HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015 ROLL CALL
Jerome Bettis Tim Brown Charles Haley Bill Polian Junior Seau Will Shields Mick Tingelhoff Ron Wolf
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will enshrine its newest members Saturday in Canton, Ohio. A look at the eight men in the Class of 2015:
RB JEROME BETTIS
Played: 1993-95, Los Angeles/ St. Louis Rams; 1996-2005, Pittsburgh Steelers
Hardware: 1993 offensive rookie of the year, 1996 comeback player of the year, 2001 Walter Payton man of the year, two-time all-pro, six-time Pro Bowler
Career stats: 13,662 rushing yards (sixth all time); 91 rushing TDs (10th all time)
Hall call: Widely known by his nickname, “The Bus,” Bettis was one of the most bruising and durable runners in the NFL from the moment the Rams selected him with the 10th pick of the 1993 draft out of Notre Dame. Traded to the Steelers in 1996, he immediately settled into the team’s and Pittsburgh’s blue-collar persona. With 10,571 rushing yards, he trails only fellow Hall of Famer Franco Harris on the franchise leaderboard. Bettis’ final NFL game — Super Bowl XL, held in his hometown of Detroit — provided him with a long-awaited championship ring.
WR TIM BROWN
Played: 1988-2003, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders; 2004, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hardware: Nine-time Pro
Bowler
Career stats: 1,094 receptions (fifth all time); 14,934 receiving yards (sixth all time); 100 TD receptions (seventh all time); 19,682 all-purpose yards (fifth all time)
Hall call: The sixth pick of the 1988 draft, the former Notre Dame star was one of the rare Heisman Trophy winners who graduated to a sterling pro career. Brown holds most of the Raiders’ significant career receiving records, far outstripping Fred Biletnikoff, also a Hall of Famer. Brown was also an accomplished return man, leading the NFL in kickoff and punt-return yards at various points in his career. However, Brown only enjoyed six playoff wins during his 17-year career, and his lone Super Bowl appearance ended with a blowout defeat to the Buccaneers after the 2002 season.
OLB-DE CHARLES HALEY
Played: 1986-91 and 1998-99, San Francisco 49ers; 1992-96, Dallas Cowboys
Hardware: Two-time all-pro, five-time Pro Bowler
Career stats: 100½ sacks (29th all time), two interceptions
Hall call: In a word: winner. Haley won an unmatched five Super Bowl rings during an eightyear span (1988-95) split between the Niners and Cowboys. He collected 4 ½ Super Bowl sacks, twice bagging the Cincinnati Bengals’ Boomer Esiason in San Francisco’s 20-16 Super Bowl XXIII victory after the 1988 season. Haley helped popularize the notion of the edge rusher who was comfortable playing with his hand in the dirt at defensive end or standing up as an outside linebacker. He resumed his career in 1998 after a major back injury.
BILL POLIAN, CONTRIBUTOR
Career: 1978-82, Kansas City Chiefs (scout); 1984-92, Buffalo Bills (pro personnel director, general manager); 1993-94, NFL (vice president of football development); 1995-97, Carolina Panthers (GM); 1998-2011, Indianapolis Colts, (GM, president)
Hall call: Polian spent 32 seasons in various capacities around the NFL, but building a franchise from the ground up was his calling card. He was the mastermind of the 1990s Bills, the only team to reach four consecutive Super Bowls. He later built the expansion Panthers, who played in the NFC Championship Game in their second season. Led by Peyton Manning, Polian’s first draft pick in Indianapolis, the Colts appeared in two Super Bowls and won one under Polian while setting the record for most wins in a decade. The Colts also reached the playoffs 11 times in one 12year stretch.
LB JUNIOR SEAU
Played: 1990-2002, San Diego Chargers; 2003-05, Miami Dolphins; 2006-09, New England Patriots
Hardware: NFL All-Decade team for the 1990s, 1994 Walter Payton man of the year, six-time all-pro, 12-time Pro Bowler
Career stats: 56½ sacks, 18
interceptions
Hall call: One of the best inside linebackers in league history, Seau played one of the most physical positions in the game brilliantly for most of his 20-year career. The fifth pick of the 1990 draft out of Southern California, he was a Pro Bowler in 12 of his 13 seasons in San Diego and the face of a team that made a surprise run to Super Bowl XXIX after the 1994 season. Seau also reached Super Bowl XLII with the Patriots, but the championship ring he sought ultimately remained elusive. He recorded 10-plus tackles in a game 64 times. Seau died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound May 2, 2012, at 43. He was later diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), becoming the highest-profile example and shining a light on the dangerous aftereffects of concussions.
G WILL SHIELDS
Played: 1993-2006, Kansas
City Chiefs
Hardware: NFL All-Decade team for the 2000s, 2003 Walter Payton man of the year, two-time all-pro, 12-time Pro Bowler
Hall call: He provided durability and excellence at one of the NFL’s least-heralded positions. A third-round pick from Nebraska, Shields didn’t miss a single game in his career and started his final 223 appearances after failing to crack the first-team lineup for his rookie debut. He was a linchpin for six playoff squads in Kansas City and a major reason for the success of runners such as Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson. Shields was selected to the Pro Bowl in 12 consecutive seasons.
C MICK TINGELHOFF
Played: 1962-78, Minnesota
Vikings
Hardware: Five-time all-pro, six-time Pro Bowler
Hall call: A veterans committee selection, Tingelhoff manned the middle for the Vikings, who reached four Super Bowls in eight seasons from 1969 to 1976. Undrafted out of Nebraska, Tingelhoff helped protect Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton and blocked effectively for backs such as Dave Osborn and Chuck Foreman. Tingelhoff is the sixth member of the “Purple People Eaters”-era Vikings to reach Canton. He never missed a game, appearing in 240, or practice in his 17-year career.
RON WOLF, CONTRIBUTOR
Career: 1963-74 and 1979-89, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (scout, player personnel director); 1966, American Football League (coordinator of talent); 1976-78, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (general manager); 1990-91, New York Jets (personnel director); 1991-2001, Green Bay Packers (vice president/GM)
Hall call: Wolf gained a reputation as one of the NFL’s best talent evaluators, and the results were generally reflected in the win column. In his numerous capacities with the Raiders, he helped the franchise win nine division crowns, appear in eight championship games and reach three Super Bowls (winning two titles). He helped launch the Buccaneers in 1976 and laid a foundation for a team that reached the NFC title game in 1979. Wolf has also been credited with saving football in Green Bay. His master stroke was acquiring Brett Favre from the Atlanta Falcons after the 1991 season. Favre would go on to win three MVP awards under Wolf and lead the Packers to Super Bowls after the 1996 and 1997 seasons.