The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced its list of 25 modern-era players as semifinalists with WR Hines Ward and OLB James Harrison making it through to the next round.
Ward played from 1998-2011, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted in the third round of the 1998 draft. He has been a semifinalist eight times so far. In his career, he had 1,000 receptions for 12,083 yards, and 85 touchdowns. He was also the Super Bowl MVP of the Steelers fifth championship in Super Bowl XL. In total, Ward appeared in three Super Bowls, winning two. Ward was also named to the Pro Bowl four times from 2001-2004. He also made second team All-Pro three times from 2002-2004. He is a member of the Steelers’ Hall of Honor.
Ward was also a premier blocking wide receiver throughout his time in the NFL. He was known as one of the hardest-hitting players in the league and was the impetus for a rule change banning crackback blocks. The brand of football Ward played would earn him a whole lot of fines and penalties in today’s NFL, but at the time it was a tone-setter for the organization and fit perfectly with the Steelers’ hard-nosed personality.
Harrison played from 2002-2017. He played the majority of his career with the Steelers but also spent some time in Cincinnati with the Bengals and in New England with the Patriots at the end of his career. Harrison has the second-most sacks in Steelers’ history with 80.5 sacks, just recently passed by T.J. Watt for the top mark. He has been named a semi-finalist two other times before. In his career, Harrison appeared in 193 games, starting 117. He amassed 811 combined tackles, 84.5 sacks, 128 tackles for loss, and 34 forced fumbles. An impressive resume, but Harrison himself holds the belief that it isn’t enough to make the HOF. He was named first-team All-Pro in 2008 and 2010, second-team All-Pro in 2007 and 2009, and the Pro Bowl for five straight years from 2007-2011. He also won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2008. Harrison was enshrined in the Steelers’ Hall of Honor in October.
Entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Kent State University, Harrison bounced on and off the practice squad of the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens before gaining traction in Pittsburgh, initially earning his keep as a special teamer in 2004.
Harrison also holds one of the best plays in Super Bowl history with his 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII. That is the second-longest touchdown play in Super Bowl history after Jacoby Jones’ kick return for a touchdown.
This list was initially trimmed down from 173 nominees. The list next gets trimmed down to 15 modern-era finalists before the final list of inductees is unveiled just before the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Feb. 8 at the NFL Honors event.
