Report: Pittsburgh Steelers to play in Hall of Fame Game
By Phil Watson
With longtime Pittsburgh Steelers star Jerome Bettis set for induction in August, it appears the team will join him at the Hall of Fame Game.
It’s turning into a big night for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With reports leaking that Jerome Bettis—for 10 years a star running back for the Steelers—has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there is also a report that the Steelers will make it a big weekend in August as one of the teams in the first preseason game of the 2015 campaign, the Hall of Fame Game.
#Steelers likely to join Bettis in Canton. Source says they will play in HOF game there Aug. 9. Induction is Aug. 8
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) February 1, 2015
The game began in 1962, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s official website, and has been played every year since, with two exceptions.
The 1966 game was cancelled because the preseason schedule wasn’t completed in time (it was the first year AFL and NFL teams played each other in the preseason) and 2011, when the game was cancelled after the league’s offseason-long lockout.
It will be the Steelers’ record sixth appearance in the game, with their last appearance coming in 2007.
Pittsburgh also played in the game, held at Fawcett Stadium, in 1963, 1964, 1983 and 1998.
The game’s launch preceded the opening of the shrine in Canton, Ohio, by one year. It was switched to an AFC vs. NFC format in 1971, the year after the AFL and NFL completed their merger.
The Hall of Fame Game has been played on Sunday, the day after the induction ceremonies, since 2006. The game began on Sunday afternoons from 1963-65 before it was moved to Saturday afternoon, in advance of the induction proceedings, from 1967-97.
The game was played in prime time on Saturday night in 1998 and moved to Monday night from 1999-2005.
The Steelers are 3-2 all-time in the Hall of Fame Game, but records don’t really matter that much, considering it’s the first game of the preseason and the starters only make cameo appearances.
The Baltimore Ravens are the only team to never appear in the Hall of Fame Game since their arrival in the NFL in 1996.
Four teams besides Pittsburgh have appeared in the game five times, including the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys.
The Redskins, at 5-0, are the winningest team in the game. The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins are each 0-4, with Buffalo getting that fourth loss last year, when they lost to the New York Giants 17-13.