The Steelers have a rich history, with players, coaches and ownership earning their rightful spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the contributions they made on and off the field.

Many of the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinements took place during July, August and September, and we are taking a look back at the day in history that each member of the Steelers organization took their rightful place in football immortality.

Today, we take a look at late Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on this day in 2000.

Dan Rooney Sr.
President and Chairman (1955-Present)
Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: July 29, 2000

There weren't many Pro Football Hall of Famers that were inducted one day, and then back to work for what they were inducted for the next day. But there also weren't many Hall of Famers like Dan Rooney Sr.

Rooney was one of the NFL's most influential owners and a pivotal figure in the growth and development of the league.

Throughout the years Rooney was a member of the board of directors for the NFL Trust Fund, NFL Films, and the Scheduling Committee. He was appointed Chairman of the League's Expansion Committee in 1973, eventually adding Seattle and Tampa Bay to the NFL in 1976.

Rooney was named Chairman of the Negotiating Committee in 1976, and in 1982 he contributed to the negotiations for the Collective Bargaining Agreement for NFL owners and the Players Association. He brought a calm, reasonable approach to labor relations, and was a driving force in the labor agreement again in 1993. Rooney has also been a member of the Management Council Executive Committee, the Hall of Fame Committee, the NFL Properties Executive Committee, and the Player/Club Operations Committee. He served as the President of the Steelers from 1975 until 2003, when he turned it over to his son, Art Rooney II, and became the Chairman.

Rooney chose one of his Hall of Fame players, Joe Greene, to be his presenter for the Hall of Fame, a man he was close to as a player.

"When I was a young player, Dan often had to steer me in the right direction," said Greene during the enshrinement "In my youthful exuberance to win, I was in everybody's business. I was always attempting to tell the coaches what plays to call and telling the players how to play the game. I even had the nerve to tell Dan he needed to get a player signed.

"Whenever I've had a special occasion in my life, the times you want your friends to share, Dan or a member of his family has been there. That means an awful lot. Dan has not only exhibited kindness towards me but has followed in his father's footsteps. All the Steelers players are a part of his family. I am most honored and proud to represent the Rooney family, the Steelers organization, all the former players and coaches, the City of Pittsburgh, and the fans presenting our boss and our friend to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dan Rooney."

Rooney then did what he always does when he deflected credit away from himself and put it on to others.

"The players and coaches made the Steelers, and I attribute my presence here today to all of them and to my father," said Rooney in his speech. "My father (Art Rooney Sr.), one of the early men who did everything to make the NFL succeed, it is special to join him here. He gave me the understanding of what the league meant. He gave me the commitment to do everything possible to keep it strong and viable."

And then he encouraged everyone who loves the game of football to do their part to continue its growth and protect it.

"I ask you to be watchful, see that the game remains the best, strong, viable, and flexible for the present day," said Rooney. "No one can be more interested than youth. You have much to guide you. Your own commitment and how you played the game. The people in the league, players, coaches, owners, staff, and fans; the television networks, our family, our players, you have my commitment to do whatever it takes. The National Football League, the game is your legacy. Protect it. Don't let anyone tarnish it."

Since his induction into the Hall of Fame Rooney did what he asked others to do, protect the NFL. He created the Rooney Rule in 2003, which required NFL teams to interview a minority candidate for head coaching and senior football operation jobs.

Rooney, who died on April 13, 2017, also served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland.

Mike Webster
Center (1974-88)
Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: July 26, 1997

When you talk about the center position for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the conversation always starts with Mike Webster. A fifth-round draft pick by the team in the 1974 NFL Draft, Webster anchored the Steelers line throughout his career.

Webster started 150 consecutive games, beginning at the end of the 1975 season and lasting until 1986, when a dislocated elbow sidelined him for four games.

Webster played 15 seasons and 200 games with the Steelers, more than any other player in team history. He spent his last two seasons (1989-90) with the Kansas City Chiefs.

He was the Steelers offensive captain for nine seasons, a strong leader off the field and the strongest player on the field, earning him the nickname "Iron Mike."

"Mike wasn't tall enough, he didn't weigh enough, but the thing he had that made the difference was he had great playing strength," said late Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Noll. "You could see it on the field. He would come off the ball with great quickness. I can remember having some films of him against I think it was UCLA, which had these huge, huge tackles. He just destroyed him. Wisconsin moved the ball up and down the field. He not only blocked well on the run, but he also pass protected well."

Webster, a member of the Steelers four Super Bowl championship teams in the 1970s, played in nine Pro Bowls, and was selected All-Pro seven times.

Webster led the way for Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris, and kept quarterback Terry Bradshaw safe. It was Bradshaw who would be Webster's Hall of Fame presenter, and the two shared a special moment on the steps in Canton, Ohio.

As Bradshaw talked about a dream he had as a kid to play on a championship team, he rattled off the Steelers players that helped him achieve that. When he got to center, he spoke of Webster.

"What good is a machine if you ain't got a center? And, oh, did I get a center," said Bradshaw. "I just didn't get any center. I got the best to ever play the game, to ever put his hands on a football. And I said `Make sure he ain't as pretty as me,' and he ain't."

And then Bradshaw fulfilled another dream, the one he had the day he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989, when he said, "Oh, what I would give to put my hands under Mike Webster's butt one more time."

So on the day Webster was inducted, Bradshaw pulled a football from underneath the podium and as the moment happened, Steelers fans, fellow Hall of Famers, and everyone in Canton erupted. Bradshaw took one last snap from Webster.

"Do not be afraid to fail," Webster told the gathered crowd that day. "You're going to fail, believe me. No one's keeping score. All we have to do is finish the game. Then we'll all be winners."

