Bill Nunn selected as contributor finalist for Hall of Fame Class of 2021

[Steely McBeam]

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The Pro Football Hall of Fame contributor committee selected former Steelers super scout Bill Nunn as a finalist for the Class of 2021.

Nunn worked as a sportswriter at the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the most influential publications serving predominantly Black communities in the United States. His knowledge of players and coaches affiliated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) led to a job with the Steelers in 1968 that became a 45-year “second career.”

Nunn died in 2014, and his wife, Frances, is in Hospice care.

“You don’t know how much this means to us,” Nunn’s daughter, Lynell Nunn, said, through tears, after Pro Football of Fame president David Baker delivered the news.

Nunn helped build the Steelers’ dynasty of the 1970s as the team selected John Stallworth, Mel Blount and Donnie Shell from HBCUs. He also found talent at small colleges, including Jack Lambert at Kent State. All four players are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Nunn now must receive 80 percent voting support from the 48-member selection committee on Selection Saturday to be inducted next August.

The Hall’s selection committee’s annual meeting is scheduled for Feb. 6, 2021, in Tampa, Florida. The committee will consider Nunn, senior candidate Drew Pearson, coach Tom Flores and 15 modern-era finalists. Selectors will trim the modern-era list to 25 semifinalists in November and to 15 finalists in January.

The Class of 2021 formally will earn enshrinement on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, during Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week.