Pittsburgh Steelers great Andy Russell has died at the age

Pittsburgh Steelers great Andy Russell has died at the age of 82

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pittsburgh Steelers great Andy Russell has died at the age of 82.

The two-time Super Bowl champion played 12 seasons for the Black and Gold as a linebacker and made his name in Steelers history through his work on and off the field.

He joined the team in 1963 after being drafted in the 16th round by Missouri. After his rookie season, he served two years in the Army for ROTC duties.

Russell returned to Pittsburgh in 1966 and the rest is history. He was a key figure in the 1970s Steel Curtain defense and was named to the Pro Bowl seven times, including six straight from 1970 to 1975. He was also a member of the All-Pro second team in 1972.

He finished his career with 38 sacks, 18 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries in 168 games.

After football, Russell founded the Andy Russell Charitable Foundation and was named Big Brothers and Sisters Man of the Year in 1989.

According to its website, the foundation was established with the “mission and purpose of raising funds to primarily support services and programs focused on the needs of children, nutrition initiatives, veterans' services, cancer research, and the concussion program of the Departments of Urology and Sports Medicine.” focus”. UPMC.”

In a post on the social media platform Xformerly known as Twitter, Missouri Football said: β€œThe @MizzouFootball fraternity has suffered a great loss with the passing of π‘¨π’π’…π’š 𝑹𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍. From St. Louis to Columbia to the Pittsburgh Steelers, few have played the game like Andy Russell.”

His cause of death is unknown.

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