Coach Bill Parcells, Chris Carter, Larry Allen, Jonathan Ogden and Warren Sapp were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. There were also several players who did not make the selection this year: Aeneas Williams, Andre Reed, Charles Haley, Jerome Bettis, and Michael Strahan.
The selection committee also eliminated Tim Brown, Kevin Greene, Will Shields and former owners Edward DeBartolo Jr. and Art Modell. The Baltimore Ravens who wanted to see their former owner Art Modell who died in 2012 make the selection and were pushing for his selection all week in New Orleans.
While the New York Giants CEO John Mara felt that the vote for Bill Parcells was, “long overdue” others felt that Bill Parcells was a person who could come in and turn a franchise around unlike any other and create success. Chris Carter who began his career as a receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles to only be traded later to the Minnesota Vikings was so overcome with emotion he broke down in tears. Cater played 16 seasons in the NFL with 70 passes in 10 seasons, 130 touchdowns and only one of two for 1,000 receptions in a season.
Warren Sapp a seven-time Pro Bowler and 4-time First Team All-Pro and great defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers said, “His stomach was churning all day”. Once he was informed of being voted into the Hall of Fame he said, “My feet haven’t touched the ground in about 30 minutes” and “This is unbelievable.” After 13 seasons in the NFL, this was Sapp’s first time on the ballot which is a testament of how great of a player his was.
Jonathan Ogden played 12 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens as a lineman was a six-time All-Pro and was voted to 11 Pro Bowls called his mother and told his 7 year-old son Ogden said, “He’s real proud of his dad.”
Larry Allen played for the Dallas Cowboys and blocked for teammates Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irving, Allen said “when I got drafted (by Dallas), they’d just won a Super Bowl,” Allen said. “When they threw me in, I just didn’t want to be the one to mess it up.”
Curly Culp a defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs also played in Super Bowl IV and won. Dave Robinson started his career with the Green Bay Packers as an outside linebacker and was part of two Super Bowls for coach Vince Lombardi to then finish with the Washington Redskins. Packers CEO Mark Murphy said “He was such a vital part of those great defenses in the 1960s.”
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