LATROBE (93.7 The Fan) - On Saturday, the Steelers announced the players who will be inducted into the team’s 2019 Hall of Honor class.
Tight end Elbie Nickel, tight end and offensive tackle Larry Brown, head coach Bill Cowher and wide receiver Hines Ward make up the group, which will be given a special ceremony before September 30’s game against the Bengals.
“We like to try to recognize people from all of the different eras of Steelers football. It’s really hard. I always appreciate our selection committee and the work they do trying to narrow it down. It’s not easy, but I think we wound up with a good group here this year.”
“I was surprised and, at the same time, I felt deeply honored to have that recognition,” Brown said. “I had the privilege of playing with great players, great teammates, great contributors to the organization. It’s not always that everyone gets the recognition, so I accept this and am proud to have it.”
Cowher, the Steelers’ head coach from 1992-2006, compiled a record of 149-90-1, claiming a victory in Super Bowl XL.
Ward, the MVP of that game, caught 1,000 passes for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns, playing his entire 14-year career in Pittsburgh.
“It’s great to see Bill (go in),” Steelers president Art Rooney II said. “Fifteen great years here. He got us that ‘one for the thumb’, as they say. It’s special to see him.”
Some players, like Troy Polamalu, considered as one of the greatest safeties in NFL history and a strong contender to enter the Hall of Fame next year, have yet to be included. Though Rooney says those days, for many of the contributors to the two Super Bowl victories in the 2000s, are coming.
"The more recent players, there's a lot of names there that we've got to get through,” he said. “That's going to be one of the fun things over the next few years, bringing those guys into the Hall, as well."