Class of 2015: Former Raider Tim Brown, right, and ex-49er Charles Haley are headed to the Hall of Fame.
Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown and 49ers defensive end Charles Haley, two NFL stars who spent most of their careers in the Bay Area, now have something else in common: They are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015.
After prolonged waits, Brown and Haley were elected Saturday as part of a class that includes running back Jerome Bettis, linebacker Junior Seau and guard Will Shields. Contributors Bill Polian and Ron Wolf and senior nominee Mick Tinglehoff will also be enshrined.
For Haley, the only player to earn five Super Bowl rings, the sixth time was a charm. A finalist for the sixth straight year, Haley broke through, thanks to a resume that includes two NFC Defensive Player of the Year awards, five Pro Bowl berths, two All-Pro honors and 100.5 sacks.
Haley played 106 of his 169 career games with the 49ers, with whom he won his first two Super Bowls. Following his mid-career trade to the Cowboys, he won three more in a four-year span with Dallas, collecting 33 sacks during that stretch.
In 1992, his first year with Dallas, the Cowboys led the NFL in total defense after ranking 17th the season before his arrival.
“Charles Haley was one of the biggest impact players on the 49ers’ defense,” Joe Montana said. “He was not only a big reason for the 49ers’ success on defense, but the team’s success also. Just ask the Cowboys what he meant to their defense when he arrived.”
Haley’s brilliant play on the field, however, was often marked by abrasive off-thefield behavior. And a string of incidents during his career could explain his delayed entry into the hall. Haley was diagnosed with bipolar disorder several years after his career ended in 1999.
The 49ers traded him in 1992 after he got into two off-the-field fistfights with nose guard Jim Burt, exposed himself to a female sportswriter in the locker room, urinated on a teammate’s car and took a swing at head coach George Seifert.
In 2010, Haley acknowledged he alienated a string of teammates and coaches with his behavior: “I left a road of destruction when I played,” he said to the Dallas Morning News.
Brown, also a finalist for the sixth straight year, had 1,094 receptions for 14,934 receiving yards and 100 touchdown catches during a 17-year career in which the first 16 were spent with the Raiders. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection, Brown ranks fifth all-time in receptions, sixth in receiving yards and is tied for seventh all-time in receiving touchdowns.
He also was a standout kick returner and ranks fifth in NFL history with 19,679 all-purpose yards. As a rookie in 1988, he led the league in kickoff returns, return yards and average yards per return, and he was an AllPro pick as a kick returner.
Brown had called the process of waiting to enter the Hall of Fame “gut-wrenching,” especially since he won’t be able to share it with certain people. His father, former teammate Chester McGlockton and Raiders owner Al Davis have all died since Brown first became eligible in 2010.