Logos and uniforms of the Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers were founded in 1933 . Over the course of the team ' s history , the team has had several logos while wearing virtually the same uniforms over the years , with subtle changes made to give the uniforms an updated look . The team colors , uniforms , and logo are often ranked as being among the best in the NFL . Colors . The Steelers have used black and gold as their colors since the club ' s inception , the lone exception being the 1943 season when they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles and formed the " Steagles " ; the team ' s colors at that time were green and white as a result of wearing Eagles uniforms . The colors black and gold are representative of the two ingredients to create steel . Coal and iron ore . Originally , the team wore Gold - colored helmets and black jerseys . Unique to Pittsburgh , the Steelers ' black and gold colors are now shared by all major professional teams in the city , including the Pittsburgh Pirates in baseball and the Pittsburgh Penguins in hockey . These also are the colors of the city ' s official flag . Logo . The Steelers have had several logos in the early part of their history , among them including the crest of Pittsburgh , a football with Pittsburgh ' s then - smog gy skyline , as well as a construction worker hanging onto a chain holding a pennant . Another logo showed the worker punting a football on a steel beam . It is rumored that controversial mascot Steely McBeam was based on the latter logo . Since 1963 , the team has used a stencil typeface for their script logo . Since then , many team - related typefaces have used stencil font . The team ' s current primary logo was introduced in 1962 and is based on the flag originally designed by Pittsburgh ' s U . S . Steel and now owned by the American Iron and Steel Institute ( AISI ) . Ironically , it was Robert Sexton , an employee out of the Pittsburgh office of Cleveland - based Republic Steel , that suggested the Steelers adopt the industry logo . It consists of the word " Steel " surrounded by three astroid s ( hypocycloid s of four cusp s ) . The original meanings behind the astroids were , " Steel lightens your work , brightens your leisure , and widens your world . " Later , the colors came to represent the ingredients used in the steel - making process : yellow for coal , orange for iron ore , and blue for scrap steel . While the formal Steelmark logo contains only the word " Steel , " the team was given permission to add " ers " in 1963 after a petition against AISI . While the logo still resembles the original Steelmark logo , the team has made subtle changes over the years in order to own a trademark on the logo , most notably making the three astroids thicker in shape and changing the orange astroid to red . The Steelmark logo itself has actually been heavily redesigned since then , using two variants , one of which uses a more modern design and uses three shades of blue for the astroids while another one used concurrently has a strong resemblance to the recycling symbol . One alternate variation the team used in the 1980s — though rarely used today — combined the logo with the team ' s signature stencil - script typeface , replacing the regular " Steelers " typeface used with the team ' s longtime script logo . Helmets . The Steelers are the only NFL team that puts its logo on only one side of the helmet ( the right side ) . Longtime field and equipment manager Jack Hart was instructed to do this by Art Rooney as a test to see how the logo appeared on the gold helmets ; however , its popularity led the team to leave it that way permanently . Since then , several college football teams such as Michigan State have followed the Steelers approach at one point or another and had their logo on only one side of the helmet . A year after introducing the logo , they switched to black helmets to make it stand out more . In 1977 , the Steelers switched facemask colors from gray to black . Another feature of the helmet is that a player ' s number appears on both the front and back ( the Steelers are one of only two teams in the NFL to do this , the other being the New York Giants ) . The numbers traditionally do not appear on the front of the helmet during the exhibition season , and also do not appear on the front of the throwback helmets . Uniforms . Early years . The Steelers have made only a few changes to their jerseys over the years . Originally , the team had vertically - striped jerseys that resembled prison uniforms at the time , with some variations having the city of Pittsburgh crest on the front , a la NHL uniforms . The team would later wear these uniforms as throwbacks in 1994 . The team adopted more standard NFL uniforms in 1936 and added Northwestern striping to the sleeves , and with the team finishing 0 . 