One of the most beloved members of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization was elected Saturday to the team’s fifth Hall of Honor class.

The four-man group was highlighted by former tackle Tunch Ilkin, who retired from his long-time duties in the broadcast booth in the spring to focus on his fight against ALS.

Joining Ilkin in the 2021 class were tackle Jon Kolb, who is one of Ilkin’s closest friends, safety Carnell Lake and wide receiver Louis Lipps.

The announcement was made during a ceremony inside the Heinz Field Great Hall. None of the inductees was present.

The Class of 2021, plus the five-member group from 2020, will be honored Nov. 14 when the Steelers play the Detroit Lions at Heinz Field. Ilkin said Saturday that he intends to attend the ceremony.

“Obviously, we’re all thinking and praying for Tunch every day,” team president Art Rooney II said. “To have him part of the class this year makes it even more special.”

Ilkin, 63, announced his diagnosis last September and continued his radio color analyst duties through the remainder of the season. He joined the broadcast booth in 1998 and enjoyed a 13-year playing career that spanned 177 games and two Pro Bowl selections.

“He set the standard,” said Craig Wolfley, whose friendship with Ilkin dates to 1980 when they were members of the same Steelers draft class. “Jon Kolb set it earlier, Tunch picked it up and carried it.”

Kolb, 73, was part of Chuck Noll’s first draft class in 1969 and was a cog on the offensive line in the 1970s when the Steelers won four Super Bowl titles in a six-year span. Like Ilkin, he played in 177 games in a 13-year career with the Steelers. He also remained with the organization after his playing days, serving as the Steelers strength coach from 1982-91.

“The thing I loved about Jon was, as a veteran, he would draw you in and teach you things and take you under his wing,” Wolfley said.

Kolb runs a Christian nonprofit facility in Wexford called Adventures in Training. Under Kolb’s supervision, Ilkin has worked out twice at week at the complex since his diagnosis. Kolb and Ilkin also take part in a weekly prayer walk on Mt. Washington.

If Wolfley wasn’t a part of the 2021 class, it was fitting that Ilkin was joined by Kolb.

“I don’t know if others on the selection committee looked at it that way,” Rooney II said. “It’s great that they played together, and Tunch has such great respect for Jon.”

Lake, 54, spent 10 years with the Steelers and made the Pro Bowl five times in 12 NFL seasons. He coached the team’s defensive backs from 2011-17 and was a member of the franchise’s 75th anniversary team.

Perhaps Lake’s best season was 1995 when he switched to cornerback after Rod Woodson tore his ACL in the season opener. Lake was named to the Pro Bowl and he played the position until Woodson returned for Super Bowl XXX against Dallas.

“Personally, I didn’t expect him to do what he did when he stepped in there,” Rooney said. “You don’t always expect your safety to step in at cornerback and think it’s going to be a good thing. He did a fantastic job.”

Lipps, 58, never appeared in a Super Bowl, but he was one of the NFL’s most dynamic receivers and punt returners with the Steelers from 1984-91. He was the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year and a two-time Pro Bowl pick. His 11.3-yard punt return average remains a franchise record.

“Louis and Rod Woodson, in my mind, are the two greatest punt returners in Steelers history,” Rooney said.

Members of the 2020 class that will be recognized in November are Mike Wagner, James Farrior, Greg Lloyd, Troy Polamalu and the late Dwight White.

First, Polamalu will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, although his presence may be impacted by his recent positive test for covid-19. Four other members of the Steelers organization also will be inducted Saturday or Sunday.

“It’s an awful special time in Steelers football history,” Rooney said. “It’s a little unusual to recognize this many people in this short amount of time. It’s going to be special, for sure.”

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