Sunday, the Steelers will honor their 23 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the 27 players inducted into the team's first Hall of Honor class.
Tuesday night two former Steelers moved closer to joining that group -- again.
Alan Faneca and Hines Ward were among the 27 semifinalists for induction into the Hall of Fame. That list will be pared to 15 in January, with the final inductees announced the day before the Super Bowl in Minneapolis in February.
This is the third time Faneca, a six-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl guard, has been a semifinalist. He's also been one of the final 15 in each of the past two years, just falling short of making the cut.
The Steelers' first-round draft pick in 1998, Faneca was a key member of the Super Bowl XL team and played 10 seasons in Pittsburgh before leaving as a free agent following the 2007 season.
He spent his final three NFL seasons with the Jets and Cardinals.
Ward, the MVP of Super Bowl XL, is the Steelers' all-time leading receiver with 1,000 receptions. He also joined the Steelers in 1998 as a third-round draft pick, and helped the team to a win in Super Bowl XLIII.
Ward played his entire career with the Steelers and was named All-Pro three times and to the Pro Bowl four in a career that ended after the 2011 season. He also holds team receiving records with 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns.
This is the second consecutive year Ward has been named a semifinalist, though he has yet to make the final 15.
Faneca would seem to have a better chance to make it this year, as well. He's one of just five offensive linemen among the semifinalists, joining Joe Jacoby, Kevin Mawae, Steve Hutchinson and Tony Boselli among that group. Hutchinson and Boselli are first-time semifinalists.
Hutchinson, the only other pure guard, was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time All-Pro pick, while Boselli, a tackle, played just eight seasons, seven with Jacksonville and one with Houston.
Ward, meanwhile, is on a crowded list at receiver that includes first-time semifinalist Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. All but Holt have more receptions than Ward, who has fewer receiving yards than any other player in that group.