hey kid all right cut talk about absolutely perfect timing Super Bowl programs Super Bowl souvenir Super Bowl PNET super the commercial ran on the super B and then they won and the rest is history what could be better Mr Green Mr Green yeah want my Coke it's okay you can have it [Music] okay that's the way should be [Music] Jo Joe Green was probably the first black male that was cast in for a national brand it was the fact that he was black and the little boy was white it was a shock at that time time and people experienced it and really resonated to it I don't know where that Jersey went I don't know if Joe took it back or who got it I do know that that Christmas I got a package and uh it was a signed mjo green jersey that I uh still have to this day Joe and Tom have kept in touch ever since but he was not the only child whose life would be positively influenced by Jo years later I think um it changed our lives a lot it changed Joe's personality a lot because so many kids were looking up to him he decided he really wanted to be a role model for the kids I think mean Jo green should be called sweet Jo green cuz he always smiles and he looks sweet and he's really nice he appeared with the Muppets and probably Elmo and was on children's TV shows well you know I used to be afraid of my own shadow and then everybody told me that was silly what are you afraid of well lots of things like the whole offensive line of the Rams dumping on me yeah we'd be walking around and little old ladies that I know didn't know anything about football would come up to Joe and talk to him listen you're not mean guy he just a big old Teddy be doing the Coca-Cola spot did change the image I enjoyed it I liked it it made me uh more approachable to this day I'm still rather amazed I mean it's the commercial that will not die exc me Mr Green Mr Green yeah want my Downey unstoppables laundry smells good for a long time okay see you [Music] Hey kid cat wow no thanks me Joe last time I'm doing this coming up someone would say me GRE I said no he's gone that guy that played ball has been gone a long time after his Coke commercial Mean Joe Green didn't seem so mean anymore he was much less intimidating not only off the field but on it actually green hadn't been at full strength for years playing with nerve damage in his arm and shoulder when I found out that I had a problem was middle of 75 season in the shower and I had a TI that I was rubbing myself down with couldn't pick it up and then I looked ooh my arm was and it's still that way I lost a lot of strength in it because of the nerve green is not penetrated very much today I don't think he's really got the quickness that really green Green's injury became apparent during the 1975 AFC champ championship game coming across the middle of the field I'm knocked out Joe who was hurt had a pensioner comes off the bench in that cape and he grabs me he's trying to pick me up and carry me off the field it was spontaneous because if I had thought about it I probably wouldn't have done it because as I picked him up I almost dropped him because of I couldn't hold him my left arm I lost some juice I wasn't as spise as I was before green played nearly half of his career with a weakened left arm yet he performed well enough that four of his 10 Pro Bowl seasons came when he was at less than full strength by 1981 however green could no longer hide the weakness in his arm for his game it was humbling yes and ended up getting banged up and turned into a m moral when I thought anything but that I came here as a boy I'm going to leave here as a man I I tend to think of this time as being a graduation Mr Rooney Dan and Chuck and his staff they allowed a country boy from Texas to come up here and and be himself uh say the things and do the things that that came natural to him whether they were good or bad the negative as it is with the Positive was a part of my growing up a part of the maturing of Joe Green and I I worked very hard for 13 years and it's it it is time for me to do something else good luck I know you I know you're having fun are you happy with your coaching I'm I'm having fun I like to get them a little bit better but I'm having fun put you like coaching yeah Green spent 17 Seasons as a defensive line coach in Pittsburgh Miami you came you came kind of quick and Arizona right here you let that guy get all the way around there in 2004 the greatest Steeler returned to Pittsburgh yet again to tackle another new position in scouting and player Personnel he was somebody that we felt understood what kind of player we wanted to have on the Pittsburgh steel dealers in regards to Joe's expertise on leadership we really leaned on that in our scouting sessions he could tell us things that we didn't know and he could see leadership in people that we may not have been able to see because he was that leader so he could see those types of qualities in other players I really believe that Joe's influence on the organization it was felt and you know I don't think it's a coincidence that we got back in Our Winning weight when Joe joined us during Green's nine seasons in the front office the Steelers added two more Lombardy trophies to their collection green is the only former Steelers player to have a hand in all six of the team Super Bowl titles in 2013 green once again retired from the game and while he is learning to live life without football over the past few years he has had to deal with much more difficult losses former Pittsburg Steelers defensive lineman Ernie Holmes died late Thursday night in a car accident in Lumberton Texas one of the original members of the Pittsburgh Steelers Steel Curtain defense Dwight white has died due to complications from back surgery he was 58 years old Legend LC Greenwood has died at the age of 67 Greenwood died at upm Oakland while recuperating from back surgery Dwight Ernie and LC and I we established a pretty good vond you LC and I came in together though that stated but U oh boy I'll keep them alive I'll keep them alive with the memories yeah I missed him I missed him I missed him a lot miss him a lot in June of 2014 Green said goodbye to another good friend his Hall of Fame coach Chuck N Mrs N when she talked about Paul Bears Joe was the first name that came up there there was no question and Joe was a little reluctant because he didn't want to be the guy who took Chuck on his last journey but obviously he deferred to MaryAnn's wishes and uh did what he had to do which uh was the story of Joe Green's career he do what he had to do when they think of me as a football player I would like for people to think that I put it on the line every time good or bad win or lose put it on the line the world knows him as mean Joe his family as Papa Joe the truth is the real Joe Green is every bit of both you know someone would say me and Joe Green I said no he's gone that guy that played ball has been gone a long time and I appreciate him for no doubt that's a part of who I have been maybe something that who I still am I don't [Music] know I actually say he's not very mean he's like a a big teddy bear cuz that's the way I see I know see I kind of but that's the way I see you sometimes I wouldn't say that you know you should approach him as a teddy bear maybe like a brown bear is it safe to say that Joe Green is alive and well but mean Joe Green's gone no it's not safe to say that [Music] you don't get ahead of yourself goodness gracious

Channel: The World According to Fox

Views: 262,851

Keywords: Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL Legend, Defensive Tackle, Steel Curtain, NFL History, Pittsburgh Sports, Hall of Famer, Steelers Nation, Four Super Bowls, NFL Greats, Defensive Greatness, Pittsburgh Pride, Black and Gold, NFL Hall of Fame, Greene Highlights, Iconic Defensive Player, Steeler Nation, Pittsburgh Tradition, Sports Icon, NFL MVP, Defensive Dominance, Football Legacy, Steel Curtain Defense.

Id: ZFfe9c6d9Tg

Length: 44min 36sec (2676 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 24 2023