Steelers induct inaugural Hall of Honor class

Andy Russell is a hall of famer many times over.

“I'm going to set a new record of hall of fames that are very small,” said Russell, the former Steelers linebacker. “For example, I just got in the hall of fame of the Sigma Chi fraternity. They just created it, and I was the first inaugurate, which I thought was ridiculous, but I went and did it.

“I also did the hall of fame of the University of Missouri. The hall of fame of the State of Missouri. The hall of fame of Pittsburgh. The hall of fame of Pennsylvania. And it goes on and on. There's like a dozen, these little ones, but they're not the one that everybody wants: The Hall.”

On Sunday, Russell officially joined another. With speeches from inductees Joe Greene and Donnie Shell along with team president Art Rooney II, the Steelers unveiled their Hall of Honor with a pregame ceremony at Heinz Field.

“This one ranks pretty high compared to most of those,” said Russell, one of the 27 former players, coaches and contributors honored in the Great Hall display with a replica steel football. “You're in there with a lot of your buddies, good guys.”

The inaugural class also included Jerome Bettis, Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Jack Butler, Dermontti Dawson, Bill Dudley, Kevin Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Dick Hoak, John Henry Johnson, Walt Kiesling, Jack Lambert, Bobby Layne, John McNally, Chuck Noll, Art Rooney Sr., Dan Rooney, John Stallworth, Ernie Stautner, Lynn Swann, Mike Webster and Rod Woodson.

The list features 23 members already inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which made their selection automatic. Russell is among four who aren't enshrined in Canton, Ohio, with Greenwood, Hoak and Shell the others. That made their inclusion in this inaugural class all the more meaningful.

“It's special to me because this is the inaugural class. There's not going to be another inaugural class,” said Shell, a Steelers safety from 1974-87 and a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist in 2002.

“I've had a lot of honors throughout my career, and this is special to me,” said Hoak, who was a player from 1961-70 and a coach from 1972-2007. “I put in a lot of years with them. I had opportunities to leave, but I could never leave because the Rooneys always treated me so well.”

Russell played with the Steelers in 1962 and 1966-76. Greenwood, a Steel Curtain defensive end, played from 1969-81.

“It shows the appreciation this organization and certainly this city has for their efforts,” said Stallworth, who knew Greenwood, Russell and Shell as teammates and played under Hoak. “I think it's important that they see that. I think it's important that their family gets an opportunity to see how valuable they were to this city.”

Joe Greene long has insisted his linemate Greenwood should be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Greenwood, who died in 2013, was a finalist six times between 1991 and 2006.

“I was on the committee twice as a senior (committee member), and L.C.'s name came up twice,” Greene said Sunday. “Now, I don't know if you can have a better representative to talk for you than someone that played next to you for 12 years and knew everything that you gave on the football field and that was very instrumental in you being in the Hall of Fame. If they can't believe what I'm telling them, and it doesn't carry enough weight, then what the hell can? That's the way I feel.”

Hoak, Russell and Shell attended Sunday's pregame ceremony along with Joe Greene, Dawson, Bettis, Blount, Harris, Stallworth and Swann. Players honored posthumously were represented by family members. Ham joined them when the class was recognized at halftime.“It's a grand group of guys, and I'm more than happy to be a part of it,” Stallworth said. “I'm just happy to see some folks recognized. I think that recognition is long overdue.”

Chris Adamski and Joe Rutter contributed. Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.