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L.C. Greenwood among 3 Steelers Seniors to Advance in Hall of Fame Voting

Defensive end L.C. Greenwood is among three Pittsburgh Steelers seniors to advance in Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 voting.

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Pittsburgh Steelers DE L.C. Greenwood
Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive end L.C. Greenwood is seen in 1973. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Defensive end L.C. Greenwood leads three former Pittsburgh Steelers players that advanced in the voting process for the senior committee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025.



Greenwood, linebacker Andy Russell and quarterback Jack Kemp all moved forward in the voting process, which cut the initial list of 182 nominees down to 60 semifinalists. The list will be cut down further by the seniors blue ribbon committee, eventually coming up with three finalists who will be voted upon by the entire Hall of Fame membership.

Four Steelers players that had been nominated were among those cut: kicker Norm Johnson, defensive lineman Eugene โ€œBig Daddyโ€ Lipscomb, defensive back Mike Wagner and running back Byron โ€œWhizzerโ€ White.

Greenwood is probably the most-decorated member of the 1970s Steelers who has not yet been enshrined in Canton, Ohio. A 10th-round draft pick out of Arkansas Pine-Bluff in 1969, Greenwood became a starter in his third season and then spent another 10 as the teamโ€™s stalwart at left defensive end.

He was a four-time Super Bowl champion, a six-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro. Greenwood was a member of the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, and is already a member of the Steelers Hall of Honor.

Though sacks were not official NFL statistics until 1983, research by Pro Football Reference credits Greenwood with 78 in his career, the fourth-most in franchise history.

Greenwood retired in 1981 and died from kidney failure in 2013 at the age of 67.

Steelers Andy Russell Jack Ham Jack Lambert

Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers get together for a photograph at their motel in Miami, Florida on Thursday, Jan. 15, 1976, before starting their day?s practice for Super Bowl X against the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday. From left are: Andy Russell, Jack Lambert, and Jack Ham. (AP Photo/Jim Kerlin)

Russell was a 16th-round pick of the team in 1963 and was one of the teamโ€™s elder statesmen by the team the Steelers broke through with their first Super Bowl win in 1974.

A leader and credited as one of the smartest players on the Steelers defense, Russell won two Super Bowl rings before he retired in 1976. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro, and is also a member o the Steelers Hall of Honor. Russell died this March at age 82.

Kemp spent one year with the Steelers in 1957, playing in four games and completing 8 of 18 passes for 88 yards.

After washing out of the NFL, Kemp caught on with the Los Angeles chargers of the AFL in 1960 and was a sensation, throwing for over 3,000 in his first season. He went on to play three seasons with the Chargers and seven with the Buffalo Bills, winning two AFL championships. He was selected to seven Pro Bowls, was a two-time All-Pro and was the 1965 AP AFL Player of the Year.

After his playing career, he ran for political office as a Republican member of the House of Representatives in a district comprised of the southern suburbs of Buffalo. He served in Congress from 1971-89. He ran for president in 1988 and was then Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for President George H.W. Bush from 1989-93. In 1996, Kemp was the Republican nominee for vice president and ran on a ticket with Bob Dole that lost to Bill Clinton. Kemp died of cancer in 2009.

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