The Steelers Hall of Honor is the ultimate recognition for those who have made immeasurable contributions to the organization, whether it be on the field, or off the field.

On Saturday, the newest additions to the group were welcomed into the fold when the Hall of Honor Class of 2024 was announced during a ceremony at Saint Vincent College as a part of the Steelers Back Together Weekend celebration.

The Hall of Honor Class of 2024 includes four individuals who were part of Super Bowl teams for the Steelers, with three of them part of the same championship team. Linebacker Jason Gildon, nose tackle Casey Hampton, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and running back Willie Parker highlight a class that brought plenty of glory to the black and gold.

"We were excited to introduce the 2024 Class of Hall of Honor. A great group of Steelers," said Steelers President Art Rooney II. "And, Coach LeBeau, unusual I would say for an assistant coach to go in, not sure how many times that'll happen, but he's just a remarkable person and just so loved by his players.

"Jason really stepped in at a time where we didn't know what we were getting in Jason. And for him to come in and set the sack record (at that point) was great to see. And, of course, Casey Hampton, just so popular with his teammates and just the rock in the center of that line. I know a lot of people will be excited to see Casey going in. Willie, the Super Bowl record is great, but, just a great career, a solid performer and to see somebody come in undrafted like that and have that kind of success. And so, it's exciting to see him going into the Hall of Honor now."

Gildon was on hand for the introduction and was thrilled with the honor and humbled to join the legends before him in the Hall of Honor.

"Once you play here as a player, you always know and you're always aware of all the great talent that's been through this organization," said Gildon. "But to actually think about being honored with the greats of a great, it's very it's very humbling. It's a very one of those things you really can't wrap your head around at the time. But I know the names. I think everyone knows the names."

The team introduced the Hall of Honor in 2017, an idea that came from Steelers President Art Rooney II, along with late Chairman Dan Rooney. The Hall of Honor was established to recognize former players, coaches, and front office personnel who played an integral role in the success of the franchise, from the beginning in 1933 until now. To be considered, a player must be retired at least three years and played a minimum of three seasons for the Steelers. Former coaches and contributors had to make significant contributions to the team and community.

The Steelers will welcome the 2024 Hall of Honor Class when the team takes on the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Dec. 8, which includes an on-field presentation during the game. The Hall of Honor Dinner will be held on Sat., Dec. 7, when the team officially inducts this year's Hall of Honor class during a special ceremony at Acrisure Stadium. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase here.

The Hall of Honor display is part of the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum, which is located at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers Hall of Honor Museum is located near Gate B above the team's Pro Shop. Fans can visit the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum year-round and tours can be secured by clicking here.

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Jason Gildon
Linebacker
1994-2003

His name sits just above two legends on the Steelers all-time sack list, two men who made the Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s what it was.

Jason Gildon, the linebacker who was drafted in the third round of the 1994 NFL Draft, has 77 career sacks, ranking him fourth overall in Steelers history, ahead of legends L.C. Greenwood (fifth with 73.5 sacks) and Joe Greene (sixth with 66 sacks). He also ranks among the Steelers leaders with 58 tackles for a loss and 18 forced fumbles.

Gildon played 10 seasons with the Steelers, making an unforgettable impact on the defense, which included three defensive touchdowns. During his time with the Steelers the team won six division titles, an AFC Championship, and played in Super Bowl XXX, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys.

He earned First-Team Associated Press All-Pro honors in 2001, when he recorded 12 sacks, along with 56 tackles, 43 of them solo stops, 15 tackles for a loss, eight passes defensed, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, including one he returned for a touchdown, and an interception.

He was selected to the Pro Bowl three straight seasons (2000-2002). In his first Pro Bowl season in 2000, he recorded career highs with 13.5 sacks and 77 tackles, 58 of them solo stops. He also added five passes defensed, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries, including one returned for a touchdown.

Of his 77 career sacks, one that really stands out to him is his first of his rookie season, when he sacked future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.

"My first one was the most memorable for me, a young kid getting the opportunity to play against the Miami Dolphins and to be able to have a sack against Dan Marino, Hall of Famer and local guy," said Gildon. "That's definitely one that stood out for me."

