Paying tribute to one of my all-time favorites, L.C. Greenwood, who passed away Sunday.

I know most of the Steel Curtain defense is in the Hall of Fame, but there should be one more. Greenwood was a force at defensive end.

From his obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

At 6 feet 6 inches, Mr. Greenwood eventually played at 245 pounds and was a menace to opposing quarterbacks. If Mr. Greenwood didn’t sack quarterbacks, he often batted down their passes.

In the first of many clutch performances in big games, Mr. Greenwood batted down two passes in the Steelers’ first Super Bowl victory, against Minnesota in 1975. In the Super Bowl X victory against Dallas the following year, Mr. Greenwood sacked Roger Staubach four times in the 21-17 win.

“L.C. was a quiet guy, he didn’t attempt to position himself as the center of attention even though he played an integral part of that front four,” said former Steelers scout Bill Nunn, who also scouted Mr. Greenwood. “I used to call him and Jack Ham the quiet assassins because neither one of them would say a word, or put on a show for you. They both just went about their business quietly. But when they got on the field, as far as playing ability, playing aggressively, being tough, they were both in the same category as any of the Hall of Famers. He had a lot of qualities of the Hall of Famers and probably should be in there.”

Mr. Greenwood was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and 2006 but was not elected either year. There had been a movement in recent years to get him into the Hall of Fame via the seniors committee.

“The saddest thing is, he never got into the Hall of Fame,” Mr. Rooney said. “To me, it’s terribly sad. He deserves to be there.”

*******

For the latest in sports media and more, follow me on Twitter at Sherman_Report.