The Pittsburgh Steelers will announce their newest class to the team’s Hall of Honor on July 27th, the organization announced today. It’ll be done on the second day of training camp at St. Vincent’s College, a similar approach to what the team did a year ago.
There are currently 32 members of the team’s Hall of Honor. Last year, the Steelers inducted the following people: Rocky Bleier, Buddy Dial, Alan Faneca, Bill Nunn, and Art Rooney Jr. As you’d expect, the bulk of the members currently enshrined were done so in 2017, the inaugural year.
According to the team site, for a player to qualify, he must: played for at least three seasons as a Steeler, been retired for at least three seasons, and have a noteworthy career. For coaches, only the latter criteria needs to apply.
While the list of candidates is not yet known, here are some options to be inducted this time around:
Troy Polamalu – Obviously a no-brainer for what he did in a Steelers’ uniform. Perhaps the only hesitation would be the somewhat icy relationship that exists between him and the team, stemming from how the two sides parted, that may compel the organization to wait it out until some of those wounds are healed.
Greg Lloyd – Who spent ten years with the team, racking up 53.5 sacks, second in franchise history by the time he left.
Hines Ward – Hard to have a Hall of Honor class and not put #86 in. Without debate or question, he deserves it as the team’s leader in so many receiving categories.
Tunch Ilkin – Only three of the 32 members in the Hall of Honor are offensive linemen. Let’s make it a fourth. Ilkin didn’t have quite the playing career of someone like Webby or Dirt Dawson but was one of the team’s best linemen during the 80s and remains a big influence on the team with his color analysis in the booth. A nod to Bill Hillgrove, who absolutely deserves to get in sooner rather than later.
Myron Cope – But before Tunch gets in (sorry Tunch), Cope has to get his moment. Who better epitomized Steelers’ media than he did? Iconic voice, enthusiasm, and oh yeah, invented The Terrible Towel.
Heath Miller – He just passed the three year retirement requirement. A first ballot for these type of things if there ever was one.
Keith Willis – Probably not the first name that comes to mind but his 59 career sacks made him the team’s sack leader for about a decade until Jason Gildon broke it.
Elbie Nickel – And one name from before the Steelers’ dynasty. Nickel was considered one of the great ends of his time and held the team records before Miller came along and rewrote them. Three-time Pro Bowler who led the Steelers in receiving four times throughout his career.
Obviously leaving a lot of players and coaches off here and you can add them in the comments below. We’ll let you know who officially becomes part of this class on July 27th.
