Which NFL Players Were Hall Of Famers In 1995?

Almost 12 1/2 years ago, in the September 4, 1995 issue, Sports Illustrated asked 33 of the 34 voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame to consider which active players they would vote for at the time. The results were broken down into six categories: Shoo-ins, On the Bubble, Long Shots, Longer Shots, Back of the Pack, and Coaches. I found the magazine while cleaning several months ago, misplaced it before doing a whole lot, then found it again last week and decided to see what had happened to the various players named by the experts.

(If you can get your hands on a copy of this magazine, check out the article on the rise of 300-pounders in the NFL. There is a seriously remarkable picture of Nate Newton. It may take all my computer knowledge, but I will figure out how to get it online and post it here. It needs to happen. Also, the cover photo of Dan Marino is nothing short of terrifying.)

Shoo-ins
Dan Marino (33 of 33): inducted in 2005

Jerry Rice (33 of 33): eligible in 2010 - And this was before Rice put together the best season of his career in 1995 (122 catches, 1,848 yards, 15 touchdowns) and led the league with 108 catches in 1996. I might as well just type, "inducted in 2010" after his name.

Ronnie Lott (32 of 33): inducted in 2000

John Elway (32 of 33): inducted in 2004 - The three seasons immediately following this informal vote, 1995-97, Elway recorded the three highest touchdown totals of his career. Throw in a couple of Super Bowl wins and I'm guessing that lone voter changed his tune at some point.

Reggie White (32 of 33): inducted in 2006

Barry Sanders (31 of 33, one maybe): inducted in 2004 - In September 1995, Barry Sanders had 8,672 career rushing yards under his belt, six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, and was coming off a season in which he had run for what was then the fourth-highest total in NFL history (it still ranks seventh overall)...yet two people wouldn't have voted him into the Hall of Fame at the time. That's silliness. Good thing he added 1,500+ in each of the next three seasons, including 2,053 in 1997.

Bruce Smith (31 of 33): eligible in 2009 - On the one hand, Smith is the only player in football history with 200 career sacks (well, the only player since sacks became an official statistic). On the other hand, only five of the top 100 are in the Hall of Fame. Take from that what you will.

On the Bubble
Emmitt Smith (27 of 33, two maybes): eligible in 2010 - Emmitt was still fairly young in 1995; he only had five full seasons under his belt (although that includes three consecutive rushing titles). Like Jerry Rice, he turned in one of his best seasons in 1995 (1,773 yards and a then-record 25 touchdowns). His string of 1,000-yard seasons eventually ran to eleven (1991-2001) and he retired as the NFL's all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Between Emmitt and Jerry Rice, that 2010 ceremony is gonna be good.

Marcus Allen (25 of 33, three maybes): inducted in 2003
Rod Woodson (24 of 33, one maybe): eligible in 2009
Jackie Slater (18 of 33, seven maybes): inducted in 2001

Darrell Green (20 of 33, four maybes): inducted in 2008 - You know what amazes me the most about the career of the Fastest Man in the NFL? He had exactly one sack, in 1988. That's the sort of thing I could write 500 words on, if the mood is right.

Steve Young (21 of 33, one maybe): inducted in 2005 - Young entered 1995 with 3 1/2 remarkable seasons in a row under his belt, which was enough to get him those 21 votes. A Joe Montana and Bill Walsh-less Super Bowl victory in 1995 and four more years of excellence earned him first ballot induction.

Thurman Thomas (21 of 33): inducted in 2007 - Clearly on the downside of his career at the time of this poll, although he managed to grind out two more 1,000-yard seasons (bringing his streak to eight consecutive seasons) before fading into a part-time roll for his last four years. I'm guessing his poor showing here was a result of three things: one, the voters still weren't sure how the Bills would measure up historically; two, they didn't know exactly how much credit history would give him for the success the team did enjoy; and three, there were probably some people who had yet to forget that Thomas once missed the beginning of a Super Bowl because he misplaced his helmet.

Bruce Matthews (19 of 33, three maybes): inducted in 2007 - The highest ranking offensive lineman on the list (Slater had one less "yes" vote, but seven more "maybes", which says a lot about the way the position is judged, even by the so-called experts. Here are two interesting things, though: Matthews played in seven Pro Bowls before 1995 and seven after, and he holds the record for most games started in NFL history, with 292 (Brett Favre and Junior Seau are the active leaders, with 237).

Long Shots
Jim Kelly (15 of 33, six maybes): inducted in 2002 - Apparently Kelly did enough in his final two seasons to go from a longshot with less than 50% of the vote to a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Guess the voters decided where to allocate credit for those four Super Bowl appearances, and they did it in 2002.

