LATROBE, PA (93.7 The Fan) – It's not like some of the great Steelers lack recognition. There are 18 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with at least one more to go in three years from now. It's the others Art Rooney wanted to acknowledge with a Hall of Honor.
Those others are players like the four to be inducted into the Steelers Hall of Honor in October.
"It's a great class and it represents the kind of guys that were a great part of Steelers football, may not get to the Hall of Fame, but deserved to be recognized in our Hall of Honor," Rooney explained on Saturday.
The group of linebacker James Harrison, defensive lineman Aaron Smith and offensive linemen Gerry Mullins and Ray Mansfield were all parts of Super Bowl championships. We'll get to Harrison, but the other three set up some of those in Canton.
Mansfield played in 182 consecutive games starting his Steelers career as a defensive tackle before being one of the few Chuck Noll wanted to keep as he purged nearly the entire roster when he took over. Gerry Mullins moved all over the line as the pair combined to win six Super Bowls.
They were part of a line helping Franco Harris rush for 158 yards in winning a Super Bowl MVP. Mullins helped Terry Bradshaw throw for 318 yards and four touchdowns against Dallas' 'Doomsday Defense'. Mike Webster, though, is the only one from that line in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"I really do think that line was underrated and didn't get the attention they deserved because there were so many stars on the team," Rooney said. "So it's great for us to get the whole team in there (Hall of Honor), they deserve it."
For Aaron Smith it's not as much the 84 tackles for loss or the 44 sacks in his 13-year career. It's how he was noticed in helping the Steelers win two more Super Bowl titles.
"It's a funny thing to say about remembering his career," Rooney said. "It truly was when he wasn't in there for some games it was so noticeable that we were missing him. The 3-4 lineman, it's a tough position, you don't get a lot of stats. When he was in there, people didn't run on that team and Aaron was a big part of that."
"Someone on a 3-4 defensive line is probably going to have a hard time making it to Canton, but he deserves to be in our Hall of Honor at the stadium."
As does linebacker James Harrison, the numbers prove it. He's the franchise's all-time sack leader and all-time leader in tackles for loss. He's second in forced fumbles and named the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 setting a then Steelers season-single record with 16 sacks.
"It was a treat, you know," Tomlin said of coaching Harrison. "First of all, man James loves football. James is a good teammate. James is a hard worker and
tremendous competitor. And heaped on top of all that man, he was an awesome character man. He was a guy that brought energy and laughter to our day. Just an awesome guy man, and well deserving of the honor."
"There's a lot of things that people don't realize about him but he's a complex individual. I think that's why those of us that have got an opportunity to know him really appreciate him."
It almost didn't happen. Undrafted out of Kent State, Harrison was released three times by the Steelers. He finally caught on as a starter in 2007 and voted second-team All-Pro. When asked about releasing him that many times, Rooney noted.
"Once by the Ravens by the way, thank God that happened," Rooney said with a big smile. "Obviously we didn't know what we had. He was raw. James was raw when he got here, no doubt about it. He played in the World League a little while. It's one of those funny things about football, you never know until the guy gets in there when the lights are on."
"Thank God Joey got in that fight in Cleveland, James got his opportunity."
