If you didn’t have multiple Super Bowl rings, you weren’t a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Class of 2023 for the franchise’s Hall of Honor.
Four former players were selected to join the exclusive fraternity Saturday, with two representing the super Steelers from the 1970s and two from this century’s championship teams.
Named to the Hall of Honor were offensive linemen Gerry Mullins and Ray Mansfield, defensive end Aaron Smith and outside linebacker James Harrison. The announcement was made at the Rogers Center of Saint Vincent College before the team’s third practice of training camp.
Mullins earned four Super Bowl rings in the 1970s, and Mansfield had two at the twilight of his career. Harrison and Smith earned a pair of Super Bowl rings each.
“I think it’s a great class,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said Saturday. “It represents the kind of guys that were part of Steelers football. They might not get to the Hall of Fame, but they should be recognized in our Hall of Honor.”
The player from the quartet with the best chance of reaching the Pro Football Hall of Fame is Harrison, who was on the ballot for the first time this past season. Cut four times in his career after entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2002, Harrison didn’t become a starter until 2007. He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year the following season, which he punctuated with his 100-yard interception return at halftime of Super Bowl XLIII.

“It’s an unbelievable play,” Rooney II said. “It was described as the greatest play in Super Bowl history, I’ll say it that way.”
Harrison ended his career as the team’s all-time leader in sacks, with 80.5, a record that could be broken this season. Harrison, though, did his damage in a short period of time given how he was a late bloomer.
“Obviously, we didn’t know what we had,” Rooney said. “James was raw when he got here. … It’s one of those funny things about football where you never know about a guy until he gets in there and the lights are on.”
Smith, a fourth-round pick who joined the Steelers in 1999 and played for them until his retirement after the 2011 season, also earned a pair of Super Bowl rings during the 2000s. He’s happy to be going into the Hall of Honor with a fellow defensive player from those teams.
“James is probably one of the best football players I’ve ever played with,” he said. “A great guy and a friend. It’s well-deserved for him. To go in with him is a pleasure.”
Smith was surprised to get the call from Rooney informing him of his Hall of Honor selection. He was overshadowed by star players on those defenses and earned a single Pro Bowl berth. Smith was known for his reliability, going seven years in a row without missing a game and starting 152 of 160 appearances in his career.

“It’s hard to describe,” Smith said. “You play for a team with the legacy and tradition that the Steelers have and get put in a group with the names on that wall, and you almost don’t believe that you belong. A lot of those guys are the greatest players to play this game.”
Mullins, a guard, and Mansfield, a center, represented two pieces of the offensive line from the 1970s super Steelers. They started next to each other in Super Bowls IX and X. Mullins started in all four of the Steelers’ Super Bowl appearances in that decade.
Mullins earned four Super Bowl rings in the 1970s and had the block that sprung running back Franco Harris for the Steelers’ first touchdown in their 16-6 victory against the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX. He started 124 games for the Steelers during his nine seasons.

Known as the “Ranger,” Mansfield joined the Steelers in 1964 as a defensive tackle. He was converted to center in his fourth NFL season (third with the Steelers) and started 163 games while playing in 196 overall. He was one of the few players from the pre-Chuck Noll era to stick around for the team’s early Super Bowl success.
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Mansfield died in 1996 while hiking the Grand Canyon.
“Ray Mansfield started in the humbler times of Steelers football,” Rooney said. “It’s good to see somebody like that be recognized.”

Mullins and Mansfield join Larry Brown, Sam Davis and Jon Kolb as members from the 1970s offensive line to be selected to the Hall of Honor.
“I really do think that line was underrated and didn’t get the attention it deserved because there were so many stars on that team,” Rooney said.
Smith expects other members of the 2000s Steelers’ championship teams to join him and Harrison in the Hall of Honor. Alan Faneca, James Farrior, Heath Miller, Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward also represent that era in the team’s hall. Brett Keisel, Casey Hampton, Joey Porter and Ike Taylor are among future candidates.
“I have no doubt,” he said. “I look back at the group of players we had and the quality of guys on those teams. They might run out of room on those walls.”
Smith and Harrison were part of the Steelers’ Super Bowl wins after the 2005 and 2008 seasons.
The Hall of Honor, which was founded in 2017, now includes 53 members.
The Class of 2023 will be feted at a ceremony Saturday, Oct. 28, at Acrisure Stadium. They will be honored the following day when the Steelers play the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Each member receives a replica solid steel football, signifying one given to franchise founder Art Rooney Sr. by U.S. Steel to commemorate the team’s 50th season.
The newest members of #Steelers Hall of Honor! pic.twitter.com/akb7df3GVJ
— Steelers History (@SteelersHistory) July 29, 2023
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .