FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony later this year in Caton, Ohio, will certainly have a western Pennsylvania feel to it.
Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau was elected to the Hall on Saturday along with former Pitt stars Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm, who also served as an assistant with the Steelers.
They joined headliners Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith in a class of seven chosen for the Hall by a panel of 44 media members. A nominee needs 80 percent approval, and Rice and Smith were slam-dunks in their first year of eligibility. Vote totals aren’t announced.
Rice, the NFL’s career receiving and touchdowns leader, and Smith, the top rusher, were joined by John Randle and Floyd Little. Little and LeBeau were elected as senior committee nominees.
LeBeau is considered one of pro football’s great defensive innovators as a coach, but he was voted in for his outstanding work for the Lions from 1959-72. LeBeau finished with
62 interceptions, second among cornerbacks when he retired.
“They say anything worth having is worth waiting on,” LeBeau said. “It has been a long wait. I can’t imagine anything else that could be any more rewarding.”
Many Steelers players have openly lobbied for LeBeau’s election to the Hall.
“I would like to congratulate Dick on his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Steelers’ President Art Rooney II said.
“Few men in the history of the NFL have contributed more to the league as a player and coach than Dick LeBeau during his
51 years in the league. All of us with the Steelers are thrilled with his selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010.”
Jackson and Grimm were teammates at Pitt, helping the Panthers go a combined 22-2 in 1979 and 1980 before taking their talents to the NFL.
Jackson, a do-everything linebacker with a great burst off the line, finished his 15-season career for New Orleans and San Francisco with 128 sacks. A six-time Pro Bowler, Jackson sparked the first turnaround by the Saints from Aints to contender, in the late 1980s. He helped the Saints to their first division title and playoff berth.
Now, a day before the Saints appear in their first Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts, Jackson is Canton-bound. One little glitch: He was introduced as Randy instead of Rickey.
Grimm, a member of the Washington Redskins’ famed Hogs offensive line, won three Super Bowls. A guard, he made four Pro Bowls and was selected to the all-decade team of the 1980s.
He served as an assistant to Steelers coach Bill Cowher when the team beat Seattle in Super Bowl XL and was considered for the head coaching position left vacant by Cowher in 2007. Instead, the job went to Mike Tomlin and Grimm, a Westmoreland County native, joined the Arizona Cardinals as an assistant.
They will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 7.
Rice and Smith each won three Super Bowls and was the MVP in one of those victories.
Smith was the 1993 league MVP, as well.
Rice, the perfect receiver for the West Coast offense, played 20 seasons for San Francisco, Oakland and Seattle. He made 1,549 catches for 22,895 yards, had 14 1,000-yard seasons and scored 208 touchdowns.
Randle was that rare defensive tackle who was a premier pass rusher. An undrafted free agent out of Texas A&I;, Randle had 1371⁄2 sacks for Minnesota and Seattle, tied for sixth overall and most for his position.
Little starred for the Denver Broncos in the AFL and NFL, leading the NFL in rushing in 1971 with 1,133 yards and in touchdowns rushing in 1973 with 12. He waited 30 years to get elected.
