European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 16, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday june 16, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 25 commentary Blount a Hall of a Steeler the c-5 did it. Mel Blount stood under its belly and peered skyward. A Man a he said. A this thing is  in its own simple Way it was a humbling experience for Blount a Hall of Famer. Blount is big both physically and in social stature. Mel met his match. He weighs in at a Cool 205 pounds his 6-foot-3 Frame dispersing the muscle evenly. He owns four rings that hundreds of pro football players Only dream about each Winter. The super bowl. Four trips. Four wins. Count Mem instalments in Xxiii and Xiv. The team the dreaded Pittsburgh Steeles of the �?T70s. Yeah them. Mean Joe Greene Terry Bradshaw Jack Lambert Jack Ham Lynn Swann Franco Harris Rocky Bleier and coach Chuck Noll. Those Steeles live in the annals of football lore these Days always a source for an intriguing conversation. Blount was one of them. He still is. Hell always be. During those glory years Blount roamed the secondary from 1970 through 1983. The Iron Man cornerback played in 200 regular season games missing Only one during that Span. His 57 interceptions Are the most in Steeler history. Mention the feared steel curtain and you can bet blounts name will be right up there. A the memories. A i think its interesting that its still remembered so Well. Its really a tribute to what we have done a he said during an nil Uso tour of Rhein main a wednesday. Forget memory Lane. Blount Heads out on the reminiscence expressway. A a in be been out of the game for six years and to have someone come up and ask you about those Days shows you How Well it made a lasting impression a he said. The sight of Greene Lambert and Ham gobbling up Ball carriers made even More of a lasting impression. The Steeles draw Little comparison to the san Francisco 49ers of today he said. A they won four super bowls too a said Blount. A a that a about As close As you can get. A a everybody a comparing them to us. When we came up everyone was comparing us to the Vikings. I guess that a journalism  the Hall of Fame May consider adding a Steeler Wing. Blounts acceptance last August put him in the company of Bradshaw Greene Swann Lambert Ham and Harris. A Man those memories Are so so vivid still a said Blount 42. A i have an awful lot of fond memories but especially the people. On Greene a the was my Roommate. I think about his intensity his character. I think about Joe As a Friend a special kind of person. Joe was a great  Rob Staggenborg think he was misunderstood. He is a Good Man he just got a raw kill by the fans who called him dumb. He was just caught up in his environment. He was a real country  on Swann a Graceful. That a it. His gracefulness. He was very talented smart and meticulous. He just did his Job a very Well at  on Lambert a Jack was real intense a no nonsense kind of a Guy who played with a lot of Pride. Just a helluva football  on Ham a Jack Ham was a class act. No really. The Guy never did a whole lot of talking he was just a helluva ballplayer. A Penn Stater a Nat a you expect he had everything going for  blounts respect for Ham is More of a reverence. A the was the Best linebacker in be Ever seen play the game. You done to see too Many Jack hams around anymore. He could run cover come up and hit somebody. Jack Ham a none  Blount on Mel Blount a fortunate thankful and talented. I Felt like i had the ability. I done to care How Good you Are you re always blessed if you re around Good people. I was around great  on the 1990 Steeles a a they re on their Way Back up to being a championship football team. I like the personnel there. I like Bubby Brister. They re just As far As everyone else in the division. I think they just Mel Blount had 57 interceptions in his nil Days. On Harris a big play Guy. A real gentleman a still is. We called him a quiet giant. He Wasny to a boastful kind of Guy. Could he  on Bleier a we called Rocky a Audie  he was the big War hero. Bleier served in Vietnam where his foot was nearly blown off. He was the big play Man a notre Darner. You know an All american kid. He was the Type of Guy who a sneak up to you on the Field. You a look and  think he was doing much then look again and see he had 100 Yards running. Man.  on Bradshaw a Terry was a Man of great ability. I need a player or two in a couple of  Chuck Noll leads the 1990 version of the steel curtain. Blount respects Noll despite Rocky times the coach has endured through Pittsburgh a recent losing seasons. A Chuck Noll is going to be there As Long As he wants to. He a not under any pressure to leave a he said. A Chuck is consistent very demanding but fair. Chucks the Guy who can put it All  the Hall of Fame. The name says enough. A i look Back on my playing Days and say it was a great experience. Its been something special a a special time in my life. A a lot of Guys have super bowl rings. Not a lot of them got one of these a Blount said the Gold band glimmering from an overhead Light. A in the 60-year history of the nil Only 168 players have made it into the Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio. In a Lucky in a in. I keep it in keel. I done to think i did anything differently the Day i found out about it. Its just a combination of hard work and determination. That a life though. If you work toward something and you set a goal reaching that goal  come As a Surprise. A i was fortunate enough to play for some great owners in Art Rooney and his sons. They did a great Job of pulling great athletes together. A we came along at a special time in the history of football where a lot of moods were  still he said the ring remains a the ultimate. Its a Nice  a fitting tribute. The stars and stripes lady rams teamed up for volleyball title dear editor this is in reference to the May 21 article that ran in the sports Section on the lady rams winning in the Safe volleyball tournament at Span Dahlem a. To Start this is written to the reporter or writer of the article. The lady rams outlasted the sabres in a hard fought Battle As a team we do not have a one or two woman team. Each one of us depends on one another to do their part. I have never seen a player pass a Ball then set herself to hit on a six Man team and be Legal. This is not to take away from a Good player but also give credit where credit is due. Granted a team May have a Good p Ayer or two or three but what is that player Worth if she cannot get the front pass from the Back Row passer or receive that perfect set which allows her to hit the Ball so hard that it explodes on Contact sending the crowd into hysteria sports letters secondly i wrote this to give the rest of the lady rams the credit they deserve. They were there alongside the other two mentioned in the article getting the serves sets digs and blocks whenever called upon even if it Wasny to their specially. This is to you Dawn Baptist Netta Buckson Yvonne Brown Rose Koch Friede Roberts and the rest of the rams who  be with us. We played some serious volleyball made some Good adjustments and came out on top. I did not give solid hitting support for one person i gave solid hitting support to the lady rams volleyball team. . There is one other correction in the article. My last name is spelled Gagnon thank you for your time. Maria Gagnon lady rams 1990 Safe champions Ramstein a West German the jokes on nil dear editor i was Reading your article a punters get a kick out of Anny a when i came to John Millard a quote of a comment made by Detroit Lions punter Jim Arnold. Referring to the Quality of play throughout the nil Arnold is quoted As saying a a there a a lot More parody throughout the league these  my immediate reaction was to wonder if Whai Arnold meant was actually parity which Means that most of the teams in the nil Are essentially equal in Talent and ability to the other teams in the league. On further reflection i wondered if maybe parody might not have actually been a More accurate statement. Having witnessed All three Denver Bronco defeats in the super bowl during the past decade in be sometimes wondered if maybe Denver was trying to do a parody of Custer at Little big Horn. Provided they keep practising someday  file Detroit Lions punter Jim Arnold. Parody or parity be Able to re enact it perfectly. Either Way whether it is a a parity or a parody a John Millar is not exactly incorrect. _ Fred Hoffman Berlin