The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nobis and Reeves finalists for Canton Centennial Class
FLOWERY BRANCH — Former Falcons linebacker Tommy Nobis was named as a finalist for the Special Centennial Class for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday.
The blue-ribbon panel trimmed the list to 20 seniors, 10 contributors and eight coaches.
Nobis died in December 2017. In March 2018, NFL.com named Nobis as the top Falcon not in the Hall of Fame.
Other Falcons have been hurt in the voting process by the team’s lack of success in the team’s early years.
It took the Falcons six years to post a winning season, 13 years to make the playoffs and 15 years to win a division title. The team went to its first Super Bowl after the 1998 season and returned after the 2016 season.
Nobis was the first overall pick of the 1966 draft and set an NFL record with his 294 tackles. He was named the NFL defensive rookie of the year.
Nobis played 11 years and went to five Pro Bowls. He was an all-decade selection in the 1960s, joining fellow middle backers Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke, both of whom were first-ballot Hall of Famers.
The latest list of finalists will be debated in a meeting in early January and voted on by a panel to elect the 15-member “Centennial Slate” to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Those new enshrinees will be revealed in the days following the vote.
From the finalists who are listed at right, 10 seniors, three contributors and two coaches will be elected to the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020.