500 for the first time in team history that season ( at 6 – 6 ) , the stripes have largely remained on the uniforms since . The striping pattern is named for Northwestern University , the college that is believed to have originated the pattern . One exception that the stripes were omitted prior to the 1960s was from the aforementioned " Steagles " season because the team wore the Eagles uniforms as a cost - saving measure . The Eagles ' jerseys at the time were green with white shoulders and no stripes . The Rooneys have acknowledged that because the combined team wore the Eagles uniforms that year , it is the only time in team history that the colors were something other than black & gold . Two white jerseys . Due to uniform experimentation in the 1960s , on two separate occasions the team ' s stripes were omitted . The first time came in 1962 , when the Steelers began to wear two types of white jerseys , one of which featured a gold diamond on the sleeves in place of the stripes , with the " TV numbers " situated on the diamonds . These jerseys were primarily worn in home games when the team didn ' t wear their black jerseys , since the NFL at the time was encouraging teams to wear white jerseys so fans could see the team colors of their opponents . The other jersey featured gold sleeves and a black version of the stripes , and were worn in road games when the home team elected to wear their colored jerseys . The team continued this way through the 1965 season . Caped Crusaders . Perhaps the most infamous uniforms the team has ever worn came in 1966 , when the team experimented with the " Batman " - themed uniforms , named as such because they were similar to the Batman outfits Adam West wore on the popular TV series . The jersey had no stripes on either the black or white jerseys and had a gold triangle - like diamond covering the shoulders . Although they have been commonly called the " Batman " uniforms , Dan Rooney later made public his reasoning behind the uniforms . With his father still running the team and the Vince Lombardi - led Green Bay Packers being the class of the NFL , the younger Rooney ( who still had a much smaller role with the team at the time ) didn ' t want to follow the lead of other NFL teams trying to copy the Packers and wanted the Steelers to have a more unique look . Coinciding with this was the development of the Golden Triangle in the city of Pittsburgh in the 1960s , so Rooney decided to give the uniforms a connection to the growing downtown district with the gold triangle - like diamond . Although both Rooney and NFL Films ' s Steve Sabol liked the look ( Sabol mentioned that you could easily tell when the Steelers played ) , the players didn ' t , adding that they looked like clown s or Batman , which is likely where the " Batman " rumors began . Due to primitive washing techniques at the time ( as well as NFL teams frequently reusing the uniforms , unlike today where current athletic supplier Nike gives teams new equipment every game ) , the Steelers had trouble washing the uniforms because the gold triangle faded easily . Rooney was even asked on a radio show in Dallas when the team was playing the Cowboys on October 30 , 1966 if the team was wearing the uniforms for Halloween . The uniforms were retired after two seasons . The team has mentioned publicly as recently as 2007 that they will never wear them in a game again . However , in 2008 , the team began to sell customized versions of the jerseys on their official Web site . Fittingly , several Steelers players appear in the 2012 Batman film " The Dark Knight Rises " in a scene which was filmed in Heinz Field . Modern classics . After just two years with the " Batman " uniforms , the current uniform designs were introduced in 1968 . The design was a modernized version of the pre - 1966 black design and consists of gold pants and either black jerseys or white jerseys , except for the 1970 and 1971 seasons when the Steelers wore white pants with their white jerseys . After a two - year hiatus , the Northwestern - style stripes returned for good , with the black jerseys getting white stripes in the two gaps of the gold stripes while the white jerseys got black outlines on the gold stripes . Both variations have been heavily used in team apparel . Although the stripes initially went all the way around the sleeves , since the 2000 season they now stop in the middle of the jersey ; this is due to football jerseys in general shortening the sleeves to reduce holding calls . The helmet is solid black with a gold central stripe and small white player numbers on the forehead . Last names were added to the jerseys in 1970 , as part of a new NFL mandate resulting from the AFL - NFL merger ( the AFL teams had last names on the back of their jerseys ) . In 1997 , the team switched to rounded numbers on the jersey to match the number font ( Futura Condensed ) on the helmets , and a Steelers logo was added to the left side of the jersey . The Steelers are often praised and recognized with their uniforms due to their traditional style while other teams such as the Arizona Cardinals , Atlanta Falcons , Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings have introduced more radical uniforms in recent years . When Reebok signed a contract to become the exclusive uniform supplier to the NFL in 2000 ( replacing Nike , whom the Steelers had from 1997 - 2001 , and had Starter before Nike ) Reebok had announced that all NFL teams would be changing their uniforms for the 2002 NFL season , when Reebok ' s contract took effect . Dan Rooney , one of the league ' s most influential owners , stated several times in public that the Steelers would NOT be changing their uniforms despite Reebok stating otherwise . Eventually , Reebook rescinded its proposal due to several owners protesting after taking Rooney ' s lead . ( The Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks redesigned their uniforms for 2002 anyways . ) Aside from introducing their throwbacks in 2007 , the Steelers have not made any changes to their uniforms since Reebook took over as the league ' s supplier . In 1979 , the team gave the Big Ten ' s Iowa Hawkeyes permission to use the