For the past five years, I’ve treated the Tyrer family story like a cold case—digging into how the children grieved, adapted, and faced life’s challenges, and how Martha (Cline) Tyrer’s parents quietly guided them in the aftermath without ever speaking ill of their son-in-law, despite the devastation he caused. The question of why Jim Tyrer did what he did once seemed out of reach. After all, how much can still be learned about something that happened over 40 years ago? Surprisingly, the answer is quite a lot. Connecting with Dr. Paone, as mentioned earlier, felt like throwing a Hail Mary into the past, but his wasn’t the only revelation. At times, it has felt as if Martha herself was guiding the journey. It wouldn’t surprise me if the conclusion to this story is still unfolding.
Frank - this is a thorough and in-depth article—it’s great to see such attention given to this important subject. As the director of the upcoming investigative documentary Beneath the Shadow, which uncovers these new revelations—including the previously unknown testimony of Dr. Paone—I’m thrilled to see some of that research making its way into the broader conversation. It’s been an important journey correcting long-standing myths and answering questions we once thought were unanswerable. I look forward to sharing the full story when Beneath the Shadow is released. https://www.kppllc.net/beneath-the-shadow/
An excellent and long overdue spotlight. Thanks to Kevin Patrick's amazing documentary on Jim and his family this piece by Frank Cooney came to my attention. Let's hope that together Kevin and Frank can get the attention of major sports media and the NFL HOF committee give Jim and his wife the same degree of love and respect their children still feel for them both.
Excellent article! This was the team of my youth. In 1966 Dad took a job in KC. We had lived in KY, IN & OH, pre Bengals & relocated Colts. My after school job was at a pizza joint in a strip mall at 95th and Antioch. There was a laundromat and a small doctor’s office. He was the team doctor for the Chiefs. Buck, Ernie would stop in for a beer before their appointments. Stenerud lived across the street from the church in a 3 bedroom on a slab. Hank would pace the back of church with Sunday bulletin rolled up trying to speed up 9 o’clock mass before noon kickoff. Lenny would walk across the shopping mall face red, small bandages from Raiders game, Christmas shopping with his wife until he was recognized. It was a different time.
Look at that helmet, it could not afford any protection. Freddy the Hammer Williamson was infamous and legal! My younger brother quit watching NFL several years ago. I still do. Dad moved us to Chicago in 1970. I have been a Bears fan since, even though my uncle was one of Paul Hornung’s high school football coaches.
Tyre needs an advocate like Steve McMichael did in Dan Pompei. I am still conflicted if McMicheal is HOF material as I am with Tony Boselli. If those guys, certainly Tyre needs to be in!
"The most qualified Seniors candidate not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?"
Then why did your previous 12-member Seniors Committee not nominate him among their top 25-30?
What about Ken Anderson, a former NFL MVP, and the others deemed as runner-ups in the last couple years? Anderson is the oldest remaining living 2024 Seniors semifinalist (76 as of 2025 Enshrinement.)
And what about Al Wistert, who was actually more accomplished than Tyrer - but whom the Committee has refused to consider seemingly because he didn't play in more recent times? Or 8x PFHOF finalist Bob Kuechenberg (or others like George Kunz) whose NFL honors are arguably as strong?
Certainly also, if humanity matters, what about Maxie Baughan and Eddie Meador - 2024 Seniors semifinalists who passed away from 2 days before to 2 weeks after the Committee vote?
No disrespect to Tyrer (RIP), but this seems awfully random ala Powell 2024.
