Twenty days after being announced as part of the 162 senior players nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026, former Pittsburgh Steelers great L.C. Greenwood has moved one step closer toward induction into the hallowed halls of Canton.
Greenwood is among 52 players who advanced to the next stage of the process, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Thursday.
According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the members of the Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee will reduce the list of 52 candidates to 25. From there, the 25 will then be reduced to nine through balloting over the next several weeks.
From there, the committee will then vote on and choose three finalists for the Class of 2026.
Greenwood was previously one of four former Steelers among the 162, including wide receiver Lionel Taylor, running back Byron “Whizzer” White and linebacker Greg Lloyd.
The four-time Super Bowl champion, member of the Steelers Hall of Honor and a member of their all-time team was among senior nominees last year but was ultimately snubbed.
Greenwood played 13 seasons with the Steelers after being a 10th-round pick out of Arkansas Pine-Bluff. He went from a backup rotational piece his first two seasons in Pittsburgh to a key starter on the famed Steel Curtain.
During his 13-year career, Greenwood finished with 78.0 sacks. He also had 14 fumble recoveries, was a two-time All-Pro and earned six Pro Bowl nods. Though sacks were not an official stat during his playing career, Pro Football Reference went back and charted every play, giving Greenwood those 78.0 sacks.
Greenwood had a pair of 13-sack seasons, occurring in 1971 and 1974. He also recorded four sacks of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach in Super Bowl X. Greenwood’s total of five sacks in four Super Bowls is unofficially the NFL’s best mark overall, though former Broncos pass rusher Von Miller and Cowboys defensive end Charles Haley’s 4.5 sacks officially rank as the most by a player in Super Bowl history.
Along with Greenwood, former Steelers quarterbacks coach and Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Ken Anderson moved forward in the Seniors process as well. Anderson served as the Steelers’ quarterbacks coach from 2007-09.
