STEELERS BLACK -N- GOLD POST A Pittsburgh Steelers Blog from the heart of Steelers Nation.

This weekend, our own Rod Woodson goes into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rod is the 23rd Steelers whose bust has been immortalized by the NFL's highest honor.

Congrats Rod. You've joined the best of the Steelers family.

Be sure to watch Rod give his acceptance speech on August 8, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. and broadcast live by NFLN.

Here's a list of all players, coaches and owners who played as Steelers in the Pro Football of Fame, their year inducted and seasons played with Steelers.

Players (Whole Career with Steelers)

Ernie Stautner - 1969 (1950-1963)
Joe Greene - 1987 (1969-1981)

Jack Ham - 1988 (1971-1982)

Terry Bradshaw - 1989 (1970-1983)

Mel Blount - 1989 (1970-1983)

Jack Lambert - 1990 (1974-1984)

Lynn Swann - 2001 (1974-1982)

John Stallworth - 2002 (1974-1987)

Players (Most of Career with Steelers)

Franco Harris - 1990 (1972-1983)

Mike Webster - 1997 (1974-1988)

Rod Woodson - 2009 (1987-1996)

Players (Some of Career with Steelers)

Cal Hubbard - 1963 (1936)
John "Blood" McNally - 1963
Bill Dudley - 1966 (1942, 1945-1946)
Bobby Layne - 1967 (1958-1962)
Marion Motley - 1968  (1955)

John Henry Johnson - 1987 (1960-1965)

Len Dawson - 1989 (1957-1959)

Coaches

Walt Kiesling - 1966 (1940-1942, 1954-1956)
Chuck Noll - 1993  (1969-1991)

Owners

Bert Bell - 1963 (1941-1946)
Art Rooney - 1964 (1933-1988)
Dan Rooney - 2000 (1955-Today)

 

by Ramona Dye

Best known for his 10 year run with our Pittsburgh Steelers, 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Rod Woodson played 17 seasons in the NFL and ten wearing a Steelers uniform. As our number one pick (10th overall) in 1987 NFL draft, Woodson earned seven Pro Bowl trips wearing a Steelers uniform.

Born Roderick Kevin Woodson, March 10, 1965, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the youngest of three boys, Woodson attended Purdue University being named All-American defensive back in 1985 and 1986. Woodson qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1984.

A player that quarterbacks hated to see and tried to avoid, Rod Woodson loved the challenge of facing the game's greatest wide receivers.

Known as one of the best defensive backs in NFL history, Woodson is among the NFL's all-time leaders in games played and interceptions as a defensive back. Woodson recorded seventy-one interceptions, which ranks third all-time. Woodson all amassed 1,483 interception return yards, 32 fumble recoveries (15 offensive and 17 defensive), 137 fumble return yards and one fumble returned for a touchdown.

The Steelers Years

Most in Pittsburgh still love Rod Woodson for what he brought to the game. While he played for our Steelers, Steeler Nation fans hung a banner in Three Rivers Stadium that read "Rod is God".

A major highlight in his career came in 1995 when Woodson became the first player to ever return from re-constructive knee surgery in the same season. He tore his ACL in our season opener against the Detroit Lions and was able to return and play in Super Bowl XXX between our Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys just 19 weeks later. In that game, he responsible for a play that broke up a touchdown pass to Michael Irvin. After the play he hopped up from the ground and pointed at his reconstructed knee with a smile on his face, even though, our Steelers would go on to lose the Super Bowl.

Woodson's career with Pittsburgh took a turn after he became a free agent, after the Rooney family elected not to renew his contract over a pay dispute as well as the salary cap. (The team had a similar dispute with Franco Harris in 1984 and later with Alan Faneca in 2008.)

Although he stayed in Pittsburgh to raise his family, Woodson went on to play football for three other teams. Signing with the San Francisco 49ers for the 1997 season, Woodson transitioned from a cornerback to a safety successfully.

After a one-season stint with the 49ers, Woodson moved to Baltimore, playing for the Ravens from 1998 to 2001. Here, Woodson played as a key member of the team that won Super Bowl XXXV.

From 2002 until 2003, Woodson played in Oakland where he appeared in his third Super Bowl. In the Raiders 2002 Super Bowl Season, thirty-seven year old Woodson led the NFL with eight interceptions for the first time in his career. 

Woodson was released by the Oakland Raiders on July 27, 2004 after failing his team physical.

Mr. Versatility

Our Pittsburgh Steelers star is considered one of the most versatile players in the National Football League. 

Woodson racked up 4,894 kickoff return yards, 2,362 punt return yards, 17 touchdowns, two kickoff returns and two punt returns for touchdowns.

Mr. Records

Woodson holds the league record for interceptions returned for touchdowns with twelve, and is tied with eleven other players for the record for most fumble recoveries, three, in a single game. His 1,483 interception return yards are also an NFL record.

Woodson was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1993 by the Associated Press, named to the Pro Bowl eleven times, a record for a defensive back and also the first player to earn trips to the Pro Bowl at cornerback, safety and kick returner.

Woodson finished second to Darrell Green in the 1988 NFL Fastest Man Contest. He was also a nine time All-Pro selection.

In 1994, he was named to the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team. What made it notable was that Woodson was one of only five active players to be named to the team. The others were Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Reggie White and Ronnie Lott.

In 1999, Woodson was ranked number 87 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players and The College Football News has also honored him as one of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century. In 2007, he was ranked number 22 on USA Today list of the 25 best NFL players of the past 25 years.

On January 31, 2009, Rod Woodson was was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility becoming the 18th Steelers related person to be enshrined.

Life After the NFL

Currently, Woodson splits his time between NFL Network studios in Los Angeles and his home in Pleasanton, where he lives with his wife and 5 children. Also, Rod helps coach the defense at Valley Christian Senior High in Dublin, California along with former Raider John Parrella.

Woodson was part of the studio team for BBC Sport's NFL coverage in 2007, including Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLIII.

Woodson is sponsoring a charity benefit on July 25, 2009 at the Oakland Coliseum - just two weeks before he enters the Hall of Fame. All proceeds go to the Football and Scholarship programs for the high school where Rod coaches.

It is unlikely that the Steelers will remove Woodson's number 26 from circulation since longtime cornerback Deshea Townsend wears that jersey number. As of the 2008 season, Townshend has played longer with the Steelers than Woodson did.

Pittsburgh drafted Townsend in 1998 around the same time that Woodson signed with the archrival Ravens, and still had a bitter relationship with the Rooneys at the time.

I want to thank Rod Woodson on behalf of all of us here at the Steelers Black n Gold Post and the Steeler Nation for what he brought to the game of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a great player and teammate. As fans of the Black and Gold, we thank you Rod for letting us live through your  accomplishments on the field.

Watching Rod leap high into the air for his next interception and return the pick with lightening speed for a touchdown took my breath away. My heart pounded and I felt breathless with excitement, my fingers crossed, and yes, saying prayers when Rod scored on the field.

"Rod is God" will live on in the hearts of this fan as I am sure most of the Steelers Nation, FOREVER!

As Always, Here We Go!

Below is a video, a tribute to Rod Woodson.

Here's a great fan tribute to Rod Woodson, inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2009, and great Steelers cornerback between 1987 and 1996.