hall of fame NOTEBOOK From Fawcett Stadium

Near capacity crowd: When the 2010 induction ceremony began, the floor seats were filled and most of the seats on both sides of the stadium had fans. The west end zone stands (far opposite side from the stage) were mostly empty.

Popular: The most popular numbers were 22 (Emmitt Smith) and 80 (Jerry Rice). There were some light blue Lions 44 jerseys for Dick LeBeau. Several of the Steelers wore white shirts with 44 to honor their defensive coordinator.

Owners connection: In addition to Eddie DeBartolo presenting Rice, two other current owners were presenters. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones presented Smith while Saints owner Tom Benson presented Rickey Jackson. “I was floored,” said DeBartolo of the request. It was the third time that DeBartolo has been a presenter. The other times were 2008 for Fred Dean and 1993 for Bill Walsh.

Anthem singer: Cheryl Warfield, sister of Hall of Famer and Warren native Paul Warfield, sang the national anthem to open the ceremony. Warfield played for the Cleveland Browns before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he won two Super Bowls. Ms. Warfield has sung with Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Black and gold: The Steelers took a day off from training camp and were bused from Latrobe, Pa., to Canton to support LeBeau and former Steelers line coach Russ Grimm. When Bill Cowher resigned as Steelers head coach in 2007, Grimm and Ken Whisenhunt were candidates to replace him. Whisenhunt instead took the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job and Grimm went with him when Mike Tomlin was hired to succeed to replace Cowher. Sporting Terrible Towels, the Steelers sat in the south stands closest to the stage. The Steelers organization also flew in Whisenhunt and other former coaches who worked with Grimm to participate in the festivities. Among them was Youngstown native Billy Davis, the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator.

Tom Williams