Steelers mark 18 deaths in 6 years

PITTSBURGH, July 18 (UPI) -- The 2006 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers have seen the deaths of seven former players in the past 16 months, boosting their six-year death total to 18.

Since 2000, 77 former NFL players from the 1970s and 1980s have died, and more than 20 percent of those, 16, were Steelers, The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

"There is no explanation," said Joe Gordon, a Steelers executive from 1969 to 1998. "We just shake our heads and ask why."

At least one of the deaths was a suicide. Another resulted from a car crash during a high-speed chase with police, seven resulted from heart conditions, and others were ruled accidental, the Times said.

The Times said there has been speculation but no hard evidence that steroid abuse could have contributed to some of the deaths.

"It's just an anomaly that we can't explain," said John Stallworth, a Hall of Fame receiver for the Steelers from 1974 to 1987. "From an emotional standpoint it just makes you sad and makes you feel like the time we spent together was even more precious."