Jerome Bettis

NEW YORK — The Bus will not be going to Canton this year.

Jerome Bettis made the first cut in the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting from 15 to 10 finalists Saturday but was eliminated when the count was reduced to five.

It was the fourth consecutive year the Steelers’ all-time rushing leader made the finals but went home empty.

The seven-member Hall of Fame Class of 2014 is linebacker Derrick Brooks, offensive tackle Walter Jones, wide receiver Andre Reed, defensive end Michael Strahan, defensive back Aeneas Williams, and both seniors candidates, defensive end Claude Humphrey and punter Ray Guy.

“As disappointed as it is to not get in, I’m happy for the players who got in,” said Bettis, who had been in New York the past few days. “They all deserve to be in. So I can’t be mad, I can only hope that next year is my year.”

Eight years after he retired on top of the pro football world as Super Bowl champion in his hometown of Detroit, Bettis was the only running back on the 15-man ballot of modern-day finalists.

He is the sixth-leading rusher in NFL history with 13,662 yards in 13 seasons and remains the only one of the top 14 career rushing leaders to not be in the Hall of Fame except for two not yet eligible.

This was the fourth time Bettis was among the 15 modern-day finalists for induction and the second time in a row he reached the final 10.

Also making the final 10 for the first time but no further was linebacker Kevin Greene, who played three of his 15 seasons with the Steelers. Finalist Tony Dungy, a former Steelers player and defensive assistant coach, was eliminated in his first year of eligibility.

Youngstown, Ohio, native Edward DeBartolo Jr., former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, was eliminated on the first ballot.

Bettis retired after playing his final game a Super Bowl XL winner with the Steelers as the NFL’s fifth-leading career rusher and stands sixth today. He did it all while battling asthma, a breathing disorder which required him to take daily treatments before and in games.

Most runners his size flamed out early either because their joints could not take the extra pounding, or because they were such big targets they were hit hard and often and punished into retirement.

Bettis, who had the fourth-most rushing attempts in NFL history, produced twice as many rushing yards as any other back who weighed at least 240 pounds.

He was the most prolific heavyweight runner in pro football history over his career, but that still has not been enough to land him in the Hall of Fame.

Brooks and Jones, who had 20 Pro Bowls between them, made it in their first year of eligibility.