Remembering L.C. Greenwood - From Canton to Canton

"There’s a great spirit gone!" - Antony and Cleopatra, Act 1, scene 2

The great and proud Pittsburgh Steelers organization has lost yet another member of its family when Mr. L.C. Henderson Greenwood 'shuffled off this mortal coil' on Sunday, September 29, 2013. He was 67 years old. - http://tinyurl.com/muvo3dt

I'm not afraid to say that I shed a tear when I heard the news about the man known as "Hollywood Bags." L.C., the multiple All-Pro, Pro Bowl and Super Bowl player, just hit me in a different spot.

Maybe it was because L.C. was from Canton, Mississippi and that I'm from Greenville, MS. Maybe it's because his birthday was September 8th (1946) and my birthday (though I don't celebrate them) is on the 9th of September.

Or, to borrow a line from Mars Blackmon, 'maybe it's the shoes.'

L.C. was known for his golden shoes when he played. It was part of his flashy style. But, according to his website, it came about by accident.

"In 1973, L.C. Greenwood was diagnosed by his team doctor with a severe ankle injury. The doctor suggested that if he wanted to play in Sunday’s game, he would have to wear high top shoes. Tony Parisi was one of the Steelers trainers and he had a friend who owned a shoe store in the Strip District. At the shoe store Tony was given a couple of pairs of black Riddell high tops. Back in the locker room, Tony asked L.C. to try them on and they fit perfectly. L.C. said, “Tony, I can’t wear these shoes, they are too ugly!” So Tony offered to paint them white. L.C. did not like that idea because Joe Namath wore white high tops, so Tony offered to paint them gold. L.C. agreed. When the gold shoes appeared in his locker L.C. hesitantly put them on and wore them on game day, and the Steelers won. On the following Sunday, L.C. wore them once more, and the Steelers won again. However, the next game, L.C.’s ankle was on the mend so he wore his regular shoes…The Steelers lost. Suddenly, fan mail started to pour in for L.C. begging him to wear the gold shoes because when he did, the Steelers won. They had become a good luck charm. Always a fan pleaser, L.C. adorned the gold shoes for many of the games." - http://www.lcgreenwood68.com/l-c-s-gold-shoes/

Per ProFootballResearchera.org, the Steelers "were fined for a uniform violation every game L.C. played. While his teammates wore the standard black shoes that went with the uniform, Greenwood's were always a shiny gold. ... The Steelers never complained about the fines, L.C. was worth it."

And accident or not, it is a style that went along with his nickname.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldo from "Steelers Years", L.C. "was called 'Hollywood Bags' because he claimed he kept his bags packed and ready so he could leave for Hollywood at a moment's notice."

It may sound funny, but, according to his official website, L.C. was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Though, he didn't appear in anything of note outside of NFL Films or cameo parts where he portrayed himself.

On the field, however, L.C. was always a star. A nightmare for quarterbacks, he used his height and reflexes to bat down numerous balls throughout his career. In Super Bowl IX, he smashed down two of Fran Tarkenton's pass attempts.

Quite the athlete, he had great speed (4.7/40) and unusual quickness for a man who was 6'6" 245 pounds. He was remarkably consistent and effective - in his 13 seasons he recorded 73.5 sacks and 14 fumble recoveries.

Recording five sacks in his four Super Bowl victories, L.C. had his best performance when the Steelers won Super Bowl X by sacking Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach four times in the 21-17 victory.

That touches on a particular, and particularly sore, subject. Despite all his credentials - six-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-AFC, two-time All-Pro and four-time World champion - he isn't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"The saddest thing is," said Steelers Dan Rooney, "he never got into the Hall of Fame,"

L.C. was a finalist for the Hall of Fame in 2005 and 2006, but was not elected. In recent years, however, there has been some clamor to get him into the Hall of Fame through the seniors committee.

Unfortunately now, though, it will be a posthumous induction when it happens. With there being several NFL players in the Hall of Fame with comparable numbers, it shouldn't have taken as long as it has in the first place.

L.C. Henderson Greenwood was born in Canton, Mississippi.

L.C. "Hollywood Bags" Greenwood deserves to live on forever in Canton, Ohio.

The Manning Parade Should Remind Steelers Fans What They Have

Peyton Manning was recently released by the Indianapolis Colts after playing for the team with the horseshoe on its helmet since his being drafted by them in 1998. Now a free agent, he's shopping his talents to the team with whom he feels he fits in best. One of the twelve teams vying for his services has even used the word "desperately" to describe how much they want those services.

