Is Hines Ward a future Hall of Famer?

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on September 15, 2016

That question is a no-brainer in Pittsburgh, where Steelers Nation is lobbying for their own wing at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

However, for Hines Ward‘s bust to grace the hallowed halls of Canton, Ohio, we’ll have to convince an entire nation that the wide receiver is worthy of such an honor.

Hine’s legacy is one that fans won’t soon forget: a player who was tough-as-nails, gave it his all, and always left the field with a smile on his face. Ward would lock up with players larger than him, a pit bull mentality on the field, with a fearless aptitude and infectious attitude. One couldn’t help but fall in love with this player, and that’s why our hearts say “yes, he belongs” when asking the title question.

Yet, those memories of Ward won’t be what convinces a panel to vote the first-time eligible player into football’s biggest accolade. Many may not consider it, but Ward was a fine player statistically, who may have been overshadowed by those qualities we love about him, as well as a team that was once fixated on running the football (with another gold jacket recipient, Jerome Bettis.)

Hines retired as the Steelers all-time leader in receptions, all-time leader in receiving yardage, and all-time leader in touchdown receptions.

Now, a certain player (Antonio Brown) may eclipse those numbers in due time, but for now, Ward owns every major receiving record of the Pittsburgh Steelers: that’s quite a feat when other Hall of Famers such as Lynn Swann and John Stallworth played for the same franchise.

That’s not all Hines has on his resume either. Ward left the Steelers with the following footnotes on his career:

2× Super Bowl champion (XL, XLIII)
Super Bowl MVP (XL)
5× Pro Bowl (2001–2004, 2007)
3× Second-team All-Pro (2002–2004)
Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team

Again, being spoken of in the same breath as Steelers greats at your position, like Swann and Stallworth, or even All-Time Steelers like “Mean Joe” Greene, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert or Terry Bradshaw, definitely helps you climb the ladder to Canton immortality.

Ward was selected for 2 consecutive All-NFL teams, 4 consecutive Pro Bowls, and originally set franchise records for receptions and touchdowns.

The MVP of Super Bowl XL, Ward was one of only thirteen players in NFL history to have 1,000 or more career receptions. Among those ahead of him on the list include active stars such as Larry Fitzgerald, Jason Witten, Anquan Boldin and Andre Johnson, and other retired Hall of Fame hopefuls such as Terrell Owens, Tony Gonzalez, and Isaac Bruce.

Those already enshrined in the Hall of Fame that were ahead of Ward in career receptions are household names such as Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Chris Carter, and Tim Brown.

What many may or may not know, there are several household names who didn’t achieve 1,000 career receptions like Ward did. Among those names include Randy Moss, Andre Reed, Art Monk, and Michael Irvin: of those, only Moss is awaiting his day in Canton. Granted, Moss nearly has twice as many career touchdowns, but the two players still amassed an incredible amount of receiving yards (15,292 for Moss, 12,083 for Ward) though Moss played an additional 2 years in the league to Ward’s 14 seasons.

My feeling is that Hines was underrated everywhere except for Pittsburgh. He’s still an exceptional player who will some day receive a gold jacket. However, like fellow teammate Jerome Bettis, who also had great career numbers when compared to others in his era, Hines Ward may have to wait awhile for his time to shine.

When it comes, and it will, we all expect to see that famous smile on stage, along with a Terrible Towel.