The Pro Football Hall of Fame has certainly had a Washington Redskins presence of late with linebacker Chris Hanburger being the latest player inducted in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday.
That makes four Redskins — Darrell Green, Art Monk, Russ Grimm and Hanburger — in four years.
Hanburger was an 18th-round pick for the Redskins in the 1965 NFL Draft and went on to become one of the great outside linebackers of his time, making nine Pro Bowl selections — more than any Redskins.
But who will be the next Washington player to be inducted?
Hanburger enters Canton via the Pro Football Writers of America senior committee, a group of voters that considers nominees at least 25 years after their last season in the league.
It’s a safety net to reconsider candidates that for a number of reasons fall short of the regular voting but deserve Hall of Fame consideration upon further examination.
| CLASS OF 2011 |
| Here’s a look at the other members that joined Chris Hanburger in the Hall of Fame on Saturday: |
| DE Richard Dent » Had a 10-year period in which he made 10 or more sacks in eight of 10 seasons. |
| RB Marshall Faulk » In 1999 eclipsed 1,000-yard mark in both rushing and receiving and was named NFL’s offensive player of the year for first of three straight times. |
| LB Les Richter » Was selected to eight straight Pro Bowls, missing only final season in 1962. |
| Ed Sabol » Founder/President/Chairman of NFL Films. |
| CB Deion Sanders » Scored total of six touchdowns on punt returns, three TDs on kickoff returns, and returned nine interceptions for scores during career. |
| TE Shannon Sharpe » At time of retirement, his 815 career receptions, 10,060 yards and 62 TDs were all NFL career records for a tight end. – AP |
This may be the path of the next Redskin to enter the Hall of Fame, and the two top candidates are running back Larry Brown and cornerback Pat Fischer.
Brown played eight seasons for Washington from 1969 to 1976, and finished his career with 5,875 yards. He was the MVP in 1972 when he rushed for 1,216 yards in 12 games and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.
Fischer was the small but devastating cornerback who came into the league in 1961 and played for the Redskins from 1968 to 1977. The three-time Pro Bowler finished his career with 56 interceptions.
Candidates who may enter through the regular selection committee process include Brian Mitchell and Gary Clark.
Mitchell was one of the great special teams players in the history of the league and is second behind Jerry Rice in all-purpose career yards with 23,330.
Clark, a four-time Pro Bowl receiver, is often overlooked, but his career numbers — 699 catches over 10 seasons, averaging 15.5 yards per catch, with 65 touchdowns — makes him worthy of consideration.
But the most worthy candidate is Joe Jacoby, who, with Grimm, anchored the Hogs — the most celebrated offensive line in NFL history — through four Super Bowl appearances. Jacoby was a four-time Pro Bowl tackle and recognized as one of the most-dominant players at his position during his era.
Jacoby has already been named by the Hall of Fame voters as one of four tackles on the NFL All-Decade team of the 1980s. Two of those tackles — Anthony Munoz and Gary Zimmerman — are in Canton. The other two — Jacoby and Jimbo Covert of the Chicago Bears — are not yet.
It’s a simple formula — if you are one of the best of your time at the position you played, then there should be a place for you in the Hall of Fame. There should be a place for Joe Jacoby.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
