The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League (NFL). It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees. Through 2010, all but one of the player inductees played some part of their pro career in the NFL (the lone exception is Buffalo Bills guard Billy Shaw, who played his entire career in the American Football League (AFL) prior to the 1970 AFL-NFL merger). The Chicago Bears have the most Hall of Famers in the league at 27. To date, no player who served exclusively as a punter has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, although multiple players enshrined have served their teams in that capacity, most notably Sammy Baugh. Baugh, who played for the Washington Redskins from 1937-1952, had a career punting average of 45.1, which still ranks 6th all-time. However, Baugh is enshrined more for his work as a quarterback and defensive back.
To be eligible for the nominating process, a player or coach must have been retired at least five years. Any other contributor such as a team owner or executive can be voted in at any time. Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame, which explicitly waives its five-year waiting period for players who die during that time or while active,the Pro Football Hall of Fame has no provision to waive its waiting period.
Fans may nominate any player, coach or contributor by simply writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame via letter or email. The Selection Committee is then polled three times by mail to eventually narrow the list to 25 semifinalists: once in March, one in September, and one in October. In November, the committee then selects 15 finalists by mail balloting.
Nine members of the Selection Committee also serve as a subcommittee known as the Seniors Committee to screen candidates who finished their careers 25 or more years prior. The Seniors Committee then adds two finalists from prior to the modern era, making a final ballot of 17.
The Selection Committee then meets the day before each Super Bowl game to elect a new class. To be elected, a finalist must receive at least 80 percent support from the Board, with at least four, but no more than seven, candidates being elected annually. If less than four candidates get 80 percent of the vote, then the top four vote-getters will get in that year. If more than seven get 80 percent, then only the top seven vote-getters will be inducted.
All but one of the people enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame played a large portion of their careers in the National Football League (Billy Shaw, who played his entire career in the American Football League, is the lone exception). Though several Hall of Famers have had AFL, Canadian Football League, World Football League and United States Football League experience, and there is a division of the Hall devoted to alternative leagues such as this, to this point no players have made the Hall without having made significant contributions to either the NFL, AFL or All-America Football Conference. For CFL stars, there is a parallel Canadian Football Hall of Fame; only one player (Warren Moon) and one coach (Bud Grant) are in both halls.
For more information on the Pro Football hall of fame, click here: Pro Football Hall of Fame
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HALL OF FAMERS
BRONKO NAGURSKI, RAY FLAHERTY, GEORGE MCAFEE, TERRY BRADSHAW, LANCE ALWORTH, ROGER STAUBACH, GEORGE BLANDA
WILBUR (PETE) HENRY, SONNY JURGENSEN, CHARLEY TRIPPI, WARREN MOON, JOHN (BLOOD) MCNALLY, DAN HAMPTON, EARL CAMPBELL, JOE MONTANA
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