Three Steelers Advance in Modern-Era Hall of Fame Voting
Pittsburgh Steelers Gary Anderson, James Harrison and Hines Ward advanced in Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 voting.
Three former members of the Pittsburgh Steelers are among the final 50 candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025, it announced on Wednesday.
Kicker Gary Anderson, outside linebacker James Harrison and wide receiver Hines Ward are all among the remaining candidates after the initial list of 167 nominees was trimmed to 50.
Anderson spent 13 seasons kicking with the Steelers from 1982-94 and is the team’s all-time leading scorer with 1,343 points. He’s the only Pittsburgh player to score more than 1,000 career points and is also the team’s leader in career field goals made (309) and points after touchdown (416). He was a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro member of the NFL’s 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Teams. Anderson has never made it to the semifinalist stage of the voting process.
Ward’s 14-year NFL career was spent carving out a role as one of the most physical players on the Steelers, even as a wide receiver. The Korean-born Ward won two Super Bowls with Pittsburgh and was the MVP of Super Bowl XL after his game-sealing touchdown reception. His impact as a blocker was so well-known that the NFL changed its rules to prevent blindside blocks downfield, which has come to be known as the Hines Ward Rule.
Ward was named to four Pro Bowls, was a three-time All-Pro and is on the Steelers’ All-Time Team. He is currently serving as the wide receivers coach at Arizona State. Ward has been a semifinalist for seven straight years.
Harrison is one of the team’s most legendary outside linebackers. Originally joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2002, it took him years to catch on with the squad full time and Harrison considered giving up football. But starting in 2004, he was a long-term fixture of the Pittsburgh defense that won Super Bowls XL and XLIII. Harrison had the most memorable play of the latter game, with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown just before the half serving as one of the top plays in NFL history.
Harrison was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, he was a four-time All-Pro and a five-time Pro Bowler. Harrison is in his third year of Hall of Fame eligibility and has been a semifinalist twice.
Five former Steelers players were nominated but did not advance in the voting process: inside linebacker James Farrior, nose tackle Casey Hampton, fullback John Kuhn, running back and kick returner Allen Rossum and outside linebacker Mike Vrabel.
The list of 50 will be further whittled to 25 semifinalists in November, and then 15 finalists in advance of the vote of the full Hall of Fame committee in February.
The Steelers are tied for the third-most primary inductees to the Hall of Fame of any franchise.
STEELERS IN THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
1964 Owner Art Rooney
1966 Coach/G Walt Kiesling
1966 HB Bill Dudley
1969 DT Ernie Stautner
1993 Coach Chuck Noll
1987 DT Joe Greene
1987 QB Len Dawson
1987 FB John Henry Johnson
1988 OLB Jack Ham
1989 CB Mel Blount
1989 QB Terry Bradshaw
1990 MLB Jack Lambert
1990 RB Franco Harris
1997 C Mike Webster
2000 Owner Dan Rooney
2001 WR Lynn Swann
2002 WR John Stallworth
2009 CB/KR Rod Woodson
2012 CB Jack Butler
2012 C Dermontti Dawson
2015 RB Jerome Bettis
2016 OLB Kevin Greene
2020 Coach Bill Cowher
2020 S Donnie Shell
2020 S Troy Polamalu
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