Today we meet the remaining three players to be inducted
into the Hall of Fame today. First,
though, I’ll take a moment to explain how players are selected to the Hall of
Fame.
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| The 2012 Hall of Fame Class |
THE SELECTION PROCESS
A player, coach, or anyone associated with professional
football is eligible for consideration for enshrinement five years after he has retired from the profession. Anyone—fans, members of the media, other
players or coaches—can send names to the Hall of Fame for consideration by the
Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee (more on these people to follow). The Committee screens, via mail ballot, these
submissions to narrow them down to a list of 17 finalists: 15 candidates from the “modern” era; and two
from the pre-1988 period (the so-called “senior nominees”), who are chosen by
the Seniors Committee, composed of nine veterans of the Selection Committee. Each year, at the time of the Super Bowl, the
Selection Committee meets to select the inductees for that year; to be
selected, the name must receive at least 80% of the Committee’s votes. The Committee’s current rules provide that
between four and seven new members are to be enshrined each year.
So, who are the people that make up the Selection
Committee? They are, for better or
worse, members of the media: one
representative from each city with a professional football team (New York City
gets two because it has two teams); one representative from the Pro Football Writers
of America; and eleven at-large members—44 in all. Much like the Supreme Court, all members
(except for the PFWA rep) are on the Selection Committee until they retire or
resign (or die); the PFWA rep is on for a two-year term.
Now, back to this year’s Hall of Fame class…
WILLIE ROAF
Along with Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf is a native of
Arkansas (Pine Bluff). Though not
heavily recruited out of high school, Roaf received a scholarship to play
offensive tackle at Louisiana Tech University.
Willie excelled at his position, receiving first-team All-American
honors and becoming a finalist for the Outland Trophy, which is awarded to
college’s best offensive lineman. The
New Orleans Saints drafted him early in the first round of the 1993 draft
(eighth overall).
Remember the attributes we discussed yesterday for what
makes an offensive lineman stand out for Hall of Fame voters? As for reputation, Roaf (nicknamed “Nasty”)
was named to seven Pro Bowls while with the Saints, and earned that honor each
of his four years with the Kansas City Chiefs.
He’s been named to the NFL’s All-Decade Teams for the 1990s and 2000s,
and has already been elected to the sports halls of fame for Arkansas and
Louisiana. As for longevity and
consistency, you can’t argue with a 12-year tenure and a games-played total of
189 (he was a starter in all of them).
For his presenter, Roaf picked his father, Clinton Roaf. Willie says that his dad only missed one of
his home games throughout college and the pros (the one miss was because Willie’s
brother had a game the same day).
CHRIS DOLEMAN
Chris Doleman, a native of Pennsylvania, attended the
University of Pittsburgh, where he was a star linebacker and defensive
end. He was drafted fourth overall by
the Minnesota Vikings in the 1985 draft.
Chris spent most of his career with the Vikings, through the 1993
season. Doleman originally played as a
linebacker in the team’s 3-4 defense,
and then as defensive end when the Vikings switched to a 4-3 defense. At defensive end he hit his stride, recording
21 sacks in 1989 (a Vikings record that held for 22 years), which is fourth
highest all-time in the NFL.
Doleman played for the Atlanta Falcons in the 1994 and 1995
seasons, then the San Francisco 49ers from 1996 through 1998. He returned to the Vikings in 1999 and
retired after the season. In his 14-year
career, Doleman had 150.5 sacks, eight interceptions and two touchdowns; he
earned eight Pro Bowl selections, was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
and has been named one of the 50 Greatest Vikings. Chris’s son, Evan Doleman, will be his
presenter at the enshrinement ceremony.
To give you an idea of how much being elected to the Hall of Fame means to these players, here is a video, shared by Doleman, of the moment when he and his family heard the announcement that he would be inducted:
JACK BUTLER
Our last member of the Class of 2012 is its most senior—in fact,
he is the senior selection. Yet another
Pennsylvania native in the 2012 class, Jack Butler attended St. Bonaventure
University, where he played both offensive and defensive end. In 1951, Butler was signed by the Pittsburgh
Steelers as an undrafted free agent. As
a member of the Steelers, Jack was a cornerback and sometimes played wide
receiver. Butler played for the Steelers
for his entire eight-year career. During
that time, he led the league in interceptions for the 1957 season, was named to
four straight Pro Bowls, and amassed 52 interceptions, which was the second
highest all-time at the time of his retirement.
Butler was also named to the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team and the
Pittsburgh Steelers Legends Team.
Induction to the Hall of Fame sometimes isn’t just about a
player’s performance on the field; all of the individual’s contributions to the
sport are considered. After his
retirement from the Steelers, Jack Butler spent 46 years (44 as director) with
the BLESTO Scouting Combine. He was
involved with developing the vital Combine process that is used to evaluate draft-hopeful players coming out of
college. Over his career in scouting, Jack
Butler scouted and evaluated over 75,000 college athletes. Jack’s presenter at tonight’s ceremony will be
his son, John.
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the 2012 class of Hall
of Fame inductees. Be sure to tune in
tonight at 7:00 PM ET for the enshrinement ceremony on NFL Network.
