Old stars might have to wait even longer for Hall entry

By Chris Cluff  |   Thursday, August 02, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

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If guys like Art Monk, Andre Reed, Russ Grimm and Richard Dent think they have had to wait too long to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, just wait until they see what's coming.

The backlog of deserving players who don't get into the Hall will only increase over the next few years as at least a dozen modern superstars become eligible for induction.

Next year, receiver Cris Carter and cornerback Darrell Green are eligible. Green should be a no-duh first-ballot addition, while Carter could take a backseat to Monk and/or Reed. With anywhere from three to six players selected each year, there will be room in 2008 for some of the guys who have been on the waiting list for a few years already. Finalists who didn't make the cut this year were Monk, Reed, Grimm, Dent, Fred Dean, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Bob Kuechenberg, Paul Tagliabue, Derrick Thomas, Andre Tippett, and Gary Zimmerman.

If they don't make it in 2008, however, it might be tough for many of them to get in for the next few years because a number of surefire Hall of Famers are about to become eligible.

In 2009, it will be defensive end Bruce Smith, tight end Shannon Sharpe, defensive back Rod Woodson and defensive tackle John Randle. Smith, Sharpe and Woodson all merit first-year election.

The 2010 class will be another all-timer, as the league's career leaders in receiving and rushing, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, will be joined in eligibility by receiver Tim Brown and cornerback Aeneas Williams.

In 2011, a trio of the all-time best running backs will be up for enshrinement: Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis. Also in that class will be perhaps the best cover corner ever, Deion Sanders.

That's as many as four deserving first-time candidates for three straight years, which would leave only two openings per year beyond that. With six guys going in this year - Gene Hickerson, Michael Irvin, Bruce Matthews, Charlie Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Roger Wehrli - it will mark the second year in a row that the maximum number has been elected. And that trend should continue for at least the next four or five years.

Beyond Monk and the other finalists who didn't make it this year, there are two or three dozen retired players who merit consideration. But it looks like they all will have to wait behind the recent stars who are about to become eligible.

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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding, ...
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