When an offensive lineman gets inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, you might guess a high school coach or fellow lineman would be the one who’d induct him into football immortality. Alan Faneca’s choice was somewhat unconventional, selecting WR Hines Ward to do the honors. But for the era they played in and Ward’s demeanor, it was the perfect fit. Faneca sat down with Steelers.com’s Rob King to explain why Ward was his pick.
“So much competitive passion and drive between the two of us,” Faneca told King. “Being teammates for so long. I’ve said it a couple times, and I usually get a chuckle out of people when I say it. An offensive lineman and a wide receiver being able to push each other and challenge each other. It doesn’t sound like it fits, right? It just doesn’t fit up. But it does. We had that kind of relationship as teammates, and he was the one.”
Faneca and Ward entered the NFL and joined the Steelers together in 1998, Faneca a first-round pick and Ward a third-rounder. Though they played different positions, they approached the game the same way: old-school, tough, and physical. Ward blocked like a lineman, and Faneca moved like a receiver in space.
Since making the Hall after a lengthy wait himself, Faneca has gone to bat for Ward to join him in Canton. In 2022, Faneca remained optimistic Ward would receive “the knock” to let him know he’s part of football’s most exclusive club.
“He put team-first and was selfless and went out there and did what he was asked to do,” Faneca said at the time. “That was to play wide receiver and to block and to be a big package of the entire game, not just catching the ball down the field and having eight catches a game. He played the entire 60 plays every game.”
It was that mentality that made linemen respect him. Ward wasn’t only happy when he got the ball or made a highlight-reel play. He took just as much pride in digging out a safety and getting his nose dirty to spring a running back. Or just plain hitting for sport, as he did to Baltimore Ravens FS Ed Reed in one of the most vicious collisions he made in his career (Keith Rivers is also still picking teeth out of the grass).
Ward has been a Hall of Fame semifinalist eight straight years but has been unable to get over the hump to finalist territory, let alone be chosen to receive a bust and gold jacket. With a crowded receiver room, it seems unlikely he’ll make the Hall in the conventional way and may have to take the Senior Committee path years from now in order to land in Canton. If he does, it’d be no surprise to see Ward return the favor.
