The Pittsburgh Steelers teams of the 1970s were so star-studded that some significant players can be lost in the shuffle as the stories are retold over generations. Its Steel Curtain defense was loaded at all three levels with Hall of Famers like Joe Greene, Jack Lambert and Mel Blount. Another Hall of Famer believes that one of their teammates doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.
Jack Ham joined SNR Drive on Steelers Nation Radio Friday and discussed the legacy of former teammate Ernie Holmes.
“You talk about guys on our defense who you didn’t get the recognition they deserve. Ernie Holmes for about five or six years was just a dominant defensive lineman,” Ham said. “And you’re playing next to the all world Joe Greene, so you are not gonna get that kind of recognition. And that was difficult for him to handle.”
Holmes was a member of the legendary Steel Curtain defensive line that included Greene, L.C. Greenwood, and Dwight White. Drafted by Pittsburgh in the 8th round of the 1971 Draft out of Texas Southern, he became a core contributor to the Steelers teams that won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1974 and 1975.
“He was a guy that in the championship games against…I look back at the game against Oakland when he played against Gene Upshaw an All-Pro Hall of Fame offensive guard, and absolutely destroyed him in our first run to our first Super Bowl and beating Oakland out in Oakland,” Ham continued. “Ernie Holmes was that type of dominant player, and with leverage, he was about 285 pounds.
“You talk about a guy who was tough on the field, tough off the field. He had a reputation. Offensive linemen, I know, pro football, you’re not afraid of anybody. But if you were ever gonna be afraid of somebody, it would be Ernie Holmes.”
In the 1974 AFC Championship against the Raiders, Holmes played his part in the defense’s smothering performance, holding Oakland to 29 yards rushing. Two weeks later in the Super Bowl, the Minnesota Vikings only managed 17 yards on the ground and 119 yards total. The Pittsburgh defense only allowed six points en route to their first Super Bowl title. It was also Holmes’s most dominant statistical season, credited with 11.5 sacks in only 13 games.
Though sacks weren’t an official stat during his playing career, Pro Football Reference’s unofficial tally recognizes Holmes with 39.5 sacks in his six seasons in Pittsburgh. Holmes was eventually traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978 but failed to make the team. He played his final three NFL games for the New England Patriots in 1978 before retiring.
Holmes’s legacy among his teammates seems to be secure but nationally, his reputation flies under the radar. Playing on a defense with so many other star players may have impacted his legacy, similar to L.C. Greenwood, who has been a finalist for the Hall of Fame seven times but once again failed to make it in 2026.
While Ernie Holmes’s career may not be Canton-worthy, it’s easy to obscure the accomplishments of many role players on teams that have so many members already enshrined. It can be a blessing and a curse to play on teams with that kind of star power and as Ham mentioned, it may have even bothered Holmes to be outshined by the likes of Joe Greene starting on the same defensive line.
The Steel Curtain defense didn’t dominate because of one or two stars. It was special because of players like Ernie Holmes. And as long as those teams are remembered, the players who played their roles shouldn’t be forgotten, either.
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