Retro Thursday: “Mad Man Jack” Lambert’s Hall of Fame Induction by the Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Steelers Nation’s history is brought to life through Steel City Underground, which transports fans to different eras and highlights memorable moments, players, and events. In this round of “Steelers Throwback Thursday,” we’ll be taking a look back at these moments with you.

Players all around the National Football League have looked up to, and even been intimidated by, the Pittsburgh Steelers because of the exceptional players they have fielded throughout the years.
Some of them have managed to wipe out their opponents. We take a quick look back at Jack Lambert’s career this week, concentrating on his 1990 summer entrance into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

An Unforgettable Career

While Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated’s “Dr. Z” may have written the most heartfelt homage piece on Lambert in 2017, Brian E. Roach of Steel City Underground may have been the only one.

I would be negligent if I didn’t provide links to those specific stories to begin our Throwback Thursday.
Paul Zimmerman’s “Jack Lambert: Defender of What Is Right” “Brian E. Roach’s The Legend of Jack Lambert” When it came to American football linebackers, Lambert was the gold standard.

He was physically strong, quick on his feet, and not scared to take a hit or two.
His aggressiveness and determination made his opponents adjust their strategies to counter him. An unstoppable powerhouse, he was.

Off the field, though, he didn’t appear to act like a professional player.

Jack was a 6’4″, 220 lb. tow-head who played three sports in high school and spent time as a child in Mantua, Ohio, on his grandfather’s farm.

He was a workaholic who excelled in football (quarterback and cornerback), baseball (catcher), and basketball (point guard).

Both of Lambert’s years as a linebacker at Kent State were marked as All-American. Recalling an anecdote about Lambert that shed light on the character of the young guy, Art Rooney, Jr. remarked, The quarterback at Kent was clearly a dissipator; once he did something, the squad was planning to bench him.

Lambert led his squad to victory. “You can’t,” he told Coach Dennis Fitzgerald. You’re going to completely derail the organization. Okay, but Fitzgerald insisted that he conduct a punishment drill.

Lambert promised to “run it with him” to ensure that he completed the task.

Lambert ultimately had to pull him through. Lambert, who began his career at Kent State as a defensive end before transitioning to linebacker, was unfazed by the fact that evaluators thought he was on the petite side for an NFL linebacker. Still, according to Zimmerman’s words,

Off the field (Lambert is) a quiet, extremely private man, a bird watcher and avid fisherman… he spent much of the off-season ensuring greater privacy by building himself a country retreat on 85 acres he bought…”

Steelers fans, however, came to know Lambert as “Jack Splat”, “Mad Man Jack”, “Count Dracula in Cleats,” and his biggest fans called themselves “Lambert’s Lunatics.”

Sports Illustrated once famously made a photograph of Lambert with his menacing smile their cover. It’s an image Steelers fans, once they’ve seen it, seldom can get out of their heads when Lambert’s name is mentioned. It was an image that initially bothered Lambert, but his eventual acceptance was wrapped up in his own words to Fitzgerald:

“All that stuff upsets me, because I’m not a dirty football player. I don’t sit in front of my locker thinking of fighting or hurting somebody. All I want to do is to be able to play football hard and aggressively, the way it’s meant to be played… Oh hell, it’s just an image…”

What Lambert should be remembered for is his skill at being able to play sideline-to-sideline, make tackles, and work effectively in coverage. In fact, he is arguably one of the best interior linebackers to have ever played in the NFL.

Yes, Lambert could put a hit on an opposing player. Rumors about on-field actions that may or may not have happened have gone hand in hand with statements truly Lambert made with his play. He wasn’t one to back down… to anyone who wanted him to be their doormat on the gridiron.

Before we end the career retrospective, let’s not forget the following statistics and honors Lambert earned with the Steelers.

• Total tackles: 1,479
  Sacks: 8
  Interceptions: 28
  Interception yards: 243
  Fumble recoveries: 17
• 4× Super Bowl champion (IX, X, XIII, XIV)
• NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1976)
• NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (1974)
• 6× First-team All-Pro (1976, 1979–1983)
• 2× Second-team All-Pro (1975, 1978)
• 9× Pro Bowl (1975–1983)
• NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
• NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
• NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
• NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
• PFWA All-Rookie Team (1974)
• Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team
• Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor
• Pro Football Hall of Fame