The 27-man inaugural class for the Steelers Hall of Honor features four men not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Three may some day get there, but a fourth will come as a surprise only to those not paying much attention.
Dick Hoak, a good running back for the Steelers before they ever won a Super Bowl, became their running backs coach in 1972 under Chuck Noll and stayed in that position for 34 years. He turned down a head coaching job in the USFL and offensive coordinator jobs in the NFL in order to stay.
That was not lost on the Steelers, who elected him to their first Hall of Honor that was announced Tuesday morning.
“No one has given more to this organization than Dick Hoak,’’ said Mel Blount, one of the 23 men in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who also were in this first Honors class of the Steelers. “He was a great player, he was a great coach, he’s a great person. I‘m happy for Dick Hoak. I even got to play with Dick Hoak, he goes back that far.”
The other three non-Canton members of the Steelers new Hall could ultimately make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as seniors candidates: L.C. Greenwood, Donnie Shell and Andy Russell.
“The list goes on,’’ said Blount, who was part of the ceremony in the PNC Champions Club at Heinz Field before a select group of Steelers fans. “These guys are true Hall of Famers whether they’re in Canton or not. The contribution they made, the way they affected the game is special.
“It’s unfortunate that we have so many Steelers in the Hall of Fame that it hurts those guys. For the Rooney organization, the Steelers organization to say we know what these guys brought to the table and we want to honor them in this fashion, I think it speaks volumes.”
All 23 Pro Football Hall of Famers who played, coached or were president of the Steelers are part of the inaugural Hall of Honor:
Art Rooney, Dan Rooney, Bill Dudley, Johnny (Blood) McNally, Walt Kiesling, Bobby Layne, Ernie Stautner, John Henry Johnson, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Jack Lambert, Franco Harris, Chuck Noll, Mike Webster, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Jack Butler, Rod Woodson, Dermontti Dawson, Jerome Bettis and Kevin Greene.
Steelers president Art Rooney II announced that they will add two to four more in each ensuing class. And, yes, Myron Cope will be eligible as a contributor.
“Some people would say it’s a long time coming and maybe overdue but it really is a recognition,’’ Rooney said. “They’re not all going to be able to be recognized in Canton. This is our way of saying these guys deserve to be recognized.”
They will have a special section of the Great Hall at Heinz Field for the Hall of Honor but would like to have a separate building for it ultimately.
“We’ve talked about expanding it into a museum-type presentation at some point,’’ Rooney said. “I hope some day we can get to that.”
The first class will be inducted the weekend of Nov. 25-26 and introduced at the Steelers-Green Bay Packers game at Heinz Field.
“It’s going to be special because I never knew there was this many going in this inaugural class,’’ Blount said. “You’ll have guys from different generations, so we’ll have a chance to reminisce and talk about the game that was and the game that is now, today. It’s a weekend I’m looking forward to and pretty excited about.”
Among this first class are 12 players with Super Bowl rings from the 1970s, along with Noll, Hoak and the two Rooneys.
“We all came in together as young men,’’ Blount said. “We grew and we worked and we experienced great success together. So to be coming in to this [Hall of Honor] vs. going into Canton, you feel like you have that connection and that family unit you’re a part of. So it’s pretty special.”
First Published: August 29, 2017, 2:20 p.m.