Thanks for reading, Ron.. To your first question, Tyrer never made it to the seniors committee, or any committee, for discussion since 1980, which was the primary point. The others you mention have all been through the selection system in varying degrees and just didn't rise to the top on any given year. Just a fact. I respect your opinion that Wistert was "actually more accomplished than Tyler," but that doesn't make it a fact. Wistert played 9 years, 95 games (1943-51) to Tyrer's 14 and 194. Wistert was 1st team All-Pro 5 times, Tyrer 10. Wistert was on 1940s All-Decade. Tyrer on 1960s (AFL) and if you want to play the card that the 40s NFL was better than the 60s AFL, we must agree to disagree. Across the board, Tyrer approximaely doubled the honors Wistert received. That does not mean one is better than the other, but it offers context. As for Kuech, I dearly miss the annual phone calls from Coach Don Shula insisting KOOCH must be inducted. Coach Shula was passionate. However, reality is Keuchenberg was a guard in a game that prizes tackles, although he was a hell of a run blocker. He made first team All-Pro only once in 14 years and was not on an All-Decade team. As for humanity mattering, I believe the selectors made a concession to that in the 2024 Class. I would have appreciated some of the same when we were unable to induct Ken Stabler and Cliff Branch until the year after they died. Powell is an unusual candidate whose incredibe feats were overlooked or devalued because he played from 1959-67. I knew him. He was a mensch on and off the field. I advocated for him last year, believing I could at least get his story out there and was surprised he became a finalist, only to be rejected by the full 50 committee. Unlike the senior selectors, the entire 50-member committee only heard the Powell story once during a five minute presentation. He was new to them. Remember, each year has a different dynamic and one can't throw a blanket over something and determine somebody was "kept out" for a certain reason, except perhaps in Tyrer's unusual case. I have a list of more than 220 seniors for whom a case can be made. For a long time we could get in only one senior per year. For now it is three and we must take advantage of that before it is reduced to one again.
Hi Frank, good morning. Greatly appreciate the explanation, perspective and transparency - I think the one big challenge for those of us "on the outside looking in" is to try to understand the selectors' thought process.
I have long emphasized how PFHOF selectors like you have so many voices in their ears from all directions - and non-selectors have no idea about the overall noise volume. Much respect.
The one reasonable confusionb to us outsiders is when a Senior is a runner-up (top-6) and then doesn't even achieve that status or even semi-finalist (top-12). Example: Sharpe/Kuech from 2023 to 2024.
And I agree on the posthumous - PFHOF must do a better job to ensure greats are enshrined while alive. Thankful but sad regarding Branch and Coryell - grateful regarding Flores and Gradishar. But the 2024 rejections were seemingly based on 6 months of deliberation followed by a 5-minute presentation. (I'm glad the new finalist process will be much shorter - we owe that to the finalists and their families.)
Again, thank you so much for the insights, Frank. Appreciate you peeling back the curtain - understanding the process and the considerations helps us all be better allies and advocates. (Love Clark Judge's "Talk of Fame" as well for that reason.) Thanks also for your years of selector service that helps to ensure the PFHOF's greatness legacy.
For the past five years, I’ve treated the Tyrer family story like a cold case—digging into how the children grieved, adapted, and faced life’s challenges, and how Martha (Cline) Tyrer’s parents quietly guided them in the aftermath without ever speaking ill of their son-in-law, despite the devastation he caused. The question of why Jim Tyrer did what he did once seemed out of reach. After all, how much can still be learned about something that happened over 40 years ago? Surprisingly, the answer is quite a lot. Connecting with Dr. Paone, as mentioned earlier, felt like throwing a Hail Mary into the past, but his wasn’t the only revelation. At times, it has felt as if Martha herself was guiding the journey. It wouldn’t surprise me if the conclusion to this story is still unfolding.
Frank - this is a thorough and in-depth article—it’s great to see such attention given to this important subject. As the director of the upcoming investigative documentary Beneath the Shadow, which uncovers these new revelations—including the previously unknown testimony of Dr. Paone—I’m thrilled to see some of that research making its way into the broader conversation. It’s been an important journey correcting long-standing myths and answering questions we once thought were unanswerable. I look forward to sharing the full story when Beneath the Shadow is released. https://www.kppllc.net/beneath-the-shadow/
An excellent and long overdue spotlight. Thanks to Kevin Patrick's amazing documentary on Jim and his family this piece by Frank Cooney came to my attention. Let's hope that together Kevin and Frank can get the attention of major sports media and the NFL HOF committee give Jim and his wife the same degree of love and respect their children still feel for them both.
Excellent article! This was the team of my youth. In 1966 Dad took a job in KC. We had lived in KY, IN & OH, pre Bengals & relocated Colts. My after school job was at a pizza joint in a strip mall at 95th and Antioch. There was a laundromat and a small doctor’s office. He was the team doctor for the Chiefs. Buck, Ernie would stop in for a beer before their appointments. Stenerud lived across the street from the church in a 3 bedroom on a slab. Hank would pace the back of church with Sunday bulletin rolled up trying to speed up 9 o’clock mass before noon kickoff. Lenny would walk across the shopping mall face red, small bandages from Raiders game, Christmas shopping with his wife until he was recognized. It was a different time.
