1988 Pittsburgh Steelers season The 1988 Pittsburgh Steelers began the season with the death of Hall of Fame team founder & owner Art Rooney at age 87 less than two weeks before the start of the season . The team would wear AJR patches on the left shoulder the entire season in memory of " The Chief " . The death of Rooney , combined with the team having several inexperienced players and aging veterans , saw the team stumble to a 5 – 11 season , their worst record since finishing an NFL - worst 1 – 13 in 1969 . As of 2011 , the 5 – 11 mark remains the team ' s worst record since 1969 , and have only finished with ten losses twice since , in 1999 and 2003 . Offseason . The Steelers saw two of its last three remaining players who won all four Super Bowls retire in wide receiver John Stallworth and strong safety Donnie Shell , who were both from the team ' s famous Class of 1974 that saw four players go on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame ( although Shell was undrafted , he was still from the same rookie class ) , and in the case of Stallworth , retired as the team ' s all - time leading receiver . ( Stallworth ' s record was surpassed by Hines Ward in 2005 . ) Mike Webster , who was also from the Class of 1974 , entered the season as the sole remaining member of all four Super Bowl teams . However , change appeared to be imminent when the team drafted Kentucky guard Dermontti Dawson in the second round of the 1988 draft . Although Dawson would be playing guard his rookie season alongside Webster , it was apparent that Dawson was drafted to be groomed as Webster ' s eventual replacement at center . Webster would be released by the Steelers in the following offseason , officially ending the team ' s link to all four Super Bowl clubs . To the delight of Steelers fans , and even most of the players , the Mark Malone era officially ended in the offseason as well . Malone , who had lost the starting quarterback job to Bubby Brister the previous year , was traded to the San Diego Chargers during the offseason . Malone had also become hugely unpopular with fans and teammates for blaming his mistakes on other players and acting as if he were the " heir " to the QB position after the retirement of Terry Bradshaw . At one point , a locker room fight between Malone and the rest of the team ensued before being broken up by veteran offensive tackle Tunch Ilkin . Regular season . Game summaries . Week 1 ( Sunday September 4 , 1988 ) : vs . Dallas Cowboys . " at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania " Scoring Drives : Week 2 ( Sunday September 11 , 1988 ) : at Washington Redskins . " at RFK Stadium , Washington , DC " Scoring Drives : Week 3 ( Sunday September 18 , 1988 ) : vs . Cincinnati Bengals . " at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania " Scoring Drives : Week 4 ( Sunday September 25 , 1988 ) : at Buffalo Bills . " at Rich Stadium , Orchard Park , New York " Scoring Drives : Week 5 ( Sunday October 2 , 1988 ) : vs . Cleveland Browns . " at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania " Scoring Drives : Week 6 ( Sunday October 9 , 1988 ) : at Phoenix Cardinals . " at Sun Devil Stadium , Tempe , Arizona " Scoring Drives : Week 7 ( Sunday October 16 , 1988 ) : vs . Houston Oilers . " at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania " Scoring Drives : Week 8 ( Sunday October 23 , 1988 ) : vs . Denver Broncos . " at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania " Scoring Drives : Week 9 ( Sunday October 30 , 1988 ) : at New York Jets . " at Giants Stadium , East Rutherford , New Jersey " Scoring Drives : Week 10 ( Sunday November 6 , 1988 ) : at Cincinnati Bengals . " at Riverfront Stadium , Cincinnati , Ohio " Scoring Drives : Week 11 ( Sunday November 13 , 1988 ) : vs . Philadelphia Eagles . " at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania " Scoring Drives : Week 12 ( Sunday November 20 , 1988 ) : at Cleveland Browns . " at Cleveland Municipal Stadium , Cleveland , Ohio " Scoring Drives : Week 13 ( Sunday November 27 , 1988 ) : vs . Kansas City Chiefs . " at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania " Scoring Drives : Week 14 ( Sunday December 4 , 1988 ) : at Houston Oilers . " at Astrodome , Houston , Texas " Scoring Drives : Week 15 ( Sunday December 11 , 1988 ) : at San Diego Chargers . " at Jack Murphy Stadium , San Diego , California " Scoring Drives : Week 16 ( Sunday December 18 , 1988 ) : vs . Miami Dolphins . " at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania " Scoring Drives :