With the recent release of Hines Ward also, Steelers fans have an understanding of what it is to lose a beloved veteran. A winner. A gentleman. It should as well help them to realize that the same could happen in a few years to another of their own. The same indeed could happen to Ben Roethlisberger.

Roethlisberger had been in the news in the past few weeks himself because of a couple of things. Most notably because of team president Art Rooney II's comments. You've heard it oft repeated since Rooney II said it some weeks ago, Ben Roethlisberger needs to "tweak" his game.

Because of his "backyard football" style, his "John Wayne" save-the-day complex and his occasional Divo attitude, Roethlisberger, Big Ben to his fans, does have his share of detractors. And those detractors have taken the opportunity to take Rooney II's "tweak" comment and run with it. Even changing it to mean or say he should "change" his game.

Without a doubt, there are a lot of knowledgable fans out there. There are also, though, some troglodytes who should never be allowed to comment on anything football related, yet they still offer up their "wealth" of knowledge on Twitter and Facebook. These somehow have the tendency to influence otherwise intelligent fans.            

Constructive criticism rapidly becomes critical deconstruction when Roethlisberger holds the ball too long. Certainly Roethlisberger has his flaws, but the love-hate relationship can lean toward the latter more often than it should. There's simply no reason for overly harsh criticism of someone who busts his hump for the sake of his team like Roethlisberger does. In fact, we might be seeing a bit history repeating itself.

No Steelers player may ever have had more of a love-hate relationship with fans than Terry Bradshaw. Bradshaw was booed vigorously by fickle fans in Pittsburgh for the first five years of his career. Those same fickle fans wanted Joe Gilliam or Terry Hanratty to be their quarterback instead.

It's a good thing Chuck Noll ultimately didn't listen. Four Super Bowl titles, two Super Bowl MVPs, two Team MVPs, and one NFL MVP ultimately silenced the booing. Still, the echoes of boos lingered in his head. It took him years before he reconciled and returned to Pittsburgh after his retirement.

Naturally, the circumstances surrounding the two quarterbacks' situations are different. But it's still something to keep in mind. Let's not allow ourselves to forget what he's accomplished. The first seven years of his career were actually reminiscent of the numbers of Hall of Fame legend Joe Montana. I'll list some of those similarities and other accomplishments:

Roethlisberger has been one of the most efficient passers in NFL history. He has an all-time in NFL passer rating of 92.1, completion percentage of 63.1% and is 5th all-time in yards per attempt (8.06) among quarterbacks with a minimum of 1,500 career attempts. He also has the fourth highest career winning percentage (.708) as a starter in the regular season among quarterbacks with a minimum of 100 starts.

Some individual records Roethlisberger possesses are: most regular season wins in a season, rookie QB -- 13 (2004);

Longest regular season win streak to start a career for a NFL QB -- 15 games (won all 13 starts in the 2004 season, won first 2 games of the 2005 season);

Most wins as a starting quarterback in first five NFL seasons (reg. season only) - 51 (from 2004–2008); highest passer rating, rookie season -- 98.1 (2004);

Highest completion percentage, rookie season -- 66.4% (2004);

Highest single-game completion percentage, rookie season (min. 20 attempts) -- 84.0% (completed 21/25 passes at Dallas on 10/17/2004);

Most games with a completion percentage of 70.0% or higher, rookie season (min. 10 attempts) -- 6 (2004);

Most games with a completion percentage of 80.0% or higher, single season (min. 10 attempts) -- 4 (2007);

(Tie) Most touchdown passes, Monday Night Football game -- 5 (11/5/2007 vs. Baltimore Ravens);

Youngest starting QB ever to win the Super Bowl (2005), and the second-youngest quarterback to win two Super Bowls;

and the fourth-fewest starts by a quarterback to reach 80 regular season wins -- 113 (behind Tom Brady, Roger Staubach and Ken Stabler).

Make no mistake, the sun has reached it's apex in Roethlisberger's career. He has some incredible accomplishments behind him, but also a still bright future in front of him. In fact, Roethlisberger is hoping he is just entering his prime: http://t.co/I6e7eCul

Tweaking his game isn't a negative thing, it just refers to minor adjustments that will help elongate his career. He's a veteran and proven winner. Just like a few other quarterbacks of note. Let's just he continues those winning ways in Black and Gold for a long time.