Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalists

There's 26 of them to be cut to 15. Only Will Shields made it as first-time eligible player.

» Steve Atwater, S -- 1989-1998 Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets

» Jerome Bettis, RB -- 1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers

» Tim Brown, WR/KR -- 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

» Cris Carter, WR -- 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins

» Don Coryell, Coach -- 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers

» Roger Craig, RB -- 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings

» Terrell Davis, RB -- 1995-2001 Denver Broncos

» Dermontti Dawson, C -- 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers

» Edward DeBartolo, Jr., Owner -- 1979-2000 San Francisco 49ers

» Chris Doleman, DE/LB -- 1985-1993, 1999 Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95 Atlanta Falcons, 1996-98 San Francisco 49ers

» Kevin Greene, LB/DE -- 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers

» Charles Haley, DE/LB -- 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys

» Cortez Kennedy, DT -- 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks

» Curtis Martin, RB -- 1995-97 New England Patriots, 1998-2005 New York Jets

» Clay Matthews, LB -- 1978-1993 Cleveland Browns, 1994-96 Atlanta Falcons

» Karl Mecklenburg, LB -- 1983-1994 Denver Broncos

» Bill Parcells, Coach -- 1983-1990 New York Giants, 1993-96 New England Patriots, 1997-99 New York Jets, 2003-06 Dallas Cowboys

» Andre Reed, WR -- 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins

» Willie Roaf, T -- 1993-2001 New Orleans Saints, 2002-05 Kansas City Chiefs

» Donnie Shell, S -- 1974-1987 Pittsburgh Steelers

» Will Shields, G -- 1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs

» Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner -- 1989-2006 National Football League

» Steve Tasker, ST/WR -- 1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills

» Aeneas Williams, CB/S -- 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams

» Ron Wolf, Contributor -- 1963-1974, 1978-1990 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, 1975-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1990 New York Jets, 1991-2001 Green Bay Packers

» George Young, Contributor -- 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts, 1975-78 Miami Dolphins, 1979-1997 New York Giants, 1998-2001 National Football League

 

Shields should be a no-brainer to go in on the first ballot.

Interesting to see Craig and Davis both make the semis. I would think if either was going to make it, they'd have made it by now.

 

IMO Craig is the most egregious omission by the Hall extant, even more than Ray Guy or Ken Stabler. It's a very strong field. There aren't too many people on it you can just say "oh, hell no." Eddie deBartolo, Donnie Shell, Atwater, and that's about it. Mecklenburg and Matthews I'd put in the "real good if not great for a long time" category. The others, well, the ones who do make it this year, I don't imagine there'd be much bitching.

 

From this Niners fanboy...

If Roger Craig wanted to make it to Canton, he should have thought of that before he fumbled against the Giants.

 

Mizzou, the late George Kimball covered that game for the Herald, and I remember him telling me that the reporters were already down on the field when the fumble happened, and that the reaction of the 49er bench was "Oh, no, we just lost." Seems strange they gave up like that. It wasn't like Craig fumbled inside the 10.

 

I disagree on Shell, but this is more about Mecklenburg. I have nothing against Mecklenburg. I think he would be a good choice except that Randy Gradishar is not in the Hall. Gradishar was a better LB in his era than Mecklenburg was in his IMO. That is one of the gripes I have with Canton. Some guys get lost in the shuffle quickly and never resurface while lesser players hang around for years.

And I am pretty sure Gradishar is ineligible now.

 

A friend of mine works for one of one of the big consulting firms in San Fran and they've been known to bring in former 49ers players to mingle with the masses at holiday parties. One year they brought Craig in and one of the guys there was going on and on to Craig about what Craig did to the Dolphins in the Super Bowl.

An old guy who was standing there said directly to Craig. "Yeah, it almost makes up for you fumbling against the Giants."

Niners fans were ridiculously spoiled for about 20 years, but that play is one that still pisses people off more than 20 years later.

It's definitely the maddest I've ever been watching a sporting event. Granted, I was a teenager, but that fumble is ingrained into the minds of anybody from Northern California.

 

I think your anecdote and mine speak to a common problem with that team and its fans -- habitual success leading to an inability to cope with adversity.

 

Aside from stellar seasons in 1985 and 1988, what else is the love for Craig? I seriously ask because I was an East Coast kid at the time and didn't see a lot of Craig stuff. The fumble is what I remember most. I am not saying he wasn't a great player, but a lot of people are vehement that he is a HOFer. His stats don't say that to me, but am I missing something greater? Was he the cog in the 49ers offense? Amazing blocker? The decoy other teams tried to stop so the rest of the guys put up great numbers?

 

I think it just says most sports fans are idiots.

I can count on one hand how many times I've gone batshit crazy over a sporting event, but that game is at the very top of the list.

 

From 1985 to 1989 he was pretty amazing.

I don't think he deserves to be there. You can also make a pretty decent argument that Ricky Watters is more deserving than Craig is.

 

Craig was very good. Very versatile. Not sure he was any better than Ricky Watters.

(Interesting that I was typing this as you replied, Mizzou)