Five years after his induction, Webster died at the age of 50.

Bill Nunn
Scout (1967-2014)
Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: April 28, 2021

It's a day many in the Steelers organization, many in Pittsburgh, and many around the NFL, patiently waited for.

And it was a day that was worth the wait.

Bill Nunn, the legendary Steelers scout, was enshrined posthumously, during a special ceremony, 'Hall of Famer Forever,' at the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

"It's still a little bit surreal for Bill to get recognized like this," said Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert. "We will finally came to the realization of how great an honor this is and how great an honor it was to know and work with a man like Bill Nunn. Until you really see it happen, it's not a real feel, but you are picking that up now.

"Bill meant everything to the Steelers organization. It's been documented, the players he was instrumental in bringing to the Steelers and the success they had. We as young scouts were fortunate to be around Bill and try and learn things they implemented when they put those teams together. There were a lot of lessons being taught to us."

Nunn, who worked in multiple roles in the Steelers personnel department beginning in 1967 in a part-time role, and then in a full-time role from 1969-2014, was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Contributor as part of the Class of 2021, the first Black Contributor in the 100 plus year history of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

While the ceremony for Nunn's enshrinement was on a smaller scale than what will took place when the remainder of the Class of 2020 and 2021 were enshrined, the emotion, passion and love of the game that Nunn and the others held in their hearts was larger than life and definitely on display.

"He is the first African-American contributor in the Hall of Fame," said then Hall of Fame President David Baker. "I think the heritage of Bill, he is in here already because he is in the Black College Football Hall of Fame. The Pittsburgh Steelers would turn over every stone to find the best talent, the people who were going to be Pittsburgh Steelers, Donnie Shell, LC Greenwood, Mel Blount, all of these guys came from Historically Black Colleges and Universities."

Nunn's granddaughter, Cydney Nunn, did the honors of unveiling her grandfather's Hall of Fame bust. She also assisted in placing his bust in the Hall of Fame Gallery and was given a Hall of Fame plaque, which includes a swatch of the Gold Jacket that is presented to Hall of Famers.

"I know my grandfather probably didn't think he was going to be in the Hall of Fame," said Nunn. "That wasn't necessarily a goal of his. This has been a huge memorable historic time for our family. We are happy we are able to be here to represent his legacy.

"It's incredible he is the first black contributor to be in the Hall of Fame. He made such a huge impact on this sport as we know it, the way he scouted players and how he opened doors for so many black athletes. Also, walking through the museum, seeing him in the Black College Football Hall of Fame, he is so great he is in there twice."

Nunn was a trailblazer who opened the door for so many to have careers in the NFL, in particular those from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Nunn, who died in 2014 at the age of 89, joined the Steelers organization in the scouting department after a career in the newspaper business where he started as a sportswriter, then sports editor, and then managing editor of The Pittsburgh Courier.

Starting in 1950 he selected the newspaper's annual Black College All-America Team, developing relationships that benefited his scouting career and opened the door for Black players who weren't getting a lot of attention from professional teams.

The last Black College All-America Team Nunn selected for the Pittsburgh Courier was in 1974, and a member of that team happened to be John Stallworth. Nunn scouted Stallworth, along with other BLESTO scouts who at that time would travel together, on a wet track at Alabama A&M, and the wide receiver didn't time well in the 40-yard dash.

The group was leaving Alabama the next morning, but Nunn said he felt 'ill' and was staying and would catch up with them on the road. What he did, though, was go back and time Stallworth on a dry track and he got the results he wanted. Also, through his relationship with HBCU coaches, he was able to obtain the only game film of Stallworth that existed. He promised to return the film to be shared but never did. The rest, as they say, is history. That 1974 Steelers team went on to win Super Bowl IX, with 11 players from HBCUs, and the Steelers 1974 NFL Draft Class that included four Hall of Fame players in the first five picks – Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, Stallworth, and Mike Webster – plus another – Donnie Shell – as an undrafted rookie is acknowledged as the greatest draft class of all-time.

Nunn, a member of the Inaugural Class of the Black College Football Hall of Fame and a 2018 Steelers Hall of Honor selection, helped the Steelers find talent from HBCUs that other teams largely ignored, including L.C. Greenwood from Arkansas AM&N, Mel Blount from Southern, Frank Lewis from Grambling State, Dwight White from Texas A&M-Commerce, Ernie Holmes from Texas Southern, Joe Gilliam from Tennessee State, Stallworth, and Shell from South Carolina State, who will be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year as a member of the Centennial Class of 2020.

"Bill Nunn has done so much for the league over the years, not only for the Steelers but also when he was a reporter by going to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and finding all of the talent there and letting the NFL teams know about that talent," said Shell of Nunn prior to the enshrinement. "And what he did for the Steelers. Look at how many players he brought to the Steelers to help build those championship teams.

"We had side conversations that no one ever knew about. He was a confidant. If I had some issues, if I didn't do well in practice, I would talk to Bill and it wouldn't go any further than that. He would sit me down and say keep working hard and doing what you are doing, you will be fine. When you are young, that gave you encouragement to keep working hard. Nobody ever knew about that.

"I don't know if he realized it or not, but just being around Bill, his professionalism, the way he carried himself in his life, it meant a lot to me and had a great effect on me. He never would have thought that. That is the way he was, unassuming. That was Bill. That is who he was. He made people gravitate to him. You wanted to be with him. You wanted to be in his presence to listen to some of the wisdom that he had."

That was the thing about Nunn. He was unassuming. While he would be honored by his enshrinement, he also would have been beyond humbled, and almost embarrassed by the attention because in his eyes, getting others attention was always more important.

"Bill would be the last one to be seeking any kind of attention," said Colbert. "That's was just his makeup."