Pittsburgh Steelers: Is Hines Ward Hall of Fame Material?
By Matt Shetler
In what turned out to be a meaningless win against the Cleveland Browns during the final week of the regular season, one that ultimately cost the Pittsburgh Steelers their starting running back in Rashard Mendenhall, not everything on that sunday afternoon was meaningless.
Not for the history books and wide receiver Hines Ward.
Ward became the first Pittsburgh Steelers receiver and only the 8th of all-time to hit the 1,000 catch mark. Even if the historic catch did come on a shovel pass, it’s been quite the ride for No. 86 throughout his 14 year NFL career.
With his career winding down, is Canton, OH. the next stop for Ward?
Not so fast.
He’s definitely not a first ballot guy.
It’s not baseball, where certain statistical milestones assure you inclusion to the Hall of Fame. While the stats are nice and only seven receivers in history have caught more footballs then Ward, it doesn’t guarantee him anything.
Looking at the guys ahead of him on the career receptions list, only the great Jerry Rice is currently in the Hall of Fame.
Tony Gonzalez ranks second and he’s a lock to be enshrined as possibly the greatest tight end in league history.
Comparing Ward to the other five guys ahead of him, which include: Marvin Harrison, Cris Carter, Tim Brown, Terrell Owens and Issac Bruce; the only player you can make an argument for Ward against is Bruce and even that wouldn’t be too strong of an argument.
All of those other guys were game changers in their prime, Ward wasn’t.
It’s not easy to get into the NFL Hall of Fame. If Brown and Carter haven’t got in yet, Ward may have quite the wait.
Look at the case of former Steeler Jerome Bettis, who was eligible for induction this year. If the 6th leading rusher of all-time isn’t a first ballot guy, Ward certainly isn’t.
But there will still be a spot in Canton reserved for Ward. It might just take a few years once he becomes eligible.
What Ward has been throughout his career is a model of consistency. He wasn’t your prototypical diva wide receiver with blazing speed, great hands and an attitude problem.
Instead he’s just a football player playing the wide receiver position. At the end of the day, that’s the ultimate compliment for Ward. He’s been a warrior that has done whatever it took to win. you may have not liked him, but you had to respect the way he played the game week in and week out.
Another bonus is that he was likeable for the most part throughout his career. People will remember his trademark smile as much as anything he’s ever done on the field.
It’s yet to be determined if Ward will be back in a Steelers uniform for a 15th season. If he’s not let his Hall of Fame clock begin.
It may not happen right away after the five-year waiting period, but eventually Ward will have the tag of Hall of Famer to go in front of his name.
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