Posting a random Steeler every day until kickoff or I forget – Day 131: Lou Cordileone

DT Lou Cordileone (1962-1963)

The New York Giants selected Lou Cordileone in the first round of the 1960 NFL Draft out of Clemson, where he earned Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-ACC honors in 1959. After one year in New York, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for QB Y.A. Tittle. The following year, he played in two games for the Rams before being traded to the Steelers.

Over his time in Pittsburgh, Cordileone played in 26 games, starting in 15 of them, and made 4 sacks. After leaving the Steelers in 1963, he spent three seasons away from the league and returned in 1967 to join the newest expansion team, the New Orleans Saints. He played offensive guard and defensive tackle for the Saints during their first two seasons before retiring from football after 1968.

After leaving the league, he went into silver recovery, buying x-ray film and litho film from printing companies and selling it back to silver refineries, and then worked as a bartender for nearly twenty years before retiring. In 2013, he appeared on the TV Land reality show “Forever Young.” In an interview posted in 2021, he said of his time with the Steelers, “I loved it there. Parker and Bobby Layne were the two real coaches there. It was a great group of guys. Buzz Nutter, Ernie Sautner, Myron Pottios, we became close. I met my first wife in Pittsburgh! I loved it there.”