Hell with the Lid Off: Inside the Fierce Rivalry between the 1970s Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers

by Ed Gruver, Jim Campbell, Andy Russell (Foreword)

Hell with the Lid Off  looks at the ferocious five-year war waged by Pittsburgh and Oakland for NFL supremacy during the turbulent seventies. The roots of their rivalry dated back to the 1972 playoff game in Pittsburgh that ended with the “Immaculate Reception,” Franco Harris’s stunning touchdown that led the Steelers to a win over the Raiders in their first postseason meeting. That famous game ignited a fiery rivalry for NFL supremacy. Between 1972 and 1977, the Steelers and the Raiders—between them boasting an incredible twenty-six Pro Football Hall of Famers—collided in the playoffs five straight seasons and in the AFC title game three consecutive years. 

Both teams favored force over finesse and had players whose forte was intimidation. Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain defense featured Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, and Mel Blount, the latter’s heavy hits forcing an NFL rule in his name. The Raiders countered with “The Assassin,” Jack Tatum, Skip Thomas (aka “Dr. Death”), George Atkinson, and Willie Brown in their memorable secondary. Each of their championships crowned the eventual Super Bowl winner, and their bloodcurdling encounters became so violent and vicious that they transcended the NFL and had to be settled in a U.S. district court. 

With its account of classic games, legendary owners, coaches, and players with larger-than-life personalities,  Hell with the Lid Off  is a story of turbulent football and one of the game’s best-known rivalries.
 

Genres: Sports, Football, Nonfiction

400 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes the best rivalries in sports are not necessarily the longest lasting ones, but shorter ones between two excellent teams in their times when they play several meaningful games. Such was the case in the 1970’s with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders. They met each other in the playoffs every year between 1972 and 1976, with the winner between them ending up as the Super Bowl champion three of those five years. Both teams played hard-nosed, hard hitting football, drafted many future Hall of Famers and provided fans with very memorable playoff games. Those five years of the Steeler-Raider rivalry are captured in this excellent book by sportswriters Ed Gruver and Jim Campbell.

Because Campbell is not only a writer but also was an employee of the Steelers during this time frame, the book does slant a little toward more coverage of the Steelers than the Raiders. But that doesn’t mean Oakland get shortchanged in the excellent writing, detailed accounts of their seasons, or interesting stories on their best players. Both teams are praised for their play on the field, their smart drafting, and their coaching staffs from the head coaches (Chuck Noll and John Madden) on down, both teams are given their proper due for their success in the 1970’s.

The book’s tone is set early on. The first chapter is an excellent account of one of the most famous plays in NFL history, the “Immaculate Reception” when Steelers rookie Franco Harris caught a deflected pass just before it would fall incomplete and ran it all the way for a touchdown to give the Steelers a 13-7 victory over the Raiders in the 1972 AFC divisional playoffs and begin what would be the fiercest NFL rivalry over the next five seasons. Every aspect of that play was dissected and each of the main players involved not only shared his recollection of the play but was also portrayed in that chapter. Then the book provides insight into the two owners and their very different philosophies on how to win, Art Rooney of the Steelers and Al Davis of the Raiders. After them, each season of Raider and Steeler football is recapped along with their playoff matchup and the Super Bowl results on the three times one of them won that game during this time frame covered.

This book does a wonderful job of portraying both franchises and its players and coaches throughout the entire five year stretch and concentrates strictly on the football. There is very little commentary on the social or political situations of the cities or the nation at the time. That is what makes this book one that hard-core football fans of that era will want to read, even if they are not fans of either one of these teams. That includes this reviewer – I did not care for either of them but respected their success and reading about them brought back some great memories of their classic battles.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 2 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: TELL THEM YOU TOUCHED IT! SILVER & BLACK… BLACK& GOLD… GREATEST RIVALRY!
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The Oakland Raiders versus the Pittsburgh Steelers between 1972 and 1977 was perhaps the greatest… heated… hated… and respected… rivalry not only in the history of football… but perhaps all of sports. On December 23, 1972… the greatest… most infamous… play… in the history of football… there’s no arguing that… THE IMMACULATE RECEPTION… OR IMMACULATE DECEPTION… depending which color you carried in addition to black… is how you will define it till you go to your grave… and probably… even after the last shovel of dirt is thrown upon your remains.

