This Thursday, April 15, 2004, the photo shows Bill Nunn in Pittsburgh. For those who consider the 1970s Steel Curtain teams to be the best in the NFL of all time, the Bill Nunn name must be remembered. And honored. That’s what happens next week in Canton, Ohio, when Nunn is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor as part of the Class of 2021. (Peter Diana / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP, File)
This Thursday, April 15, 2004, the photo shows Bill Nunn in Pittsburgh. For those who consider the 1970s Steel Curtain teams to be the best in the NFL of all time, the Bill Nunn name must be remembered. And honored. That’s what happens next week in Canton, Ohio, when Nunn is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor as part of the Class of 2021. (Peter Diana / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP, File)
For those who consider the 1970s Steel Curtain teams to be the best in the NFL of all time, the Bill Nunn name must be remembered.
And honored.
That’s what happens next week in Canton, Ohio, when Nunn is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor as part of the 2021 Class.
Nunn, who died in 2014, was directly responsible for finding talent at the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). And pick up a ton of talent he developed for the Steelers who won four Super Bowls in six seasons in the 1970s: Mel Blount, John Stallworth and Donnie Shell (all Hall of Famers), LC Greenwood, Frank Lewis, Dwight White, Ernie Holmes and Joe Gilliam.
“He was in authority while working for the (Pittsburgh) Courier in HBCU football,” said former NFL manager Bill Polian, who is also a member of the Hall of Fame. “He could easily have been described as the ‘scout-in-chief of HBCU football’. Bill Nunn helped build one of the best teams ever. “
Nunn was a sports journalist and editor – his father was a senior editor – for the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the most influential black publications of the time. He developed strong relationships with players and coaches at the heavily under-watched HBCUs. In 1970, he resigned from the newspaper to work as a scout for the Steelers, despite having worked part-time for the franchise for several years.
Make this “super scout” in view of its production; he also found Jack Lambert in Kent State, and the linebacker ended up in Canton too.
“Bill was everything to the Steelers organization,” said Kevin Colbert, current general manager of Pittsburgh. “It’s documented, the players he brought to the Steelers and the success they’ve had. We, as young Boy Scouts, were fortunate to be around Bill and learn things that they implemented when they put these teams together. There were many lessons that we were taught. “
Nunn is the first African American entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“I think the legacy of Bill, he’s already here because he’s in the Black College Football Hall of Fame,” said David Baker, president of Canton Shrine. “The Pittsburgh Steelers would turn every stone to find the best talent, the people who were to become the Pittsburgh Steelers: Donnie Shell, LC Greenwood, Mel Blount. All of these guys came from historically black colleges and universities. “
The Courier began selecting an annual Black College All-America team in 1950, and did so through 1974. A well-known story of the NFL and college football dealt with that season and Nunn’s role in following Stallworth of Alabama A&M Bring Pittsburgh.
Stallworth struggled in his 40-yard run in wet conditions before several Scouts battled on what is now known as the Pro-Tag. While the other scouts went elsewhere, Nunn stayed behind, drove back on the dry track at Stallworth’s time and the results were much better.
Nunn also procured some Stallworth feature films, a rarity at the time, with which he got the Steelers to design the wide receiver in the fourth round. Stallworth became, well, a loyal companion to these four championship teams.
“We had side conversations that no one ever knew about,” Shell told the Steelers website. “He was a confidante. If I had problems, if I didn’t do well in practice, I would talk to Bill and it would go no further. He would sit me down and say that you keep working hard and doing what you do, you will be fine. That encouraged you to keep working hard at a young age. Nobody ever knew about it.
“I don’t know if he noticed or not, but just being with Bill, his professionalism, the way he behaves in his life, meant a lot to me and had a great influence on me. He would never have thought that. So he was, humble. That was Bill. That was him. He drew people to him. You wanted to be with him. You wanted to be in his presence to hear something of his wisdom. “
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