Legendary Steelers Defensive Tackle Ernie Holmes Dies from Car Accident

On Thursday January 17, legendary Steelers football player Ernie Holmes died from a car accident near Houston, Texas. He was 59.

Ernie Holmes played defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers team that was known for its defense in the 1970s and was called the "Steel Curtain." During Holmes' career, he was named an All-Pro twice and he helped lead his Steelers team to their first win Super Bowl win in 1975.

Ernie Holmes was widely considered to be the best defensive tackle of his era. The four man defensive line unit he played with at Pittsburgh included "Mean" Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, and Dwight White. Ernie Holmes was known for his toughness and being extremely difficult to block for an offensive lineman.

During the 1975 Super Bowl victory, he helped limit the Minnesota Vikings offense to 17 yards rushing and 119 total yards in the Steelers 16-6 win. In 1976, the Pittsburgh Steelers would return to the Super Bowl, led by their stingy defense as they beat the high powered offense of the Dallas Cowboys 21-17. Ernie Holmes played for the Steelers from 1972-1977.

Ernie Holmes was a great defensive tackle and comparisons can be drawn to defensive tackle Allen Page who played for the Minnesota Vikings. Page was selected as the second overall pick in the 1967 draft. He would play right tackle for his career pro football after coming out of Notre Dame. In 1971, he was named the Most Valuable Player in the NFL and won the Defensive Player award in 1971 and 1973. He was selected as an All Pro defensive tackle 6 times. Allen Page was also selected to 9 straight Pro Bowls. During his tenure in the NFL, he led the Minnesota Vikings unit to become one of the greatest defensive units of all time.

Randy White was another great defensive tackle who played for the Dallas Cowboys defensive unit. He was selected in the 1975 draft and led the Cowboys defensive to a title win in Super Bowl XII. He was named to 9 straight Pro Bowls and 9 straight seasons being named an All Pro. For his career, Randy White finished with 111 sacks and 1,104 tackles.

Bob Lilly was another great defensive tackle who played for the vaunted Cowboys defense in the 1960s and 70s. He would go on to play in 11 Pro Bowls and was named an All Pro 7 times. In 1999, he was rated by Sporting News as the best defensive lineman of all time.