The Pittsburgh Steelers inaugural Hall of Honor Class became official last week and the selection committee chose to dive head first launching the Steelers Hall of Honor by naming 27 members to be inducted this week:
Contributors: Art Rooney Sr., Dan Rooney, Chuck Noll
Steelers from the pre-Chuck Noll era: Walt Kiesling, Johnny “Blood” McNally, Bill Dudley, Bobby Layne, Ernie Stautner, Jack Butler, John Henry Johnson, Dick Hoak
Chuck Noll Era Steelers: Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Mike Webster, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, L.C. Greenwood, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Andy Russell
Cowher Era Steelers: Rod Woodson, Dermontti Dawson, Kevin Greene, Jerome Bettis
Going forward, the plan is to induct 2-4 new members to the Steelers Hall of Honor every year. The Steelers Hall of Honor 2017 Class will take their place Alumni Weekend (Nov. 25-26), and they be recognized during halftime of that weekend’s game between the Steelers and Packers.
Fair enough. It will be a spectacle to celebrate in Black and Gold. But there’s a problem with the Steelers inaugural Hall of Honor class: It is too big.
Stan Starvan, Art Rooney II, Bob Labriola & Mel Blount announce the Steelers Inaugural Hall of Honor Class. Photo credit: Steelers.com
Steelers Inaugural Hall of Honor Class Simply Too Large
As a life-long Steelers fan and armature Steelers historian, yours truly can’t quibble with any of the selections, save for Walter Kesiling, the coach who cut Johnny Unitas without some much as given him a practice snap.
But perhaps Wiesling does deserve induction, and the rest of the members certainly do.
In this light, the selection committee consisting of Art Rooney II, Joe Gordon, Bob Labriola, Stan Savran and Tony Quatrini chose to operate on the philosophy of “They’re going ot make it eventually, so why not induct them now?” Bob Labriola more or less seem to be speaking to that point, when he said the Steelers Inaugural Hall of Honor Class was more about recognition, then about competition.
Steelers linebacking legend Andy Russell. Photo Credit: Andy Russell.org
To that end, you can see the Steelers MO in selecting members from the Chuck Noll era: All of the Hall of Famers earned induction, as well as Donnie Shell, Andy Russell and L.C. Greenwood – three players whom the franchise also think are Hall of Fame worthy, but denied recognition because of the “Already too many Steelers in Canton” mentality.
- But if the Steelers are going to take that approach to the Hall of Honor, then what about Larry Brown?
Larry Brown is the one player that Chuck Noll adamantly argued deserves Pro Football Hall of Fame honors, and will certainly find his way in to the Steelers Hall of Honor but was left out of the inaugural class. Ditto Rocky Bleier. Dan Rooney argued that Bleier deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and he will certainly make it to the Hall of Honor, but he will have to wait. For that matter, no one would argue that Art Rooney Sr., Dan Rooney and Chuck Noll deserve recognition in the Steelers Hall of Honor as contributors.
- But why induct several of his players, while keeping Bill Cowher on the outside looking in?
By the same token, Bill Nunn Jr. Myron Cope, and Art Rooney Jr. certainly belong and will find their way into the Steelers Hall of Honor as contributors. So why not put them in now?
While this “debate” is little more than background noise for most citizens of Steelers Nation, the arguments stand on their own merits. And by taking a “recognition over competition” approach, the selection committee unwittingly opened themselves to the competition argument.
Steelers Inaugural Hall of Honor Class Should Have Taken a Rushmore Approach
So what would the alternative be? Truthfully, when you have a franchise that is as stories as the Pittsburgh Steelers and you try to launch a Hall of Honor 85 years into your existence, you’re never going to make anyone happy.
- A better way to from the Steelers Inaugural Hall of Honor Class would have been to take the “Rushmore Approach.”
We know the Rushmore approach thanks to the rise of the internet, which demands you fill web pages with “content” 365 days a year, every year. (Hence, you see sites that not only debate “Steelers Rushmore” but “Steelers Assistant Coaches Rushmore” “Steelers coaches Rushmore” and probably for that matter, “Steelers backup tight ends Rushmore.”)
Here’s how Steel Curtain Rising’s Steelers Rushmore would shape up:
- Ernie Stautner, to represent the Steelers pre-Chuck Noll era
- Joe Greene, whose arrival effected the franchise’s pivot from perennial loser to perennial contender and frequent champion
- Franco Harris, who authored the Immaculate Reception the Big Bang that created Steelers Nation
- Hines Ward, because he forms the bridge between the Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin Eras
It is far to argue that a player like Troy Polamalu, who had once in a generation talent, would be more deserving than Ward, but players need to be retired for at least 3 years before they can enter the Hall of Honor, and Polamalu doesn’t make that cut.
But Hines Ward is a franchise great by any measure, likely won’t make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and would give the class balance between offense and defense as well as representation of all franchise eras.
- And as a contributor, Art Rooney Sr. would enter as well, because there’s no way you launch a Steelers Hall of Honor without The Chief.
The selection committee, however, didn’t ask this sites opinion. They made their own choices. These men who form the Inaugural Steelers Hall of Honor class have done far more than yours truly ever would or could to build the Pittsburgh Steelers legacy, and we celebrate in their recognition for those accomplishments. But nonetheless, we suggest that the process should have been more gradual.
