Pro Football HOF Modern-Era Semifinalists
November 25, 2008 by David Kindervater
Filed under Pro Football HOF
National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Four first-year eligible players — John Randle, Shannon Sharpe, Bruce Smith, and Rod Woodson — are among the 25 semifinalists being considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009. The Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors announced the 25 semifinalists today from the recently revealed list of 133 preliminary nominees. Even though he has been eligible since 1999, this is first time that Roger Craig has been a semifinalist. Each of the remaining 20 nominees has been on the semifinalist list at least once prior to this year. And while no coaches are among the semifinalists, the list includes three contributors — Art Modell, Paul Tagliabue and Ralph Wilson.
The complete list of 25 modern-era semifinalists is as follows:
- Cris Carter, WR
- Roger Craig, RB
- Terrell Davis, RB
- Dermontti Dawson, C
- Richard Dent, DE
- Chris Doleman, DE/LB
- Kevin Greene, LB/DE
- Russ Grimm, G
- Ray Guy, P
- Charles Haley, DE/LB
- Lester Hayes, CB
- Cortez Kennedy, DT
- Bob Kuechenberg, G
- Randall McDaniel, G
- Art Modell, Owner
- John Randle, DT
- Andre Reed, WR
- Shannon Sharpe, TE
- Bruce Smith, DE
- Ken Stabler, QB
- Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner
- Steve Tasker, Special Teams/WR
- Derrick Thomas, LB
- Ralph Wilson, Owner
- Rod Woodson, CB/S
The list of 25 semifinalists will be reduced by mail ballot to 15 modern-era candidates. That list increases to 17 finalist nominees with the inclusion of the two recommended candidates of the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee. The Seniors Committee nominees, who were announced in August, are Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey. Bob Hayes is a three-time All-NFL pick spent 11 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (1965-1974) and one season with the San Francisco 49ers (1975). Claude Humphrey is a five-time, first-team All-Pro defensive end who played with the Atlanta Falcons (1968-1978) and Philadelphia Eagles (1979-1981). The results of the modern-era reduction vote to 15 finalists will be announced in early January.
To be considered for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a nominated player or coach must have been retired at least five years. A contributor, who is a nominee who has made outstanding contributions to pro football in capacities other than playing and coaching, may still be active in his career.
Although there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s current ground rules do stipulate that between four and seven new members will be selected each year. No more than five modern-era nominees can be elected in a given year and a class of seven enshrinees can only be achieved if both senior nominees are elected.
The Class of 2009 will be determined at the Selection Committee’s annual meeting on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in Tampa, Florida the day before Super Bowl XLIII. The election results are announced immediately following the meeting at a press conference at the Super Bowl media headquarters.
Source: NFL Media, Photo: Newscom
