Will it be a Black and Gold summer in Canton, OH?

"The Bus" could be crossing the goal line into Canton this summer.

As a card holding member of "Steeler Nation", I remember the exact moment I heard the news that Jerome Bettis was en route to Pittsburgh.  It was my freshman year of college, and I was sitting in my UPT dorm room enjoying the spoils of college life - beer in one hand, 13-inch TV blaring the ESPN coverage of the 1996 NFL Draft in the background.  It was a watershed moment in the era of the William Laird Cowher Steelers, and enough to make this shocked fan jump so fast that I spilled my tasty Icehouse bottle all over my recently purchased Sega Saturn game console.

The Steelers were coming off a Super Bowl XXX loss to the hated Dallas Cowboys, and to make matters worse the team had recently found out that their powerful starting RB Bam Morris would probably be spending his 1996 season behind the bars of a state correctional facility.  The franchise was in need of some good news, and that news arrived in the form of a 252 lb. wrecking machine who would within a year would earn the nickname "The Bus".  In an era when the Steelers were still synonymous with power running, Bettis fit the city and team like a glove.  He was - for all intents and purposes - BORN to wear the Black and Gold.

After carving out a tremendous ten year run in Pittsburgh, "The Bus" finished off his magical career by finally bringing "One for the Thumb" to Steeler Nation.  For a decade, he had been the face of one of professional sports greatest teams - and his final game in a Steelers jersey would be Super Bowl XL.  Jerome Bettis would retire from play as the 5th leading all-time rusher in NFL history, a six-time Pro Bowler, a three-time Steelers team MVP, and a Super Bowl champion.

After being left out of the party last summer in his first year of eligibility, Bettis is on the verge on achieving another career milestone.  He - along with former Steelers C Dermontti Dawson and DB Jack Butler - will be among the 15 finalists who are considered for election to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2012.  It is the most cherished honor a player can achieve in professional football, and if selected by the Hall of Fame selection committee on February 5th, "The Bus" will become the 24th Pittsburgh Steeler to enter the hallowed halls of Canton, Ohio.  That number includes all players, coaches, and ownership members that entered the Hall primarily as a member of the franchise.

The issue for Bettis isn't his credentials - his career numbers are more than enough to make him a Hall of Fame player.  The NFL is very careful about how they do inductions to their HOF, and in an effort to "spread out" the eligible former superstars, usually only 2-3 "big ticket" players will be inducted during the same year.  In 2011, the NFL elected to induct DB Deion Sanders, RB Marshall Faulk, and TE Shannon Sharpe in their first year of eligibility.  Players that do not get inducted but make the finalist list are carried over, and can be used to anchor a future class when needed.  The potential class of 2012 includes such notable first-year eligible candidates as Bill Parcells and former Kansas City Chiefs great Will Shields.  Carry-over nominees include Bettis, Dawson, Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Curtis Martin, and Charles Haley.  Out of the 15 finalists, Bettis and Parcells could be considered "anchor" inductees if selected next month.  Also included in the finalists are senior nominees Dick Stanfel, a Guard who played from 1952-58 before retiring early to pursue coaching, and former Steelers DB Jack Butler (1951-59).

 

Dermontti Dawson is in his eighth year of eligibility in 2012, and this could be his best shot at finally getting his bronze bust.  Dawson was by far the best Center in the NFL during his dominant run of 1988-2000, and followed in the footsteps of prior Steelers center Mike Webster.  The combination of Webster-Dawson gave the Steelers a run of success at one position unrivaled in the annuals of football history.  From 1974-2000, Steelers centers combined for 16 (!) Pro Bowl appearances.  Dawson was a lifetime Steeler, and earned on spot on the NFL's 1990s All-Decade team.  "Dirt" was an integral piece of the offensive line that allowed Jerome Bettis to begin his run in Pittsburgh with five straight 1,000-yeard rushing campaigns.

CB Jack Butler was one of the greatest pre-championship era players for Pittsburgh.  From 1951-59, Butler accumulated 52 interceptions and four Pro Bowl appearances.  His career was ended by a leg injury suffered late in the 1959 season, forcing Butler to retire at the top of his game.  He has been honored by the NFL as a member of the 1950s All-Decade team, and is widely considered one of the best defensive backs to play in the early television era of the NFL.  Butler was born in Pittsburgh on November 12, 1927 and continues to reside in the region to this day.  He is a true Pittsburgh icon who played in a time when the Steelers were a distant #3 to local sports fans behind Pirates baseball and University of Pittsburgh football.  

CB Jack Butler, Pittsburgh Steelers 1951-59

The NFL is well-aware that inducting two or even three Steelers in the same class will cause an immediate rush of ticket packages and create an instant buzz for their Hall of Fame event.  The league could increase the black and gold fever even more if they schedule the Steelers to play in the Hall of Fame Game played at Fawcett Field.

With the Steelers about to begin another march to the Super Bowl, we can only dream about the chances of seeing "The Bus", "Dirt", and the original #80 on the podium in Canton this summer.  All are deserving, and all represent the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise with class, integrity, and honor.