Mike Wagner's crucial playoff interceptions and Pro Bowl selections tell the story of his impactful role on four Pittsburgh Steelers; Super Bowl championship teams.
In a way, Mike Wagner got overlooked during his 10 seasons playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wagner was a safety on the famed “Steel Curtain” defense that helped lead Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl titles within a six-year period from 1974-79. Those Steelers were one of the NFL’s greatest dynasties, and there are plenty of busts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, to prove that.
Pittsburgh’s defense of that era had five players who have been enshrined in Canton – tackle Joe Greene, linebackers Jack Ham and Jack Lambert, and safeties Mel Blount and Donnie Shell.
Wagner played beside Blount and Shell in the secondary during his 10-year career from 1971-80, but he didn’t make it to Canton. That does not diminish the legacy of Wagner, who died Wednesday at 76 of pancreatic cancer.
In the 1971 draft, Wagner lasted until the 11th round. The Steelers chose him from Western Illinois, then a Division II program.
It did not take long for Wagner to outperform his draft status. He started 12 games as a rookie and had two interceptions before breaking out in his second season in 1972 when he picked off six passes. A year later, his eight interceptions led the NFL and were a career high.
Wagner started 113 games in his career. He was still effective in his final season with six interceptions in 1980, finishing his career with 36.
Wagner’s most impressive stat was his five interceptions in 14 playoff games, including a pivotal fourth-quarter pick of the Dallas Cowboys’ Roger Staubach in Pittsburgh's 21-17 victory in Super Bowl X in 1975.
Yet Wagner didn’t go completely unnoticed. He was a two-time Pro Bowler, and the Steelers inducted him into their Hall of Honor in 2020.
Wagner remained a prominent member of the Pittsburgh community after retirement. He earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and became a vice president of First National Bank.
"He was the type of man you would like to see a lot of young people model their lives after," Blount told the Steelers’ team website. "I don't know how to say it other than he was a good person. Mike left a little part of himself with all of us. But a little part of us passed away as well when he left."
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