The Pittsburgh Steelers well underway with the offseason workouts at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, also referred to as the South Side Facility. We are already into the heart of the offseason, where hope springs eternal following a few months of pretty significant changes, in terms of both departures and arrivals.
How are the rookies performing? What about the players that the team signed in free agency? Who is missing time with injuries, and when are they going to be back? What are the coaches saying about what they are going to do this season that might be different from how it was a year ago?
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked, though there is rarely a concrete answer, as I’ve learned in my years of doing this.
Question: Which member not currently a part of the Steelers’ Hall of Honor needs to get in during the next round of inductions?
The Steelers announced yesterday that their 2019 class for their Hall of Honor will be revealed at the end of next month around the time that training camp gets underway. They have had a few goes at this already, so they have a decent number of players, coaches, and personnel already honored, but who needs to be in as soon as possible who has not yet to be honored?
As a quick refresher, the standards for players read that they must be retired for at least three years, to have played for the team for at least three seasons, and obviously have had a noteworthy career in some form or fashion. Others need to have made some kind of significant contribution to the team or the community.
You can read more here and also see the list of those who are already in the Hall of Honor, but for the sake of ease, here is that list in an embedded Tweet as well:
Below are current members of the #Steelers Hall of Honor.
Name five more that should be inducted this year. pic.twitter.com/MINYw6JpZU
— Steelers Depot (@Steelersdepot) June 27, 2019
If I was going to pick just one player, I think it would have to be somebody from the Steelers’ second championship period of the 2000s, and it would have to be somebody on the defensive side of the ball. Currently, they have nobody representing that era.
The obvious name would be Troy Polamalu, the only player from that defense who is a shoe-in to make it into the Hall of Fame. He last played in 2014, so he would qualify for the requirement of having been retired for at least three years.
If you want to go someone a little less obvious—and I do—I think the choice is Casey Hampton. Considering how significant the 3-4 defense had been following the Steel Curtain era, there is nobody who epitomized that at its peak more than Big Snack. Certainly, both men will be honored sooner or later. But I think both of them deserve to be on the sooner side. Like this year.
