Steve Wisniewski—An Elite Guard Who's Been Virtually Ignored by HOF Voters

By John Turney  

You're a Raiders' lineman. You played the same number of NFL seasons as Howie Long, but you played more games because you were healthier. You missed just two games. You went to the same number of Pro Bowls as Long, were first-and-second-team AP All-Pro eight times where Howie was three and, like Long, you were all-decade.

So, like Long, you must be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, right? 

Wrong.

Not if you're former guard Steve Wisniewski you're not, and that's not the worst news. Not only are you not in the Pro Football Hall; you've never been a finalist and were a semifinalist only once (2014).

How is that possible? I have no idea.

Because the Raiders' comparisons don't stop with Howie Long. Look at Hall-of-Famers Art Shell and Gene Upshaw, both offensive linemen. They played 15 seasons to Wisniewski's 13. But "Wiz" was a starter from the cradle to the grave -- from his rookie season through the end of his career. Shell was not a starter until his third season and did not start in his final season of 1982. Upshaw did start as a rookie, but he was benched in his final season of 1981.

Wisniewski went to as many Pro Bowls as Shell and one more than Upshaw ... was an AP first- or second-team All-Pro eight times, the same as Upshaw and four more than Shell ... and was an all-decade choice, as were Shell and Upshaw.

So, let's try this again: Why can't Steve Wisniewski again make the Final 25 as a semifinalist, much less the Final 15?

Well, there's the Super Bowl. Shell and Upshaw won two Lombardi Trophies as starters, while Long won one. Wisniewski retired before the Raiders played in Super Bowl XXXVII, which they lost. That was the 2002 season when Rich Gannon was the NFL MVP. The Raiders' left side blocked for Ken Stabler in 1976 when he was voted that same award.

One problem with that explanation: Multiple Raiders who missed Super Bowls have been elected to Canton. Center Jim Otto, who passed away Sunday, was one. Tim Brown is another. So was George Blanda. So how much can that be held against Wisniewski? I admit that Wisniewski may not quite be in the class of the Raiders' greats I've mentioned,  but he should not be in no-man's land when it comes to consideration for a Gold Jacket.

The issue can't be that he lacks All-Pro merits because he has plenty. Maybe ... and I said maybe ... the reason is that he was considered a "dirty" player, and that's not me talking. It's others. He was fined, as well as admonished, by former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue for his controversial play, while a poll conducted by Sports Illustrated on the league's dirtiest players put "Wiz" on top. Others over the years listed his name, too, so the reputation likely remains in the collective memories of voters who watched him play during the 1990s.

But that begs the question: If true, should it be a reason not to gain Hall-of-Fame traction? It's a reputation that characterized former safety Rodney Harrison, yet he was a Hall finalist this year. The same goes for Steelers' wide receiver Hines Ward, and he's been a Hall semifinalist ... eight times.

"The 'dirty thing' is a misconstrued perception of him," Winiewski's former coach, Jon Gruden, said. "You can't fault a guy for giving you all he has and trying to get involved with collisions. I don't see anything that's ruthless or dirty."

Neither did Wisniewski, who maintained he always played to the whistle.

"I was known for giving the extra effort," he said. "I was doing my best to bust you up. There were never any grudges. No one I hit needed to be carted off the field."

I guess what I'm saying is that if Harrison and Ward haven't been penalized by reputations as "dirty" players, why is it fair to penalize Wisniewski for the same label? Answer: It's not.

Wisniewski was an excellent guard who excelled at run blocking (he was called a "devastating run blocker" by one publication) and a solid pass protector -- especially in short sets when he met opposing tackles at the line of scrimmage rather than setting deeper.

"A blue-collar worker with very good tools and superior intensity," is how Pro Football Weekly's personnel guru Joel Buschbaum described him.

When the Indianapolis Star several years ago wrote about Colts' guard Quenton Nelson, Hall-of-Fame center Kevin Mawae -- then the Colts' offensive line coach -- was asked if Nelson reminded him of anyone. He said he did. He mentioned Will Shields, the Chiefs' Hall of Famer, and ... Steve Wisniewski.

That's respect. 

When Wisniewski was a restricted free agent in 1993, Hall-of-Fame voter Armando Salguero asked then-Dolphins' offensive line coach John Sandusky how the club should fill its hole at guard. Sandusky's answer was brief and to the point.

"Get Steve Wisniewski," he said. "Just get him."

Of course, the Raiders never were going to let him go. Not then and not a couple of years later when he was an unrestricted free agent. Wiz was a classic "Raider for life." 

After his All-American career at Penn State, he was chosen by Dallas with the first pick of the second round of the 1989 NFL draft. But he was traded that day to the Raiders so that the Cowboys' Jimmy Johnson could gain a couple of extra draft picks. In return, the Raiders acquired an outstanding athlete who could immediately step in and play guard.

Wisniewski was 6-feet-4 and 275 pounds then (he'd quickly gain 30 pounds to play around 305 most of his career) and tested well at the annual NFL scouting combine. He ran a 5.08 in the 40-yard dash and benched 225 pounds 33 times. Plus, he was already schooled in the rigors of the NFL, following older brother Leo, who had to retire after three solid seasons as a nose tackle for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts in the early 1980s.

The younger brother would know the ropes, and it paid off. He was an instant success, making the NFL's 1989 All-Rookie team. Soon after, he was voted a perennial Pro Bowler and frequent All-Pro. In all, he played 206 regular-season games, starting every one of them -- including a 161 consecutive-game streak. 

Steve Wisniewski played hard, and he always played. Furthermore, he was regarded as one of the best at his position in the 1990s -- an unlikely landing spot for someone from Vermont who was an ordained minister and known as one of the nicest guys in the NFL -- so long as he was not on the football field.

Though he was a two-time All-American, he's been snubbed by the College Football Hall of Fame. But at least he's been on the ballot nearly every year for over a decade. The only Hall of Fame he's joined has been the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

With his resume, Steve Wisniewski deserves better. At the very least, he deserves to have his case heard by the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame's board of selectors as a finalist. You've just heard why.