I’m still mystified that Hines Ward is not among the 15 finalists for the Pro Football of Fame. Same with James Harrison. In the latter’s case, there is no precedent for dominating over a relatively short period of time and eventually donning a gold jacket. Unless you count Terrell Davis or Kurt Warner…
But back to Ward, always a semi-finalist and never a finalist. And as our Alex Kozora recently wrote after Ward’s latest bid for football immortality fell short, his path to Canton looks increasingly daunting.
That is disappointing, to say the least, to the man who played a big role in bringing Ward to Pittsburgh.
“I’m prejudiced, but I believe he should be in the Hall of Fame,” said Tom Donahoe, who was the director of football operations when the Steelers selected Ward in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. “There was nobody better on gameday than Hines Ward.”
I’ve long thought Ward’s resume is Hall-of-Fame worthy: two-time Super Bowl champion. Super Bowl MVP. One-thousand career receptions. And, if unofficially, the best blocking wide receiver of his generation.
He gets lost in the wide receiver shuffle because his numbers aren’t as gaudy as others, like Torry Holt, Andre Johnson, and Reggie Wayne. All are among the HOF finalists this year.
But Ward’s impact extended beyond sheer numbers. Intangibles are impossible to quantify, but here is one measure of them specific to Ward. Dick LeBeau, himself a Pro Football Hall of Famer, recently told me that if it was, say, a 3rd and 7 in a game, and his life depended on a wide receiver coming up with the first-down catch, he would pick Ward to try to make it. And that’s coming from someone who spent nearly 60 seasons in the NFL as a coach and player.
When I relayed to Donahoe what LeBeau had said, he quickly agreed with his good friend.
“No. 1, he’s going to get open. Hines knew how to set up DBs, had quick moves out of his breaks that enabled him to get separation, and was very, very strong for a wide receiver,” Donahoe said. “And even if he doesn’t get open and the ball gets thrown to him, he’s going to win the catch. If it was a jump ball, he was going to win.”
Donahoe championing Ward goes all the way back to the pre-draft process in 1998. He fell in love with Ward as a player because of his five-alarm competitive fire and willingness to play where the Georgia coaches needed him. That included quarterback after injuries hit the position during Ward’s sophomore season in Athens.
“He was always about the team, and we drafted him as an athlete and potentially a receiver,” Donahoe said. “His first couple years, he struggled to get on the field – he mainly did special teams work – but we kept pounding the drum for him because we believed in him, and the coaches finally gave him an opportunity, and he put a fabulous career together. He’s a great, great story.”
Hopefully one that has a happy football ending.
And sooner rather than later.