Gildon's love for his time with the Steelers and in Pittsburgh had him remain in the area after his playing days ended, where he coached high school football for multiple years and now works as the compliance director for the Jasmine Nyree Campus, co-founded by his former teammate Joey Porter.

"I don't think there's another organization quite like this one," Gildon previously said of the Steelers. "Even if you take away the success that we've been able to have, our fans are great, we are tremendous in the way we travel. We always have a presence.

"Coming in and looking at the tradition and history of the organization, it was a phenomenal experience for me."

Casey Hampton
Nose Tackle
2001-12

Casey Hampton is a guy who is quick with a smile and a laugh, an infectious laugh that comes from deep down and makes everyone else smile right along with him.

"He is a great guy," said John Mitchell, the Steelers' former assistant head coach/defensive line coach, who was Hampton's line coach. "Even when I got mad at Casey, I couldn't get mad at him. The rest of the players during his time, I had a great relationship with all of them. With Casey, we had a different type of relationship. They would always say Casey has a special place in my heart and he does.

"I got to know Casey on more than a player and coach relationship. It was like a father and son relationship. Casey would come to me at times, and we all had problems. Casey gave everything he had. Everything he had he shared with people he cared about."

When the Steelers selected Casey Hampton in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft, they knew they had a player who would give the defense a huge lift, be a staple on the defensive line and be a player they could always depend on.

What they got was a whole lot more. They got a player that gave them his heart and soul.

Hampton played 12 seasons for the Steelers, starting 164 of the 173 games he played in. He finished with 403 tackles, 272 of them solo stops, and nine and a half sacks. He added five forced fumbles, four pass defenses, and two fumble recoveries.

As part of a Steelers defense that dominated opponents, during Hampton's time in the black and gold the team played in the postseason eight times and won their division six times. Hampton also was part of three Super Bowl teams with the Steelers, including a two-time champion in Super Bowl XL and XLIII.

Hampton was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and was voted MVP by his teammates in 2005 along with Hines Ward. He was also a member of the Steelers 75th Anniversary Team during the 2007 season, quite an honor considering the other defensive linemen were Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Stautner and Dwight White.

"I can remember when Coach (Bill) Cowher and I went down to Texas to work him out," recalled Mitchell. "The day we worked him out you could tell there was something special about him.

"Being a nose tackle in a 3-4 is a dirty job. It's really dirty. The thing you have to realize about Casey that made him special, if you look back at the guys we had that played inside linebacker, that went to the Pro Bowl year in and year out, they are good football players. But the reason they went is they had a nose tackle that took up three guys on almost every play and made their job really easy.

"Casey was special because if you didn't double team him, or triple team him, he would take over the game. The ball would not get to the second level, which is to the linebackers. If you did that, that made the inside linebackers really good. Look at how many linebackers made the Pro Bowl and that will tell you what kind of player Casey was."

Dick LeBeau
Assistant Coach
1992-94 (defensive backs coach); 1995-96, 2004-14 (defensive coordinator)

There aren't many people who have had the impact on the NFL that Dick LeBeau has had, but quite honestly, there aren't many men like Dick LeBeau.

LeBeau, who had a Hall of Fame career as a player with the Detroit Lions, went on to have an equally successful coaching career, spending 16 seasons with the Steelers.

After his playing career ended in 1972, LeBeau immediately transitioned into the coaching realm as a special teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, eventually serving as the Cincinnati Bengals head coach from 2000-02, in between stints as the Steelers defensive coordinator.

LeBeau first joined Bill Cowher's staff in 1992 as defensive backs coach, before being named defensive coordinator in 1995. After spending time with other NFL teams, he returned to the Steelers in 2004 and spent 11 seasons in the role.

He is the architect of the zone blitz, bringing 'Blitzburgh' to Steelers Nation and wreaking havoc on opposing offenses.

In his 13 years as defensive coordinator over two stints, the Steelers finished in the top-10 in total defense 11 times, five of those times the team had the top overall ranked defense. During his time as defensive coordinator, the team won seven division championships, four AFC Championships and two Super Bowls, while making the playoffs a total of nine times and appearing in four Super Bowls.