Look at that helmet, it could not afford any protection. Freddy the Hammer Williamson was infamous and legal! My younger brother quit watching NFL several years ago. I still do. Dad moved us to Chicago in 1970. I have been a Bears fan since, even though my uncle was one of Paul Hornung’s high school football coaches.
Tyre needs an advocate like Steve McMichael did in Dan Pompei. I am still conflicted if McMicheal is HOF material as I am with Tony Boselli. If those guys, certainly Tyre needs to be in!
"The most qualified Seniors candidate not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?"
Then why did your previous 12-member Seniors Committee not nominate him among their top 25-30?
What about Ken Anderson, a former NFL MVP, and the others deemed as runner-ups in the last couple years? Anderson is the oldest remaining living 2024 Seniors semifinalist (76 as of 2025 Enshrinement.)
And what about Al Wistert, who was actually more accomplished than Tyrer - but whom the Committee has refused to consider seemingly because he didn't play in more recent times? Or 8x PFHOF finalist Bob Kuechenberg (or others like George Kunz) whose NFL honors are arguably as strong?
Certainly also, if humanity matters, what about Maxie Baughan and Eddie Meador - 2024 Seniors semifinalists who passed away from 2 days before to 2 weeks after the Committee vote?
No disrespect to Tyrer (RIP), but this seems awfully random ala Powell 2024.
Thanks for reading, Ron.. To your first question, Tyrer never made it to the seniors committee, or any committee, for discussion since 1980, which was the primary point. The others you mention have all been through the selection system in varying degrees and just didn't rise to the top on any given year. Just a fact. I respect your opinion that Wistert was "actually more accomplished than Tyler," but that doesn't make it a fact. Wistert played 9 years, 95 games (1943-51) to Tyrer's 14 and 194. Wistert was 1st team All-Pro 5 times, Tyrer 10. Wistert was on 1940s All-Decade. Tyrer on 1960s (AFL) and if you want to play the card that the 40s NFL was better than the 60s AFL, we must agree to disagree. Across the board, Tyrer approximaely doubled the honors Wistert received. That does not mean one is better than the other, but it offers context. As for Kuech, I dearly miss the annual phone calls from Coach Don Shula insisting KOOCH must be inducted. Coach Shula was passionate. However, reality is Keuchenberg was a guard in a game that prizes tackles, although he was a hell of a run blocker. He made first team All-Pro only once in 14 years and was not on an All-Decade team. As for humanity mattering, I believe the selectors made a concession to that in the 2024 Class. I would have appreciated some of the same when we were unable to induct Ken Stabler and Cliff Branch until the year after they died. Powell is an unusual candidate whose incredibe feats were overlooked or devalued because he played from 1959-67. I knew him. He was a mensch on and off the field. I advocated for him last year, believing I could at least get his story out there and was surprised he became a finalist, only to be rejected by the full 50 committee. Unlike the senior selectors, the entire 50-member committee only heard the Powell story once during a five minute presentation. He was new to them. Remember, each year has a different dynamic and one can't throw a blanket over something and determine somebody was "kept out" for a certain reason, except perhaps in Tyrer's unusual case. I have a list of more than 220 seniors for whom a case can be made. For a long time we could get in only one senior per year. For now it is three and we must take advantage of that before it is reduced to one again.
Hi Frank, good morning. Greatly appreciate the explanation, perspective and transparency - I think the one big challenge for those of us "on the outside looking in" is to try to understand the selectors' thought process.
I have long emphasized how PFHOF selectors like you have so many voices in their ears from all directions - and non-selectors have no idea about the overall noise volume. Much respect.
The one reasonable confusionb to us outsiders is when a Senior is a runner-up (top-6) and then doesn't even achieve that status or even semi-finalist (top-12). Example: Sharpe/Kuech from 2023 to 2024.
And I agree on the posthumous - PFHOF must do a better job to ensure greats are enshrined while alive. Thankful but sad regarding Branch and Coryell - grateful regarding Flores and Gradishar. But the 2024 rejections were seemingly based on 6 months of deliberation followed by a 5-minute presentation. (I'm glad the new finalist process will be much shorter - we owe that to the finalists and their families.)
Again, thank you so much for the insights, Frank. Appreciate you peeling back the curtain - understanding the process and the considerations helps us all be better allies and advocates. (Love Clark Judge's "Talk of Fame" as well for that reason.) Thanks also for your years of selector service that helps to ensure the PFHOF's greatness legacy.
A thorough investigative report that offers a fresh perspective and sets up a tough decision for the committee...