Roast the coach: Steelers’ Bill Cowher was the man of the hour at the Mel Blount Youth Home All-Star Celebrity Roast
On Pittsburgh 412 Day, a true yinzer was honored.
Crafton’s own Bill Cowher was in the spotlight at the annual Mel Blount Youth Home All-Star Celebrity Roast on Friday at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh, Downtown.
The day pays homage to Pittsburgh’s area code, 412, on April 12.
“Pittsburgh 412 Day — well, I still have a 412 number,” said Cowher, who coached the Steelers from 1992 to 2006 and a Super Bowl XL championship and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020. “So some things haven’t changed. When I look at Pittsburgh, I may have jaded glasses because I grew up here. But coming back, it’s about community. It’s not about fanfare. The people here are real and they have core values. They prepare and they work hard, which is what makes you successful in life.”
Mel Blount represents those values, Cowher said. Blount, a former cornerback with the Steelers, is a five-time Pro-Bowler, a four-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer. After his stellar career, Blount has dedicated decades to impacting the lives of young people.
This fundraiser began with the Mel Blount Youth Home, which was a residential group home that also provided emergency services for youths. Blount and his wife, TiAnda, desired to broaden the outreach, so they established the Mel Blount Youth Leadership Initiative, which supports and serves over 2,000 youths each year.
The initiative’s mission is to provide youths with programs where they will have a healthy environment to learn, work, play and develop principles of respect, responsibility and leadership through nurturing, moral and character development and guidance.
The roast began as a fundraiser for the youth home when Blount was turning 50 in 1998. He celebrated his 76th birthday on Wednesday.
Blount told his wife no one would come that first year, TiAnda said. As it turned out, 1,500 guests attended. Blount was the person who was roasted. Some of the guests asked who would be the honoree the following year. It turned out to be former Steelers head coach Chuck Noll, four-time Super Bowl champion and another Hall-of-Famer.
The Steelers continue to show up year after year, TiAnda said. It’s like a big reunion.
“The Steelers organization is a family,” she said. “When you call on them, they offer support. This is a true Pittsburgh community. This is a roast, but it also is a way to honor the legacy of the city of Pittsburgh, of which the Steelers mean so much.”
During the cocktail hour, guests perused tables of silent auction items such as autographed jerseys of Penguins great Sidney Crosby and Pirate Andrew McCutchen, a chair with Cowher’s autograph from the Hall of Fame, a signed, framed photograph of former Steelers linebacker Jack Ham, yet another Hall-of-Famer, and an autographed helmet of current wide receiver George Pickens.
There was a custom-made ice sculpture honoring Cowher.
Cowher roasted
Former Steelers running back Merril Hoge served as master of ceremonies for 900 guests. Hoge was coached by Noll and then Cowher. Hoge recognized Bill Priatko, the oldest living Steeler, who at 92 years old was in the audience.
Hoge then addressed the crowd.
“Let me establish the ground rules,” Hoge said. “There are none.”
First up were two of Cowher’s three daughters, Meagan and Lauren. His third daughter, Lindsay, lives out of the country. She shared a message via social media. They talked about the competitiveness of their dad and his attendance at their basketball games.
“He told us you’ve got five personal fouls,” Lauren said. “You might as well use them.”
Cowher is known for “the jaw,” referring to his jaw jutting when he was fired up and wanted to get his point across to his players on the field.
Hoge said that look came when Cowher discovered himself on the Jumbotron at then-Heinz Field, now Acrisure Stadium. He would see his image and the jaw would come out, Hoge said.
Former Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel recalled a special teams play where a player from the opposing team made him mad. Keisel grabbed the player. Cowher pulled Keisel from the field.
“He said, ‘What are you doing?’” Keisel said. “I explained it to him. And he told me, ‘Next time you do something like that, make sure the referee isn’t looking. You always have to know where the referee is.’ ”
Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu said he had trouble researching things about Cowher. He claimed he did find that Cowher joined ROTC to become a Marine but he couldn’t do enough, well, chin-ups.
“He was so devastated,” Polamalu quipped, “he signed to play football for the Cleveland Browns.”
Cowher’s lifelong friend John Lynch said Cowher perfected the chin look in the fourth grade.
Cowher laughed throughout the evening, and, yes, the chin came out a few times. Cowher said at the opening VIP reception that he was honored to be there.
“Mel has initiative and is a leader,” Cowher said. “He has love for this city. Guys like Mel are integral parts of the community. It is not just about what you do on the field. It is about off the field contributions, too.”
That all begins with the Steelers owners, the Rooney family, Cowher said. They teach commitment and teamwork.
“This is a blue collar city with the most passionate fans,” Cowher said. “I love this city. I grew up here. And you don’t say no to Mel Blount.
”It is hard to put into words what this night means.”
Blount said Cowher galvanized the team and put his stamp on it. Blount said he is grateful to Cowher, the coaches and Steelers players who believe in his mission to help children.
Blount grew up in a big family in Georgia and saw the impact he had, how he inspired his nieces and nephews by winning four Super Bowls. Some of the youths whom Blount has helped spoke at the event.
“I wanted to turn that into something positive,” Blount said, “something where I could help kids succeed in life.”
Blount was asked what it would have been like to play under Cowher.
“I think we probably would have won more Super Bowls,” Blount said, then smiled, under his signature, wide brim cowboy hat.
Details: melblount.org
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region’s diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people and a weekly column about things to do in Pittsburgh. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of “A Daughter’s Promise.” She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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