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Gretz: DT the Process
Feb. 2, 2005
This is the second of four columns this week on Derrick Thomas and Saturday’s vote for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Friday, we’ll cover the argument for DT’s induction. On Saturday afternoon, an inside report on what went on in the voting session.
The biggest day of the year for the Pro Football Hall of Fame begins early on the Saturday before the Super Bowl. In this case, at 6:30 a.m. CST.
In a meeting room at the Prime Osborn Convention Center in downtown Jacksonville, a group of 39 Hall of Fame Selectors will be joined by a half-dozen members of the Hall’s staff and board of directors. Over the next four to five hours, Hall of Fame business will be handled and discussed.
The largest part of that is the discussion on the 15 candidates and then the voting to determine the Hall of Fame Class of 2005. The size of that induction group will depend on the voting; there can be a maximum of six new members and a minimum of three.
The group of selectors is made up of media representative for each of the 32 NFL franchises. In addition, there’s a representative of the Pro Football Writers Association and then six at-large representatives. Almost without exception, these voters are media people who have covered the NFL for many years. Some have been hanging around professional football for over 40 years.
I am the Kansas City representative, based on nearly 25 seasons of covering the Chiefs and 28 in covering the professional game. That makes me among the younger people on this committee. Some were already part of the selectors when I broke into full-time NFL coverage in 1977.
Each of the 15 candidates will be presented by a member of the selectors to the entire group. These presentations generally last around five minutes and include qualifications for induction, statistics, accomplishments and recommendations from those outside the room. Depending on the candidate, discussion then takes place on his credentials. Sometimes it can last for only a few minutes, other times it can go on for 15 or 20 minutes.
This year the potential candidates will be presented in this order:
Offensive linemen Russ Grimm and Bob Kuechenberg
Wide receivers Michael Irvin and Art Monk.
Linebackers Harry Carson and Derrick Thomas.
Running Back Fritz Pollard
Defensive Back Roger Wehrli
Quarterbacks Benny Friedmann, Dan Marino and Steve Young.
Contributor, former NY Giants GM George Young
Defensive Linemen Richard Dent, L.C. Greenwood and Claude Humphrey.
Once each possible inductee is presented and discussed, the group will then vote by secret, written ballot to trim the list to 10 names. After the 10 candidates are announced, another vote is held to take the figure down to six names.
Those final six are the finalists and then a secret written vote is taken on each one, with either a yes or no vote.
Those receiving 80 percent of the group voting (if all 39 selectors take part, that means 31 votes) are automatically new members of the Hall of Fame. If a minimum of three is not reached through this vote, then the candidate that received the next highest number of yes votes among the finalist will be added to the class.
This year, it looks like Marino and Young are locks. Both seniors candidates Friedmann and Pollard will receive heavy consideration.
The other 11 candidates will fight it out for the remaining two spots.
from KC Chiefs.com
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