A Corridor of Honor is totally different for the Steelers than it’s for say the Cardinals.
Rather a lot totally different.
And that isn’t a shot on the franchise that got here rattling near denying the Steelers their sixth and most up-to-date Lombardi Trophy.
As a result of the Steelers are tied with the Patriots with essentially the most Tremendous Bowl titles it must be extremely troublesome for the voting committee to determine who belongs within the group’s Corridor of Honor.
And that activity isn’t made any simpler by the truth that the Steelers Corridor of Honor isn’t a lot older than Invoice Belichick’s girlfriend.
The Steelers began their model of franchise immortality in 2017 with an inaugural 27-member class. Eight of them had been gamers or coaches who made their mark earlier than the Steelers’ Nineteen Seventies dynasty.
Since then, 30 former gamers or coaches have been inducted into the Steelers Corridor of Honor. Solely three – Buddy Dial, Elbie Nickel, and Ray Mathews – got here earlier than the 70s.
The Steelers are accepting nominations for his or her 2025 Corridor of Honor, which shall be introduced this summer time. Followers can submit as much as three nominations and with every entry there’s a drop-down checklist of instructed nominees. Of the 30, just one, WR Roy Jefferson, got here earlier than the Nineteen Seventies.
Look, I can’t comprehend how troublesome it’s for the voting committee, particularly since no Corridor of Honor class for the reason that first one has exceeded 5 individuals.
And full disclosure: I advocated for Val Jansante’s inclusion final 12 months. Nothing has modified on that entrance. Jansante, a two-way participant for the Steelers from 1946-51, led the group in receiving 5 seasons in a row. No Steeler eclipsed that till Hines Ward in 2006. Oh, and Jansante had 8.5 sacks in 1950. That may have led the NFL had it been an official statistic.
Greater image: there are many others like Val Jansante who must be within the Steelers Corridor of Honor to inform the historical past of the franchise that Artwork Rooney Sr. based in 1933.
The simplest means to do this is observe what the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame does with senior inductees, those that had been missed via the years for one motive or one other. Every class reserve one spot within the Steelers Corridor of Honor for a participant, coach, or contributor who got here earlier than the Nineteen Seventies.
That wonderful, wonderful time remodeled the Steelers, and what they did for Pittsburgh transcended soccer. However the Steelers didn’t begin with the late, nice Franco Harris snatching defeat inches from rock-hard Three Rivers Stadium turf and finally ushering in an period excellence.
And their Corridor of Honor ought to mirror that.