Morten Andersen (17 of 33, one maybe): active in 2007 - Get this: Andersen is just over six months younger than Jim Kelly. Kelly retired in 1996; Andersen is one of two players in this poll that are still active. Granted, one was a quarterback, the other a kicker, but still - pretty amazing. Anyway...Jan Stenerud is the only kicker in the Hall thus far, so it's obviously pretty tough to get in the door if you play that position. Given Andersen's longevity, however, you'd have to think he has a decent shot when his time comes. (I just had a premonition of my son writing his Washington Post column - is it too much pressure for a seven-month-old kid to assume he'll hold a columnist position at a major newspaper someday? Should he master crawling and drinking out of a sippy cup first? - about Andersen's eventual retirement at the age of 85. It could happen)

Troy Aikman (13 of 33, three maybes): inducted in 2006 - Won a Super Bowl in 1995, his third in four years. Amazingly, he had more than twenty touchdowns in a season ONCE in his entire twelve-year career. That just seems like a shockingly low number. Granted, he had Emmitt Smith and his rushing touchdowns record on the team, but still...

Warren Moon (10 of 33, four maybes): inducted in 2006 - Had two good post-1995 seasons before slipping into a decline and staying around too long. If I had to guess, I'd say he was voted into the Hall because someone made a sensible plea to consider his CFL numbers as well.

Clay Matthews (10 of 33, two maybes)
Charles Haley (9 of 33, four maybes)

Herschel Walker (9 of 33, four maybes) - Until a couple of months ago, I thought Herschel Walker WAS in the Hall of Fame. Looking at the numbers, though, it's no surprise that he missed out: unbelievable college career that yielded only one truly great professional season and a bunch of solid ones (although he was also a very good kick returner, which boosted his all-purpose yardage totals).

Michael Irvin (9 of 33, two maybes): inducted in 2007
Kevin Greene (8 of 33, two maybes)
Nick Lowery (7 of 33, three maybes)

Longer Shots
Leslie O'Neal (7 of 33, two maybes)

Junior Seau (6 of 33, three maybes): active in 2007 - One of only two active players on this list, Seau had completed five excellent seasons going into 1995. He has since played twelve more, going to eight Pro Bowls and playing in two Super Bowls.

Derrick Thomas (5 of 33, eight maybes) - Probably could be in the Hall of Fame - Joe Posnanski was beside himself when Thomas was denied in the most recent election - but isn't, for whatever reasons. Unlike Steve Young and Troy Aikman, who I might argue were viewed more favorably for giving up the twilight years of their careers due to injury, Thomas seems to have been downgraded because of his shortened career. Posnanski, I think it was, suggested that personal issues that came to light after his death could be a contributing factor; I wonder if it's something less sinister, like good old-fashioned bias against defensive players.

Andre Reed (5 of 33, five maybes) - Funny that the Bills and Cowboys each had a star quarterback, running back and wide receiver on their teams in the early 1990s. When Emmitt Smith gets elected in 2010, all three Dallas players will be in; for Buffalo, Reed and his top ten totals in receptions and receiving yards remains on the outside looking in.

Andre Rison (5 of 33, three maybes)
Chris Spielman (5 of 33, two maybes)
Jim Lachey (5 of 33, one maybe)
Randall McDaniel (4 of 33, three maybes)
Carl Banks (4 of 33, two maybes)

Back of the Pack
Dermontti Dawson (3 of 33)
Pat Swilling (3 of 33)
Rickey Jackson (3 of 33)

Deion Sanders (2 of 33): eligible in 2011 - Five straight All-Pro selections from 1995-99, reputation as a tremendous cover corner, excellent versatility = things that help his case. Refusal to hit anyone, "Neon Deion", unwillingness to devote himself entirely to football = things that might hurt.

Gary Anderson (2 of 33): eligible in 2010 - Let's get this straight: in 2010, one of the greatest running backs, wide receivers, and kickers in history could all be inducted into the Hall of Fame. That's pretty impressive. I also like the idea of having three kickers in Canton, with two of them named Anders(o/e)n.

Greg Lloyd (1 of 33)
Steve Tasker (1 of 33)
Ray Childress (1 of 33)

Coaches
Don Shula (33 of 33): inducted in 1997 - Like there was ever any doubt.

Marv Levy (14 of 33, seven maybes)

George Seifert (16 of 33) - That three year stint in Carolina? Yeah, didn't really help the ol' reputation. Actually, if memory serves, it made Seifert the answer to a trivia question: who is the only coach to go 14-2 in his first year as a head coach and 1-15 in his final season?

Bill Parcells (10 of 33, two maybes)
Dan Reeves (8 of 33, four maybes)