In truth, No. 75 was retired 32 years ago when Joe Greene hung it up for the final time. No one has worn it since. The big ceremony had to wait until Sunday night before thousands at Heinz Field when the Steelers make it an official retirement for that sacred jersey number.
Only one man attended when No. 75 was first issued to Joe Greene 45 years ago. The day big ol' defensive lineman Ken Kortas was cut before the start of the 1969 season, equipment manager Tony Parisi swapped out numbers. He removed the No. 72 rookie Joe Greene wore in the preseason and replaced it with the No. 75 he wore in high school and college.
"That was his number," says Parisi, now 81. "I was going to give him that number. As soon as Ken Kortas got cut, I put it in his locker."
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