C-authors… Ed Gruver and Jim Campbell… along with a wonderful forward by former Steeler Andy Russell… make a game attempt to share a time period of a rivalry… that could only have been created in heaven… but it certainly was played in hell! There are portions of the book that rise to the level of excellence… and unfortunately numerous areas that are lacking… and from a reader’s perspective… were ill conceived.

“From 1972 to 1977 the Steelers and Raiders played ten times; five of those games were in the postseason, and three straight decided the AFC Championship and the eventual Super Bowl champion. Their games became so vicious, so violent, that the league was forced to adopt rule changes to stop the strangleholds that dominating defenses were putting on the offenses of their day.”

** “AN ASTOUNDING TWENTY-SIX FUTURE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMERS WERE IN OR INVOLVED IN THE PITTSBURGH-OAKLAND TURF WARS IN THE SEVENTIES”. Let that number sink in for a moment! TWENTY SIX HALL OF FAMERS IN THOSE GAMES ALONE!

The authors… though they have a more historical linkage to Pittsburgh… do such a fair portrayal of the good… the bad… the ugly… the historical birth… and creation of both all-time juggernauts… they should be complimented for this alone. From the background of the Steelers founder (The Chief) Art Rooney Sr. ... to the life of Raider… coach… general manager… owner… “Al” Davis… is expertly written with the detail of a fine-toothed comb. The changing of cultures that took both teams from losers to iconic champions… is not portrayed through shortcuts. The decision on what type of players to draft… what type of players to trade for… what type of **CULTURE** the teams would be based on… is both educational… and illuminating. So many classic names from both sides… are laid out in such exquisite lifetime detail… that you will know what made Tatum… Tatum… and Lambert… Lambert. I could go on and on… with Stabler… and Mean Joe… but suffice to say they’re all here.

There are a number of things… that scuffs up the aforementioned literary luster… of this long awaited tale… first there are countless typos. It seems utterly incomprehensible that a potential first class book like this could have so many typos. (where were the editors?). No book could be given a five-star-rating with such a malady. Secondly… the way in which the book utilized two authors… seems like an ill-conceived game plan. After author Gruver just spent numerous detailed pages describing a season… or games… or drafts… all of a sudden a paragraph starts…. Jim Campbell:… and then he tells you about the same exact segment from his point of view. There can only be so much different because the facts don’t change. When this happens over and over… the reader at first thinks he either fell asleep… or passed out… because he has to scratch his head and wonder if he started reading the same pages over and over again. Another “oddity” is that when the authors are doing a fine job describing a big game… they periodically jump to short… totally boring… quotes about the game and plays they just aptly described… from famous announcers like Gowdy… Cosell… Meredith… Gifford… etc. … etc.

The core subject of this book is fascinating… but once you get past the halfway mark… and realize you’re forced to hear the same story twice from two different people… the book starts to drag… and it gets hard to keep reading. It’s almost like a guy sitting next to you at a bar… tells you a whole complete story about an incident… he gets up and leaves… another guy sits down next to you… and starts telling you the same story with a different accent and cadence.

It’s a shame… but at this price… with the typos and repetitive stories… and dull announcer quotes… you may want to wait for the paperback… or simply go to another bar.

P.S. from 1974-1980 the Steelers and Raiders won six Super Bowls!

[Chip Rickard · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you were a football fan during the 1970s, you knew that whenever these teams played, it was going to be violent and must see TV. Even if you didn't like either team, you knew it was going to be great football.

The book was definitely favored towards the Steelers with former Steeler employee Jim Campbell as a co-author but it didn't give the Raiders any less respect. I was glad it mentioned the trial in there.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comprehensive research of a great rivalry. There's nothing like 1970's NFL action to keep me reading. My only complaint was at times the author seems to jump around from season to season. I lost my place a couple of times.

[Terry Geiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great inside information on the era that I grew up in as a raider fan. My issue was the hurky jerky, back and forth narrative. Each chapter was repeated by two contributors. It would have been better to weave the two into a single narrative.

[Donny Aiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

another book of interesting 1970's football. A little scattered in its format , sometimes I got lost what year they were talking about.

Had avoided Raiders reading being a Patriots fan, but I'm over it and this was a good book with Oakland stories.