Steelers get 2 more Hall of Fame representatives in Alan Faneca, Bill Nunn

Alan Faneca and Bill Nunn were members of the same Hall of Honor class for the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it was fitting they also received the NFL’s biggest honor together.

Faneca, the former All-Pro guard, and Nunn, whose scouting and personnel career with the Steelers spanned five decades, were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

Their inclusion in the Hall of Fame was announced at the NFL’s Honors ceremony in Tampa, Fla., site of Super Bowl LV on Sunday.

Faneca made the Hall of Fame in his sixth year as a finalist. Nunn was selected posthumously under the Contributor category after being chosen as a finalist in August. They were members of the Steelers’ second Hall of Honor Class in 2018.

Joining Faneca among the modern-era players elected Saturday night were cornerback Charles Woodson, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, safety John Lynch and quarterback Peyton Manning.

Tom Flores, the lone finalist in the Coach category, also was selected as was Senior finalist Drew Pearson.

A first-round pick in 1998, Faneca spent 10 of his 13 NFL seasons with the Steelers, and he was a key member of the Super Bowl XL championship team after the 2005 season. Faneca is remembered in that 21-10 victory against Seattle for the block that sprung Willie Parker for a 75-yard touchdown run that remains a Super Bowl record.

Faneca was named a first-team All-Pro six times in a seven-year stretch from 2001-07. The only season in which he wasn’t selected, 2003, was the year in which Faneca moved to tackle during the season because of injuries at the position.

“Without a doubt, Alan was one of the best guards in Steelers history, and one of the best in the NFL,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “Alan was unique in that he was big and strong enough to handle interior pass rushers and keep them off our quarterbacks, but also mobile enough to pull in either direction and lead one of our running backs around the end.”

Faneca was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times, including his final seven years with the Steelers. He played one year with the New York Jets and two with the Arizona Cardinals before retiring after the 2010 season at age 34.

Faneca missed only two games in his NFL career, one because of injury and one when coach Bill Cowher rested his starters before the playoffs. He started 153 of his 158 games with the Steelers, and he was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s all-2000s team.

Although he had a Hall-worthy resume, Faneca watched as other offensive linemen were chosen instead of him in recent years. Two years ago, former New York Jets center Kevin Mawae got the nod. Last year, former Seahawks guard Kevin Hutchinson was selected instead of Faneca.

Nunn was responsible for unearthing dozens of players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities who played in the NFL. Beginning in 1950, Nunn selected the Pittsburgh Courier’s annual Black College All-American Team, and NFL personnel directors made note of his selections.

After his career as a sportswriter and editor for the Courier, Nunn went to work in the Steelers scouting department in 1968. His role increased, and he remained with the franchise until his death in 2014 at age 89.

Nunn discovered many core members of the Steelers dynasty that won four Super Bowl championships in a six-year span in the 1970s, including the famed 1974 draft class.

Among the players that Nunn scouted and had a hand in the Steelers drafting from HBCUs were Hall of Famers Mel Blount, Donnie Shell and John Stallworth, plus noteworthy defensive standouts L.C. Greenwood, Dwight White and Ernie Holmes.

“He was not only a special friend and advisor to me, my father, my uncle Art Rooney Jr. but also Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin and everyone he worked with during his 46 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Rooney II said. “His stories, advice and lessons that he taught all of us are still apparent in our everyday work.”

Unlike previous years when the 48-member Hall of Fame voting committee met on the eve of the Super Bowl, this year’s process was conducted virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Votes were cast remotely and filed electronically.