HOFame: Analyzing the Senior 60
Anonymous Screeners hand off prospects to Senior Blue Ribbon Selectors
(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s plight to select the Class of 2025 with a new process and personnel. By Frank Cooney, now in his 32nd year as a selector and a member of the Senior Blue Ribbon Selection Committee.)
So far, so good.
Sixty Senior players survived the new, anonymous 11-person Screening Committee. They moved on to the reconstituted nine-man Senior Blue Ribbon Selectors (SBRC) group, which will trim the list to 25 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.
There were no significant shockers regarding who did and did not make the Senior 60. But some names stand out among the usual annual suspects. So, let’s mention them, then move on to the complete list and initial observations.
The top noteworthy name is former Kansas City offensive tackle Jim Tyrer, who was a first-ballot finalist in 1980 after a sensational career. Still, even as he was being debated for induction, Tyrer killed himself and his wife, and he has not been discussed by HOF selectors since.
Perspective on Tyrer’s tragedy is changing with the revelation that he suffered severe CTE before it was even a known issue, meaning what happened to him in football ironically may be what has barred him from the HOF. Players, coaches and others are speaking up on his behalf.
A well-known name who made his first HOF cut since retiring in 1986 is quarterback Jim Plunkett, the former Stanford Heisman Trophy winner. After a very difficult start in the NFL, he resurrected his career. He claimed two Super Bowl championships and one MVP, and incited Raider Nation to dominate social media, demanding his induction. However, he has never been discussed during his 33 years of eligibility.
So why now?
With former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning in his first year of eligibility, two Super Bowl rings will be a hot topic in discussions about the 2025 Class. Yes, Plunkett is a senior, and Manning is a newcomer, but there is an eerie similarity to their backgrounds.
It is a compelling coupling of two otherwise disparate players.
We were surprised to see former Raider linebacker Phil Villapiano on the Senior 60. He was an outstanding player during the Raiders’ El Rancho Tropicana era in Santa Rosa, CA — and did well on the field, too. Villapiano, the Raiders' upbeat unofficial voice on any subject, has a great family actively advocating his induction.
He also has competition from his Raider family — cornerback Lester Hayes, wide receiver Art Powell (finalist last year),and the aforementioned Plunkett among seniors, and guard Steve Wisniewski as a Modern Era candidate. Raider fatigue is real among selectors, so this much Silver and Black ( five players) creates a gray area for newcomers.
Nine seniors return who were semifinalists last year: quarterback Ken Anderson, linebacker Maxie Baughan, running back Roger Craig, offensive tackle Joe Jacoby, cornerback Albert Lewis, defensive back Eddie Meador, wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, wide receiver Otis Taylor and offensive tackle Al Wistert.
Randy Gradishar, Steve McMichael, and Powell were the final three. Gradishar and McMichael were elected. Powell was not, but he still ranks among the NFL’s all-time top ten in multiple categories and is no less a candidate this year than he was as a finalist for the Class of 2024 (and will be a subject for another day).
Looking for the most senior seniors? They are guard Ox Emerson (last playing year was 1938), running back Cecil Isbell (1942), Wistert (1951), and running back Tank Younger (1958).
Each member of the Anonymous Eleven — the Seniors Screening Committee, created this year ostensibly to improve the outcome — cast a ballot for 50 individuals from a list of 182 nominees. All players who tied for the 50th position (11 of them) remain under consideration.
The names of the Screening Committee members (including one committee for the Modern Era) are being withheld to prevent proselytizing and, it is believed, to create an environment unencumbered by partisan input. That said, it also creates a level of insulation from what might be productive or enlightening input. The rationale cuts both ways.
From our perspective, the results this time appear suitable because, of course, I have no issue with who made or did not make this Senior 60 list. Let’s discuss the process another time and get on to the heart of this — the players.
2025 Seniors (60) listed by Position, per Hall of Fame:
At this point, the players who remain eligible for election with the Class of 2025 are …
QUARTERBACKS (5): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Roman Gabriel, Jack Kemp, Jim Plunkett.
RUNNING BACKS (7): Alan Ameche, Ottis Anderson, Larry Brown, Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul “Tank” Younger.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS (10): Mark Clayton, Isaac Curtis, Boyd Dowler, Henry Ellard, Harold Jackson, Billy "White Shoes” Johnson, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Sterling Sharpe, Otis Taylor.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (12): Ed Budde, Ox Emerson, Bill Fralic, Chris Hinton, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, George Kunz, Ralph Neely, Dick Schafrath, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (6): L.C. Greenwood, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Jim Marshall, Harvey Martin, Leslie O’Neal, Bill Stanfill.
LINEBACKERS (11): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Bill Bergey, Joe Fortunato, Larry Grantham, Lee Roy Jordan, Clay Matthews Jr., Tommy Nobis, Andy Russell, Pat Swilling, Phil Villapiano.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (8): Dick Anderson, Deron Cherry, Pat Fischer, Lester Hayes, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Lemar Parrish, Everson Walls.
SPECIAL TEAMS (1): Steve Tasker.
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*2025 HOF Senior 60 based on honors won
This shows players across eras and positions in a context based on common award factors. It is one perspective and not intended to be a singular determining factor any more than raw statistics determine a player’s worthiness for the HOF. (An explanation of the grading system is below the chart.)
Senior Blue Ribbon Selection Committee pares this list to 25 players from Oct. 7 to Oct. 14
*John Turney Chart Points system: All-Decade - 5 points, MVP/DPOY - 2 points, Years played - 1, Consensus All-Pro - 3, All-Pro - 2, Second-team All-Pro -1, All-Conference -2, Second-team All-Conference -1, Pro Bowl -1. Turney is a long-time football historian and first-year member of the Senior Blue Ribbon Selection Committee
🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 Before the cut to 60, I polled all selectors on their top five senior candidates. Here are results, giving one point per vote regardless whether the place vote was "1" or "5." Twenty-seven (27) selectors responded, not all named five players. This takes the surface temperature of our body of voters before they huddle up and exchange ideas.
🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 Who are the selectors? A notable change on SBRC is the addition of Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf, one of the best personnel evaluators in NFL history and especially knowledgeable regarding players from eras as early as the 1940s. Also new is John Turney, previously a consultant and noted football historian. He created the Turney Tables in this post. Meantime, here is the SBRC roster, which shows an average of almost 19 years on the committee and more than 47 years covering the history of the NFL. Seniors BRC Years as Selector Years involved with NFL 1. D. Orlando Ledbetter 24 39 2. Frank Cooney 32 59 3. Gary Myers 15 46 4. Jeff Legwold 24 38 5. Rick Gosselin 28 52 6. Ron Borges 22 49 7. Howard Balzer 20 49 8. Ron Wolf 1 62 9. John Turney 1 31 Avg 18.6 Avg. 47.22
Coming: Modern Era and Senior Selectors, a house divided? Odd Couples: Steve Tasker vs. Brian Mitchell; Plunkett vs. Eli … and more
It absolutely should be about what a player has done on the field...I'd wager that Marshall had a preponderance of good/great days over bad...even DiMaggio struck out...it has never been about a perfect score has it? Watters and TO were jerks and jerks have a harder time getting in than perceived decent folks, so it is not always about on field performance is it? Glad you have the vote and I do not.
Lester Hayes, Sterling Sharpe, Roger Craig, and Dick Schafrath who opened a ton of holes for Jim Brown are the names that jump out at me...Marshall is known more for running the wrong way but was a terrific edge rusher, as was LC Greenwood. I know little else about the play of the elder nominees, but these guys deserve serious consideration. I for one would pound the table for Hayes and Craig.