The 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers

Joann Baney has spent the last decade as an associate professor at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. She has an additional 19 years of experience as part of the executive education faculty of the Columbia Business School. Beyond her professional activities, Joann Baney enjoys following the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowl championships since joining the National Football League (NFL) in 1933, a league record. The Steelers won three of those championships between 1974 and 1979, including the team’s dominant 1978 run.

The 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers went 14-2 during the regular season, a franchise record that would hold until 2004, when the team won 15 games before ultimately losing in the second round of the playoffs. Over the course of the 1978 campaign, the Steelers held six opponents to single-digit scoring. The team won seven games to start the season and entered the playoffs on a five-game winning streak.

In the playoffs, the Steelers continued to dominate, eliminating the Denver Broncos 33-10 and the Houston Oilers 34-5 en route to Super Bowl XIII. Their Super Bowl opponents, the 12-win Dallas Cowboys, proved tough adversaries. At one point in the second quarter, the Cowboys took a 14-7 lead. The advantage was short lived, however, and the Steelers eventually pulled away for a 35-31 victory.

Steelers Sign Veteran Quarterback Michael Vick to One-Year Deal

An associate professor in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, Joann Baney also serves as vice president of the Professional Development Company, Inc., a New York City-based communications consulting firm she founded in 1997. In her free time, Joann Baney enjoys attending Broadway shows, traveling, and cheering on her favorite NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In a recent press release, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that they have signed Michael Vick to a one-year contract after placing quarterback Bruce Gradkowski on the Reserve/Injured List. Vick, a veteran quarterback entering his 13th NFL season, was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 2001 and has since played with the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Jets.

Over the course of his career, the 35-year-old Vick has played in 138 games and completed 1,767 out of 3,151 passes for a total of 22,093 yards. He has also been selected to the Pro Bowl four times and received the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2010. With the Steelers, Vick will serve as a backup for starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.