17 Finalists named for Pro Football Hall of Fame

-Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Paul Tagliabue, Thurman Thomas, Michael Irvin, and Bruce Matthews are among the 17 finalists that will be considered for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when the Hall’s Board of Selectors meets in Miami, Florida on Saturday, February 3, 2007.

Joining these four finalists, are 11 other modern-era players and two players nominated earlier by the Hall of Fame’s Senior Committee. The Senior Committee nominees, announced in August 2006, are former Cleveland Browns guard Gene Hickerson and Detroit Lions tight end Charlie Sanders. The other modern-era player finalists include defensive ends Fred Dean and Richard Dent; guards Russ Grimm and Bob Kuechenberg; punter Ray Guy; wide receivers Art Monk and Andre Reed; linebackers Derrick Thomas and Andre Tippett; cornerback Roger Wehrli; and tackle Gary Zimmerman.

To be elected, a finalist must receive a minimum positive vote of 80 percent.

Listed alphabetically, the 17 finalists with their positions, teams, and years active follow:

Fred Dean – Defensive End – 1975-1981 San Diego Chargers, 1981-1985 San Francisco 49ers

Richard Dent – Defensive End – 1983-1993, 1995 Chicago Bears, 1994 San Francisco 49ers, 1996 Indianapolis Colts, 1997 Philadelphia Eagles

Russ Grimm – Guard – 1981-1991 Washington Redskins

Ray Guy – Punter – 1973-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders

Gene Hickerson – Guard – 1958-1973 Cleveland Browns

Michael Irvin – Wide Receiver – 1988-1999 Dallas Cowboys

Bob Kuechenberg – Guard – 1970-1984 Miami Dolphins

Bruce Matthews – Guard, Tackle, Center – 1983-2001 Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Titans

Art Monk – Wide Receiver – 1980-1993 Washington Redskins, 1994 New York Jets, 1995 Philadelphia Eagles

Andre Reed – Wide Receiver – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins

Charlie Sanders – Tight End – 1968-1977 Detroit Lions

Paul Tagliabue – NFL Commissioner – 1989-2006

Derrick Thomas – Linebacker – 1989-1999 Kansas City Chiefs

Thurman Thomas – Running Back – 1988-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Miami Dolphins

Andre Tippett – Linebacker – 1982-1993 New England Patriots

Roger Wehrli – Cornerback – 1969-1982 St. Louis Cardinals

Gary Zimmerman – Tackle – 1986-1992 Minnesota Vikings, 1993-1997 Denver Broncos

Dent, Grimm, Guy, Hickerson, Irvin, Kuechenberg, Monk, Derrick Thomas, Thurman Thomas, Wehrli, and Zimmerman have all been finalists in previous years.

From this year’s list, 10 nominees – Grimm, Guy, Hickerson, Irvin, Kuechenberg, Matthews, Sanders, Derrick Thomas, Tippett, and Wehrli – spent their entire NFL career with just one team.

Hickerson and Sanders were selected as senior candidates by the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee at their August 2006 meeting. The Seniors Committee reviews the qualifications of those players whose careers took place more than 25 years ago. The remaining 15 modern-era finalists were determined by a vote of the Hall’s 40-member Board of Selectors from a list of 111 preliminary nominees that earlier was reduced to a list of 25 semifinalists. To be eligible for election, modern-era players must be retired at least five years while a contributor need not be retired.

The Board of Selectors will meet in Miami, Florida, on Saturday, February 3, 2007, to elect the Hall of Fame Class of 2007.

At the 2007 election meeting, the selectors will thoroughly discuss the careers of each finalist before narrowing the field to six candidates. At least three candidates must be elected but the total class cannot number more than six.

Of the 2007 finalists, Hickerson has been eligible for 29 years, Sanders 25 years, Wehrli 20, Kuechenberg 18, Dean 17 years, Guy 16, Grimm 11, Tippett nine, Monk seven years, Dent and Zimmerman five years, Irvin and Derrick Thomas three years, Reed and Thurman Thomas two years, and Matthews is in his first year of eligibility. Contributors, such as Tagliabue, need not to be retired to be considered for Hall of Fame election. Therefore there is no specific year at which he first became “eligible” for consideration.

The Class of 2007 will be announced at a press conference at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, February 3, at the Super Bowl media center in the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Enshrinement of the Class of 2007 will take place at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, on the weekend of August 4-5, 2007.