He wanted to get into coaching for two reasons. One was his love of the game. The other, his love of teaching.

"I just thought, that's not a bad way to spend your life teaching young people not only the game of football but trying to get some life values in there too," said LeBeau. "That's what motivated me to do that and to get to have the honor to coach players like Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and James Farrior and I can go on and name all the great ones that played."

LeBeau formed a relationship with his players that made it work on and off the field, always getting the best out of them with his style.

"Those guys called me Coach Dad, and maybe some coaches would be upset with that," said LeBeau. "They could have called me Coach Grandfather, cause chronologically that would fit more then, I was so much older than them. But I have to this day, that's been one of my most cherished nicknames that anybody ever gave to me. And those guys would call me that. And I preach to family and when they're calling me Coach Dad, I think they were getting the idea of what we were talking about. I think the one thing that let me identify with my players, no matter what the age was, they knew that I would take my share of the blame. It wasn't, I won and you guys lost. It was always we lost. And I would always take my share of my mistakes and we worked it out. Whatever we did when we had a bad game, we worked on the things that broke down. We got better at it, and we ended up with a Super Bowl championship or two. I'm proud and blessed to have been able to coach those guys. Every time I see them, my face lights up like a pinball machine."

Willie Parker
Running Back
2004-09

Willie Parker's career with the Steelers might not have been the longest, playing six seasons. But it's one that shouldn't be defined by time, but rather productivity.

Parker originally signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent following the 2004 NFL Draft. He went on to be a two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Pro Bowl selection.

"I didn't go to the combine. I didn't experience that. I had a pro day at North Carolina, but that was it," Parker previously shared. "One of the first teams to come up to me was the Steelers and their scouts. Dan Rooney Jr.'s eyes were lit up. He was like we are going to bring you in. We are going to draft you or bring you in some way. A lot of teams say that just to let you know there is a possibility, but that gave me hope. I knew what type of organization it was. It gave me hope, the first team to give me that feedback. When other teams came in a day or so afterwards, I was focused on the Steelers and what is going on there.

"Dan Rooney Jr. stayed in touch with me. It's kind of interesting, my relationship, that I didn't know we had until that pro day. His wife, Allison, is from my hometown and followed me throughout my career. He ended up coming to a game at my high school. She knew what type of player I was. I really think that had something to do with it. It was a perfect story.

"You don't know if you are picking the right team. Sometimes it's all about the relationship and I had a relationship with Dan Rooney Jr., so it was easier going to that organization. At least somebody knew me in that organization."

Parker played in 79 career games, finishing his career with 1,253 carries for 5,378 yards, ranked third all-time in Steelers history. He had a 4.3-yard average and 24 touchdowns. Parker added 84 receptions for 697 yards, an 8.3-yard average, and five touchdowns.

He had three 1,000 plus yard seasons, rushing for 1,202 yards in 2005, a career-high 1,494 yards in 2006, and 1,316 yards in 2007. He added a career-high 13 touchdowns in 2006.

Parker ranks third in Steelers' history with 25 100-yard rushing games, seven of them in the 2006 season when he had 16 total touchdowns and the first of two Pro Bowl selections.

And his name is still in the NFL record books with the longest run in Super Bowl history, a 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter of the Steelers win over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

Parker officially retired in 2012, along with three of his teammates, during a ceremony at the annual Friday Night Lights in training camp in Latrobe, Pa. For him, it was an opportunity for a final thank you to Steelers Nation.

"It's important for me to give back to the fans, the organization, and the Rooneys," said Parker the day he retired. "Coming in they gave me a shot, with that shot I made it to two Super Bowls, two Pro Bowls. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a blessing. It's a first-class organization, people and coaches."
Wearing black and gold is something Parker always holds close to his heart, never forgetting the opportunity he was blessed with.

"It means everything to be here, to have played for the Steelers," said Parker. "When I was here playing, all of the support I got from everyone, the fans, it was a blessing, a dream come true to win the Super Bowl. It's always going to be a part of me."