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Bruce Smith among semifinalists for Hall of Fame
posted 10:12 pm Tue November 25, 2008
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(Sports Network) - Bruce Smith, who still holds the NFL career record of 200 sacks, was among 25 semifinalists selected for the 2009 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
The original list consisted of 133 nominees.
Smith, who went to the Super Bowl four years in a row as a member of the Buffalo Bills, is among four first-year eligible players on the semifinal list. The others are defensive tackle John Randle, tight end Shannon Sharpe and defensive back Rod Woodson.
Running back Roger Craig, who starred mostly for the San Francisco 49ers, is on the semifinal list for the first time despite being eligible for the Hall since 1999.
Other semifinalists include punter Ray Guy, former Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and Ralph Wilson, current owner of the Buffalo Bills.
The list of 25 semifinalists will be reduced by mail ballot to 15 modern-era candidates. That list increases to 17 finalist nominees with the inclusion of the two recommended candidates of the Hall of Fame's Seniors Committee. The Seniors Committee nominees, who were announced in August, are Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey.
The 15 finalists will be announced in early January.
The Class of 2009, which will consist of between four to seven new members, will be determined at the Selection Committee's annual meeting on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in Tampa, Florida the day before Super Bowl XLIII. The election results are announced immediately following that meeting.
Copyright 2008 The Sports Network
All rights reserved
Smith, who went to the Super Bowl four years in a row as a member of the Buffalo Bills, is among four first-year eligible players on the semifinal list. The others are defensive tackle John Randle, tight end Shannon Sharpe and defensive back Rod Woodson.
Running back Roger Craig, who starred mostly for the San Francisco 49ers, is on the semifinal list for the first time despite being eligible for the Hall since 1999.Other semifinalists include punter Ray Guy, former Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and Ralph Wilson, current owner of the Buffalo Bills.
The list of 25 semifinalists will be reduced by mail ballot to 15 modern-era candidates. That list increases to 17 finalist nominees with the inclusion of the two recommended candidates of the Hall of Fame's Seniors Committee. The Seniors Committee nominees, who were announced in August, are Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey.
The 15 finalists will be announced in early January.
The Class of 2009, which will consist of between four to seven new members, will be determined at the Selection Committee's annual meeting on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in Tampa, Florida the day before Super Bowl XLIII. The election results are announced immediately following that meeting.
Copyright 2008 The Sports Network
All rights reserved
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