Who goes in first? Joe Kuzma’s picks for the inaugural Steelers Hall of Honor
Steel City Underground presents “Who goes in first?” a panel discussion on which Pittsburgh Steelers contributors will be named to the team’s first-ever “Hall of Honor”.
The Pittsburgh Steelers made an earth-shattering announcement to start the month of August by releasing plans to unveil the Hall, as a means of recognizing individuals who have made a significant contribution to the team’s success. On August 29th the Hall of Honor Selection Committee, comprised of Steelers President Art Rooney II, Joe Gordon, Bob Labriola, Stan Savran, and Tony Quatrini will announce this year’s inaugural class, made up of former players, coaches, and contributors based on a certain criteria.
As part of an ongoing series, members of the Steel City Underground staff will put forth their virtual votes as to who should be inducted first.
Also note, while there’s going to be some overlap, each writer was encouraged to pick however many number of enshrinees as they saw fit, and for whatever reasons they felt compelled to choose that individual. There will be some varying opinions, which makes these discussions great.
Today, we take a look at Joe Kuzma’s picks.
Art Rooney and Dan Rooney
My inaugural Hall of Honor inductees are limited to five total. Art Rooney and Dan Rooney both go in for their countless contributions to the Steelers, NFL, and the City of Pittsburgh. In my opinion, this first class of inductees should be exclusive, but in saying that, there’s no way to choose “The Chief” over Dan or vice versa. Both gave so much to a city, and a team, that they loved. The Pittsburgh Steelers are their baby and as such, they equally deserve the recognition that comes with being part of the inaugural class.
“Mean” Joe Greene
Brian Roach said a ton about Joe Greene in his Hall of Honor picks, and there’s not a whole lot I can add to that. One of Brian’s statements really stuck out to me:
The headline after [Greene] was drafted read “Who’s Joe Greene?”.
Now you can’t go anywhere without knowing who “Mean” Joe is. He was the player who turned around a dismal franchise. He was the cornerstone of a four-time Super Bowl winning “Steel Curtain” defense.
Joe then transitioned into coaching (16 years) and heading up the team’s player personnel department following his playing days. He truly transcends the very idea of what being a Pittsburgh Steelers is. So much so, that only his and Ernie Stautner‘s numbers are retired.
And if this isn’t a trivia question worthy of an answer, Greene is only one of four people outside of the Rooney family to have all six Super Bowl rings, from his various roles working with the Steelers.
It’s not that I’m against any other players going into the Hall, but based on this being the first iteration, I’m of the opinion that Joe should go in as the only player. It would be a tremendous honor, and besides, they’ll need people for the following classes too.
Chuck Noll
If you want to say the Steelers do not exist without the contributions of those above, then you have to put Chuck Noll into that category as well. His four Super Bowl wins forever changed not only the landscape of a franchise but all of professional football. The Steelers created a pattern of building through draft picks and shrewdly spending on free agents or making trades.
It all began with Noll, who was the architect of the process. Chuck demanded excellence from his players and got it. He set the tone for the Steelers only having three coaches in over thirty years. Like Mean Joe’s selection, there may be other coaches (assistants included) who made significant contributions to the team. But none overshadow Chuck Noll.
Myron Cope
My last inductee might not even be eligible depending on the criteria. “Former coaches and contributors” are to be considered based on “Significant contributions to the team and community”.
I can’t think of anyone who has had more of an impact on creating what has become Steelers Nation than Myron Cope. Cope was a longtime broadcaster who added color to every radio broadcast of games, but he’s also credited with creating the Terrible Towel, a symbol of Steelers fandom for decades. The towel is an often imitated, but never duplicated, icon in sports. Every game day inside of Heinz Field, and previously in Pittsburgh’s old home at Three Rivers Stadium, a sea of gold towels filled the landscape.
But it’s not just the creation of an item fans could cherish that has embodied itself into the Steelers culture which signifies itself as Cope’s contribution. Proceeds from Terrible Towel sales benefit Allegheny Valley School, which “operates residential and therapeutic programs throughout Pennsylvania for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities”.
In other words, Cope’s contribution has also given back to the community in more ways than being a “rally towel”. Combined with his 35 years of working Steelers radio broadcasts, Myron is deserving of being added to the Steelers Hall of Honor.
