Andy Russell

Charles Andrew Russell (October 29, 1941 – March 1, 2024) was an American professional football player who spent his entire 12-year career as a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).

Early life Russell was born October 29, 1941, in Detroit, Michigan to a family that relocated multiple times in his childhood (to Chicago and New York) due to his father's work as an executive with the Monsanto chemical company. The family eventually settled in Ladue, a suburb of St. Louis, when Russell was a 7th grader. He grew up wanting to be a businessman.

He attended Ladue High School where he played high school football and basketball. He was nicknamed "the Horse" for his power, and was known for his use of the stiff-arm as a runner. In a 1958 football game played on Halloween, Russell scored five touchdowns as a fullback. He scored 121 points total in 1958, and that team was undefeated and won its league's title. He was also on the track team, and had once set a low hurdles record. Russell graduated in 1959.

In football, as a senior Russell was named an All-American by The Sporting News and was first team all-state. However, he elected to sign for a $12,000 salary and a $3,000 signing bonus. After playing for the Steelers his rookie season in 1963, Russell temporarily left the team for the Army to fulfill ROTC commitments that had him stationed in Germany.

Russell was one of the few players future Pro Football Hall of Fame and member of the NFL 100th Anniversary Team coach Chuck Noll kept, when he became the Steelers head coach in 1969. Russell was an early member of Pittsburgh's famed Steel Curtain defense and was named the Steelers' MVP in 1971. He made seven Pro Bowl appearances—in 1969 and from 1971 through 1976—and earned two Super Bowl rings in Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl X. The record was broken with a 98 yard return in 2023. His teammates voted him team captain for ten seasons. In 2017, he was an inaugural member into the Steelers Hall of Honor.

In 1976, he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and to the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2011, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Russell to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2011.

Personal life After his playing days ended, Russell maintained his interest in business and investing to go along with endurance canoeing, mountain climbing, and philanthropy. and generated over $10 million in contributions to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh through the Andy Russell Charitable Golf Tournament. The foundation also supported charities and charitable causes such as The Ronald McDonald House, Leukemia Society, The Cancer Society, Economics PA, Cystic Fibrosis, Mothers Hope, Juvenile Diabetes, SIDS, and Pittsburgh Vision Services. Russell's most recent charitable work before his death was Everyone's Playground, a park for special needs children located in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. He died of complications from Alzheimer’s Disease and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).