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2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

You are what your bust says you are

You are what your bust says you are.

The process took over eight hours this year, and according to Rick Gosselin, over one hour was spent on Bill Parcells alone. Another HOF voter, Tony Grossi, said that Parcells took 55 minutes and Art Modell was discussed for over a half hour, while Cris Carter and Jerome Bettis were the two most heavily-debated players.

When the committee concluded, they chose the following men as the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

That means owners Art Modell and Edward Debartolo, Jr., along with Jerome Bettis, Charles Haley, Kevin Greene, Will Shields, Andre Reed, Tim Brown, Aeneas Williams, and Michael Strahan will have to wait at least one more year. When the committee narrowed the list from fifteen modern-era candidates to ten, Modell, DeBartolo, Shields, Brown and Greene were the five eliminated. Perhaps the biggest surprise is Strahan, but the pain is likely short-lived: I suspect he’ll be pretty happy getting inducted next year when the Super Bowl is his old stomping grounds.

A note about Carter. There have been 22 wide receivers to enter the NFL since World War II and wind up in the Hall of Fame. It took Carter six years to finally make the HOF, but that places him right in the middle of the pack:

ReceiverFromToTriesAP1PBStCarAVGRecYdsTD
Jerry Rice198520041101318160303154922895197
Paul Warfield1964197712811105157427856585
Steve Largent197619891171410320081913089100
Raymond Berry1955196713613102154631927568
Lance Alworth1962197216710971365421026685
Charley Taylor196419772181396165649911079
Michael Irvin19881999315101051597501190465
James Lofton19781993518141022337641400475
Charlie Joiner1969198651316952397501214665
Fred Biletnikoff196519785261288190589897476
Cris Carter198720026281398234110113899139
Elroy Hirsch19461957623973127387702960
Art Monk1980199581314932249401272168
Don Maynard19581973914131001866331183488
Tom Fears1948195691164887400539738
Bobby Mitchell1958196810141095148521795465
John Stallworth1974198710141080165537872363
Pete Pihos1947195510561173107373561961
Lynn Swann197419821413862115336546251
Dante Lavelli1946195614031147123386648862
Tommy McDonald19571968SS06975152495841084
Bob Hayes19651975SS23883132371741471
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