Pinney Was First Homegrown Seattle Player to Reach Super Bowl

The big lineman from the north end of town played in the epic game for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ray Pinney lived every young boy's football dream in Seattle.

As a teenager, he played for the Shorecrest High School Highlanders on Friday nights at Memorial Stadium at the base of the Space Needle.

On Saturdays, Pinney took the field for the University of Washington and answered to Jim Owens and Don James — the two longest-serving Husky coaches, at 18 seasons each— and snapped the ball to a future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback in Warren Moon.

Drafted as a second-rounder by the Pittsburgh Steelers, he moved to right tackle and on Sundays he blocked for Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and all the others.

At the pinnacle of his career, Pinney played in Super Bowl XIII in Miami in 1979, a 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, and sat out the next one with an injury, a 31-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

He keeps a pair of Super Bowl rings in safe keeping. 

Not bad for a kid who grew up on the outskirts of North Seattle and succeeded at every level of football he tried.

"It's an accomplishment certainly," Pinney said of playing in the Super Bowl. "I worked my ass off. So it's not easy. I just got lucky and God blessed me to get on the Steelers."

Ray Pinney felt lucky to join the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty.  / Pittsburgh Steelers

Pinney was the first Metro League high school product to reach the Super Bowl, later followed by a fellow Shorecrest High alum in quarterback Marc Wilson (BYU) and by Franklin High running back Corey Dillon. 

Guys from the city's more far-reaching suburbs shared in the biggest football game  on Earth in tight end Ernie Conwell from Kentwood, quarterback Jack Thompson (WSU) from Evergreen, quarterback Damon Huard from Puyallup  and defensive tackle Danny Shelton from Auburn. 

As a high school senior, Pinney was one of just two Metro League players from the class of 1972 who were recruited by the Huskies and given scholarships, joined by Ingraham High defensive back Ron Olson, who likewise became a starter.

"I was a hometown boy who wanted to go to the U-Dub," said Pinney, who visited WSU and was recruited by other Pac-8 schools.

At Shorecrest, he was a first-team, all-conference selection at center. He also was a basketball center and remembers trying to guard a tall, awkward Roosevelt High player named James Edwards, who would spend 19 seasons in the NBA.

It was a future two-time Super Bowl champion trading elbows with a three-time NBA champion.

At the UW, Pinney played in Owen's final season as coach and during James' first year. He admired both coaches, though noting James' attention to nuance was unmatched.

"He was more detailed about everything about the football game," Pinney said of his second Husky coach "The way players did things. The way you ran out of the tunnel."

Ray Pinney was a big and athletic right tackle for Pittsburgh.  / Pittsburgh Steelers

In his final UW season, Pinney snapped the ball to Moon, recalling a young quarterback who struggled mightily throughout that season, winning and losing the job, before leading the Huskies to the Rose Bowl two years later.

"He was a little frustrated as a player," the center said. "He didn't start and then he started. I saw him struggle at the beginning of his playing time, but he stuck in there and it worked out for him."

Pinney earned Pac-8 honorable-mention honors at center as a UW senior, but the Steelers made him change positions. They converted him into a tackle.

Pittsburgh already had a pair of highly accomplished centers in Ray Mansfield, a former Husky who started a pair of Super Bowl victories for the Steelers in 1975 and 1976, and Mike Webster, a Wisconsin product who would became one of the NFL's greatest centers ever.

"Mansfield played in an era where you would get down to the bottom of the pile and you're punching someone in the face," Pinney pointed out with a laugh

Ray Pinney as a Shorecrest High basketball player collides with Roosevelt's Dan Raley and draws a foul / Dan Raley collection

Looking back at his time with the Steelers, Pinney remembers a young towel boy who got harassed by the players way back when at practice, but who withstood the abuse and has lived out his dreams, too.

That was Art Rooney II.

He now owns the franchise.

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