The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a lot of Hall of Fame-caliber players in their history, but not all of them have been able to find their way into the hallowed halls of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Two of the most notable are former DE L.C. Greenwood and WR Hines Ward, both of whom were named two of the most notable snubs thus far in NFL history by ESPN.
Greenwood was an All-Decade member for the 1970s, a key part of Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain defense that won four Super Bowls in the decade. He was also a six-time Pro Bowler and finished his career with 78 sacks, although sacks didn’t become an official stat until 1982.
Greenwood is long overdue for selection for the Hall. While he’s been overshadowed by other great members of those 1970s defenses like Joe Greene, Jack Ham and Jack Lambert, Greenwood was every bit as important to the makeup of that team and someone who needs to be strongly considered by the veteran’s committee every year as a candidate. It’s frankly a shame that he’s yet to be selected, and it really is a mistake by Hall of Fame voters that he isn’t in Canton yet.
Ward played for the Steelers from 1998-2011, winning Super Bowl XL MVP while also being the Steelers’ franchise record holder with 1,000 receptions, 12,083 receiving yards and 85 touchdowns. In addition, he’s widely regarded as one of the best blocking receivers of all time. Ward is unfortunately a product of the times, as he played in an era when the NFL started to transition to more of a passing league and there were a lot of really good and really talented wide receivers in his era.
At this point, the momentum for Ward to make it into Canton just isn’t there. He hasn’t advanced to the finalist stage yet, and given the guy’s he’s going up against, it’s going to be hard to see Ward making it anytime soon. Like Greenwood, he may be stuck waiting for the veteran’s committee to induct him, which he won’t be eligible for until 2036. While Ward is more than deserving, he’s overlooked due to the guys he’s up against.
It’s an unfortunate reality that both Greenwood and Ward have been overlooked, but I’m still holding out hope that eventually either the veteran’s committee in the case of Greenwood or the modern voters for Ward see the value they brought to their teams, both being multiple-time Super Bowl winners and among the best players of their era. Both deserve to be in, but it remains to be seen, and grows increasingly unlikely, that they’ll ever graduate out of the Hall of Very Good into the Hall of Fame.
