FAQ about the Hall's selection process
Charged with the vital task of continuing to be sure that new enshrinees are the finest the game has produced is the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 44-person Board of Selectors (see list below).
The Board consists of one media representative from each pro football city with two from New York, inasmuch as that city has two teams in the National Football League. A 33rd member is a representative of the Pro Football Writers of America and there are 11 at-large delegates.
With the exception of the PFWA representative who is appointed for a two-year term, all appointments are of the open-end variety and can be terminated only by retirement or resignation, as long as the member continues to attend meetings regularly.
The Board of Selectors meets annually at the time of the Super Bowl to elect new members. There is no set number for any class of enshrinees but, the Board's current ground rules do stipulate that between four and seven new members will be selected each year. The 1973 and 1976 classes of three were the smallest ever named.
Every candidate is carefully scrutinized and must receive at least 80 percent approval of the Board at the annual meeting before he can be elected. A scale of negative votes for elimination that will vary depending on the number of Selectors in attendance is used.
When the Selectors meet in Arizona next February to name the Class of 2008, they will have before them a roster of 17 final candidates, along with detailed biographies on each. To assure that older players will be considered along with the younger breed, the Seniors Committee - made up of nine veteran members of the overall Selection Committee - have named two nominees from the pre-1983 era to be included on the final list.
The other finalists will be the survivors from a preliminary list of candidates that the Board will have screened by mail ballot. That original list will have been in part provided by the fans themselves.
A slight modification to the bylaws in August 2006 resulted in an increase to 17 finalists based on 15 modern-era candidates and two senior nominees being named. In the past, the finalists numbered 15 that included 13 modern-era candidates and the two senior nominees.
Any fan may nominate any qualified person who has been connected with pro football in any capacity simply by writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The only restriction is that a player and coach must have last played or coached at least five seasons before he can be considered. For example, a candidate for the 2008 class must have concluded his career not later than the 2002 season.
There is no mandatory retirement period for a contributor. Every nomination received will be processed and forwarded to the Board of Selectors.
It is important to emphasize that the Hall of Fame itself has no say whatsoever as to who is or is not elected to membership. The only function of the staff is to process the nominations as they arrive and to coordinate the annual meeting.
Arizona |
Kent Somers, Arizona Republic |
Atlanta |
Len Pasquarelli, ESPN.com |
Baltimore |
Scott Garceau, WMAR-TV |
Buffalo |
Mark Gaughan, Buffalo News |
Carolina |
Charles Chandler, Charlotte Observer |
Chicago |
Don Pierson, Chicago Tribune* |
Cincinnati |
Chick Ludwig, Dayton Daily News |
Cleveland |
Tony Grossi, Cleveland Plain Dealer |
Dallas |
Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News* |
Denver |
Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News |
Detroit |
Mike O'Hara, The Detroit News |
Green Bay |
Cliff Christl, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
Houston |
John McClain, Houston Chronicle* |
Indianapolis |
Mike Chappell, Indianapolis Star |
Jacksonville |
Sam Kouvaris, WJXT-TV |
Kansas City |
Bob Gretz, KCFX Overland Park, KS |
Miami |
Edwin Pope, Miami Herald* |
Minnesota |
Sid Hartman, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune |
New England |
Ron Borges, Boston Globe |
New Orleans |
Pete Finney, Times-Picayune |
New York (Giants) |
Vinny DiTrani, Bergen Record |
New York (Jets) |
Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated |
Oakland |
Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange |
Philadelphia |
Paul Domowitch, Philadelphia Daily News |
Pittsburgh |
Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
St. Louis |
Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch |
San Diego |
Jerry Magee, San Diego Union Tribune* |
San Francisco |
Ira Miller, The Sports Xchange* |
Seattle |
John Clayton, ESPN/ESPN Magazine |
Tampa Bay |
Ira Kaufman, Tampa Tribune |
Tennessee |
David Climer, The Tennessean |
Washington |
David Elfin, Washington Times |
PFWA |
Charean Williams, Ft. Worth Star Telegram |
At Large |
Howard Balzer, The Sports Xchange |
At Large |
Jarrett Bell, USA Today |
At Large |
Dave Goldberg, Associated Press* |
At Large |
Peter King, Sports Illustrated |
At Large |
Bob Oates, Los Angeles Times |
At Large |
Len Shapiro, Miami Herald* |
At Large |
Jim Trotter, San Diego Union-Tribune |
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Four at-large selectors are still to be named.
* Also serves on the Senior Selection Committee. There is one selector still to be determined who will serve on the Senior Selection Committee.
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