Steelers uniform designs , since both teams had the same color scheme . Aside from Iowa using its Tigerhawk logo as well as continuing to use the block numbers that the Steelers themselves replaced with the rounder numbers in 1997 , the two uniform sets remain identical today . Black at home . The Steelers are one of a dwindling number of NFL franchises that strictly wears its team color jerseys at home , always opting for black . They are the only ones in the AFC North to practice this . The Cleveland Browns have traditionally had on again / off again periods of wearing white at home , while the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals , like some other NFL teams , wear white in their home opener before wearing their darker jerseys in their remaining home games . The Steelers last wore white at home on a regular basis in 1969 , Chuck Noll ' s first season as coach and the last year the team played in Pitt Stadium . Because of the team ' s unofficial policy of always wearing their black jerseys in home games , the team gained some notoriety when , as the designated " home " team for Super Bowl XL , the team elected to wear their white jerseys , becoming just the third NFL team to elect to wear white as the " home " team in the Super Bowl . But while the other two teams that have elected to wear white as the " home " team in the Super Bowl ( Dallas in Super Bowl XIII and Super Bowl XXVII , and Washington in Super Bowl XVII ) traditionally wear white at home , a variety of reasons were rumored as to why the Steelers elected to wear white in Super Bowl XL . Reasons included the fact that the team wore white in all three playoff victories that year ( all on the road ) to former head coach Bill Cowher ' s comments that since it wasn ' t at Heinz Field , it was a road game ( a statement contradicted by the fact that ten years earlier in Super Bowl XXX , Cowher ' s squad was the " home team " and chose to wear their black jerseys away from Three Rivers Stadium , where they had played both playoff games ) . However , it should be noted though that the game took place in Detroit , which is only a five hour drive from Pittsburgh and with the league preferring to have the Super Bowl in subtropical or Mediterranean climates or in domed / retractable roof stadiums due to the winter weather , is likely the closest the Steelers would have to a home game in a Super Bowl in the foreseeable future . ( Not surprisingly , there were also an overwhelming number of Steelers fans at the game compared to the number of supporters of their opponent , the Seattle Seahawks . One ESPN . com columnist suggested that Steelers fans outnumbered Seahawks fans by a ratio of 25 to 1 . ) Having been the Cowboys ' opponent in XIII , the Steelers are the only team to have worn both white jerseys for a " home " Super Bowl and colored jerseys for an " away " one . Throwback uniforms . At a press conference on April 27 , 2007 , it was announced that the Steelers would wear a throwback uniform for two home games during the 2007 season , as part of the celebration of the Steelers ' 75th Season . They were worn for the Steelers ' home opener against the Buffalo Bills on September 16 and again during the Monday Night Football game on November 5 against the Baltimore Ravens . Both games resulted in victories . The jersey is black with the numbers , names and stripes all in gold and it also contains a 75th Season logo on the right side of the upper chest part of the jersey . The jersey is considered to be from the 1960 season . The pants are white with a single gold stripe running down the length of the outside of each leg , surrounded by thinner black stripes on either side of the gold stripe . The helmets are gold with the Steelers logo on the right side and a single black stripe running down the center from front to back . The helmet was worn during the 1962 season , which was the first year that the present Steelers logo began to appear on their helmets . The only two differences are that the logo on the original helmet read ' Steel ' , whereas Steelers appears on the helmet that the team wore for the two games in 2007 and that the face mask on this version of the helmet is black , whereas the original face mask color on the gold helmet was gray . The throwbacks , minus the " 75th season " patch , are now officially the team ' s alternate uniform as of the 2008 season , and are usually worn for games that honor the team ' s alumni . Since their introduction in 2007 , the Steelers have worn the throwbacks the NFL maximum of twice per year , with the team ' s annual home matchup against the rival Baltimore Ravens receiving one of the allotments each year . The other matchups have included the Buffalo Bills in 2007 , the New York Giants in 2008 ( the first loss in the throwbacks ) , and the San Diego Chargers in 2009 ( Sunday night contest ) . 2010 saw the team sporting the throwback uniforms at the October 17 game against the Cleveland Browns , and for the November 14 , Sunday Night Football game against the New England Patriots ( their second loss ) . In 2011 they wore throwback uniforms for the November 6 home game against the Baltimore Ravens ( which was their third loss in the throwbacks ) and December 8 home game against the Cleveland Browns . The throwback gold helmets have often been worn in practice in addition to the regular black helmets , a highly unusual move among NFL teams whose throwbacks use a different helmet than their current design . External links . Football Uniforms Past and Present