History of the Terrible Towel

[JoeZagorski]

Hey Guys:
Does anyone know what year the Terrible Towel made its debut in Pittsburgh? I'm thinking 1975, but it might have been 1974. Please give me facts and specifics if you can. Thanks!
Sincerely,
Joe Zagorski

[Mark Durr]

Pittsburgh broadcaster Myron Cope is credited on the Steelers website and the 1975 playoff run is the date given:

http://www.steelers.com/history/terrible-towel.html

[JoeZagorski]

Thanks Mark!
Joe Z.

[Mark Durr]

WTAE sales executive Larry Garrett is given credit for coming up with the idea of a towel as marketing gimmick in a brainstorm session with Cope and others:

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/07/15/nfl-histo ... ble-towel/

The debut of the Terrible Towel is listed as December 27, 1975 in a playoff game against the Baltimore Colts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrible_Towel

Something I hadn't realized -- since 1996 a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the official towel go to the Allegheny Valley School, a non-profit that cares for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

http://avs.nhsonline.org/how-you-can-he ... towel.html

Very cool...

[MatthewToy]

It bothers me that they never brought back the white version of the Terrible Towel. Back when they started marketing them in 1978 there was the OG gold one, a black one, and a white one with gold letters and black trim. I thought that was the best looking Terrible Towel. There might be a gimmicky one that's white because there's a Terrible Towel for everything now but they never made a regular white one since they were revived in 1994.

[Rupert Patrick]

WTAE sales executive Larry Garrett is given credit for coming up with the idea of a towel as marketing gimmick in a brainstorm session with Cope and others:

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/07/15/nfl-histo ... ble-towel/

The debut of the Terrible Towel is listed as December 27, 1975 in a playoff game against the Baltimore Colts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrible_Towel

Something I hadn't realized -- since 1996 a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the official towel go to the Allegheny Valley School, a non-profit that cares for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

http://avs.nhsonline.org/how-you-can-he ... towel.html

Very cool...

Myron Cope has a son who has severe autism and according to wikipedia has lived most of his life at the Allegheny Valley School. Cope was a successful sportswriter in the 50's and 60's, but got into television and radio in the 70's (for probably the main reason) because the medical benefits these professions offered were much better, which he needed to help care for his son.

[John Grasso]

Wasn't Cope the person who first coined the term "Immaculate Reception" for the Harris catch?

[Rupert Patrick]

Wasn't Cope the person who first coined the term "Immaculate Reception" for the Harris catch?

No, it was a caller to Cope's radio show in Pittsburgh who first used the term the day after it happened, and it took a couple years for the term to catch on and by 76-77 it was the accepted term. In the Football Life episode on the Immaculate Reception, they tracked down the guy who first uttered it.

[Rupert Patrick]

It bothers me that they never brought back the white version of the Terrible Towel. Back when they started marketing them in 1978 there was the OG gold one, a black one, and a white one with gold letters and black trim. I thought that was the best looking Terrible Towel. There might be a gimmicky one that's white because there's a Terrible Towel for everything now but they never made a regular white one since they were revived in 1994.

I've never heard of a white Terrible Towel. I'd be curious to see what one of these looks like.