Born in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, in 1952, Mike Webster played college football at the University of Wisconsin, where he was named to the 1973 All Big Ten First Team as a center. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers draft class of 1974 is widely considered the greatest single draft by a franchise in NFL history, as the club selected a total of four players in the first five rounds who would each be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and would lead the team to four Super Bowl titles during the 1970s. Playing from 1974 through 1990, Webster was selected to the Pro Bowl as a center nine times. Generally recognized as one of the greatest offensive linemen ever, Webster was selected to the 1970s and 1980s All Decade Teams and the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All Time Team in 2019. He was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

Throughout his career, Webster was committed to weight training and was considered one of the game’s strongest players. He also became noted for the fact that he frequently played through injuries, and during one six-year stretch he played every single offensive snap—a total of 5,871 consecutive plays.