The wait is over for Alan Faneca.
The Steelers will play the Cowboys in Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, Aug. 5, and it promises to be quite the party for the franchise. Five men with ties to the Steelers also will be inducted into the Pro Football Hame of Fame, including Faneca, the former guard, and personnel man Bill Nunn Jr., both of whom were announced Saturday night as the newest members.
Because of the pandemic, the Hall of Fame did not have an induction ceremony in 2020. The members of that class, which includes former Steelers safeties Troy Polamalu and Donnie Shell and coach Bill Cowher, who were voted in as members of the NFL's centennial celebration class, will all be inducted into the Hall of Fame in August.
Happy Hall of Fame Saturday from The Blitzburgh Videos:
— BlitzburghUSAVideos (@sdextrasmedia) February 7, 2021
Here is Alan Faneca (@afan66) getting the Hall of Fame door knock from David Baker. #Steelers #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/ffg31WQmjs
Joining Faneca and Nunn in this year's class are quarterback Peyton Manning, defensive back Charles Woodson, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, safety John Lynch, wide receiver Drew Pearson and coach Tom Flores.
Faneca made the cut in his sixth time as a finalist.
BREAKING: @afan66 has been elected to the Class of 2021!#PFHOF21 | @steelers | @nyjets | @AZCardinals pic.twitter.com/RWAqpzFjjg
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) February 7, 2021
Faneca went to nine Pro Bowls in his 13 seasons, was a six-time first-team all-pro and two-time second-team All-Pro and on the NFL’s 2000 all-decade team.
He won a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers and has been named to the franchise’s all-time team.
"I want to congratulate Alan Faneca on his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame," Steelers president Art Rooney II said. "Without a doubt, Alan was one of the best guards in Steelers history, and one of the best in the NFL during a 13-year career that saw him voted first-team All-Pro six times and to nine Pro Bowls.
"Alan was unique in that he was big and strong enough to handle interior pass rushers and keep them off our quarterback, but also mobile enough to pull in either direction and lead one of our running backs around the end. In Super Bowl XL, Alan showcased his athletic ability in our victory when he pulled to the right from his left guard spot and made the block that sprung Willie Parker into the secondary on a 75-yard touchdown run that remains a Super Bowl record to this day."
A first-round pick of the Steelers in 1998 out of LSU, when he went 26th overall, Faneca closed his career playing two seasons with the Jets and a season with the Cardinals. Both the Steelers (2001) and Jets (2009) led the NFL in rushing with Faneca up front. His teams finished in the NFL’s top 10 in rushing in 10 of his 13 seasons.
Perhaps more amazingly, he drew only four holding calls in 201 career starts.

STEELERS
Bill Nunn Jr. poses with the four Lombardi Trophies he helped the Steelers win during the 1970s.
Nunn was a key member of the Steelers' braintrust from the time he joined the Steelers in 1967 until his death in 2014.
As sports editor for the Pittsburgh Courier, the nation's preeminent Black newspaper, Nunn selected the Black College All-America team starting in 1950. He was a strong proponent of players from historically Black colleges and universities, championing them to NFL teams.
After a meeting with Dan Rooney in 1967 in which Nunn took Rooney to task for not drafting more players from HBCUs, Rooney offered Nunn a job on a part-time basis. Two years later, Nunn joined the Steelers full-time as Assistant Personnel Director and was instrumental in helping the team build the dominant franchise of the 1970s.
BREAKING: Bill Nunn has been elected to the Class of 2021!#PFHOF21 | @steelers pic.twitter.com/58yG5yd0tk
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) February 7, 2021
"I am thrilled that Bill Nunn has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor," Art Rooney II said. "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. His stories, advice and lessons that he taught all of us are still apparent in our everyday work. He was a true pioneer in helping traditional HBCU players get their chance in the National Football League, and he is so deserving of this extraordinary honor."
Nunn uncovered Pro Football Hall of Fame talent such as Joe Greene, John Stallworth, Mel Blount and Donnie Shell, along with many other stars who helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls in a six-year period.
He is the first Black front officer person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He enters as a contributor.
The additions of Faneca and Nunn give the Steelers 32 players, coaches and front office people who are in the the Hall of Fame and spent at least part or all of their careers with the franchise.