Gary Zimmerman just entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 2008.
The class of 2009 has seven former Broncos among the 133 players, coaches and contributers who make up the preliminary list of nominees for election to the Hall of Fame’s newest class.
Former Denver Broncos S Steve Atwater (1989-98), RB Terrell Davis (1995-2002), LB Tom Jackson (1973-86), LB Karl Mecklenburg (1983-94), Head Coach Dan Reeves (1981-92), TE Shannon Sharpe (1990-99, 2002-03) and CB Louis Wright (1975-86) are the Broncos who made the preliminary list of modern-era nominees.
Sharpe is one of 11 first-year eligible nominees for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, meaning this is the first year he met all of the requirements for induction — meaning he’s been retired at least five years.
From this preliminary list of nominees, Hall of Fame selectors will choose 25 candidates who will advance as semifinalist nominees. The list of 25 semifinalists will be announced later next month.
The semifinalists list will be reduced by a mail ballot to 15 finalists.
The final list of nominees that will be considered for election will consist of the 15 modern-era finalists and the two previously announced senior nominees, Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey. Hayes and Humphrey were selected this past August by the Hall of Fame’s Senior Selection Committee.
The Class of 2009 will be selected from the list of 17 finalists (15 modern-era and two senior nominees). The actual voting will be conducted at the Hall of Fame Selection Committee’s annual meeting, which will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in Tampa, Florida the day before Super Bowl XLIII. The election results will be announced immediately after the meeting at a press conference in the media headquarters. While there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the ground rules provide that between four and seven new members will be selected.
There are four players in the Hall of Fame who have played for the Broncos at one point in their careers. John Elway and Zimmerman are two. Tony Dorsett finished his career with the Broncos, and Willie Brown began his career in Denver, rounding out the four inductees.
Stay tuned as the list is whittled down — and DenverBroncos.com will certainly keep you up to date.
-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Dan Reeves, Gary Zimmerman, Gray Caldwell, Hall of Fame, Karl Mecklenburg, Louis Wright, Shannon Sharpe, Steve Atwater, Terrell Davis, Tom Jackson
Sharpe should get in right here. 1st ballot deffinently. Broncos HOF #3. maybe Davis and Jackson can finally get in now too.
shannon!!!!!! and terrel
Davis. Sharpe. Should get in.
are you kidding me how about one the greatest saftey’s ever Steve Atwater
I hate to get hopes up with them being inducted as Broncos because Canton hates Denver for some reason. But it’s hard to ignore Sharpe so I really think he gets in. TD really deserves it so much but I still don’t see Canton letting him in because of how few years he played. They hate letting someone in for a few good years of play by NFL standards that is, no matter how good they were for those years. He should but I’m not holding my breath. Atwater is another story, I really think he has a shot this year too, but back to the same story with Canton……..
NOT HOLDING MY BREATH!
Boy does this list of nominees bring back some wonderful Broncos memories. I can only imagine what Shannon’s acceptance speech would be like. Best of luck to all the guys!
Come on Canton, let Steve Atwater in!!!! That dude was the best their was
I agree……….I would love to see Atwater get in……….one of the all-time great Denver Broncos!
Hey there mister, 2champ4pickSIX, you’re beginning to get a little too good at beating me at posting comments… you better watch it!!
However, I do agree with you BIG time that for some unexplainable excuse Canton has some grudge against us. Its amazing how many great Broncos their missing out on. Next year needs to be one of those years that is all about players from one team.
Atwater, Davis (Mr. TouchDown himself), Sharpe should without a shadow of a doubt inducted but as we all know they’ve held back on Davis and Atwater and I’ll never understand that. And again I got to agree with my little friend up there (2champ4pickSIX) that we shouldn’t hold our breath on this one. I want them to be inducted as much as any true Bronco fan but Canton, Ohio and the little stinkers that decide who the inductees are just don’t like many players that come out of the Mile High City.
Hopefully, that will all change next year because these 3 guys deserve it so much and I’d have to say Tom Jackson and Louis Wright also deserve to be in there too.
Shannon, Terrell, and Atwater all belong, especially Atwater. He was the hardest hitting safety of his generation and was voted to the Pro Bowl numerous times. What else does a guy have to do?
Everyone of these guys deserves to be on the list, but what about Randy Gradishar? He was on the ballot last year, and I believe the year before, if not more. Why was he suddenly left off? He deserves it just as much as all of the others.
His 20 years on the HOF list expired last year. Now he can only be selected by the Veterans Committee.
I think that it a real shame that Louis Wright isn’t in already. Member of the ’70s All-Decade team and he didn’t even make the semifinals list even (if I remember right), while the 3 other CBs in that All-Decade team are already in. Am I the only one who finds this puzzling?????
there are two great all time safeties Ronnie Lott and Bing my personal favorite Steve Atwater.hopefully he can get in this year,TD was one of my favorite players as well but sadly they aren’t going to let him in even if his stats are better then Gale Sayers and he was a league MVP and Super bowl MVP and a 2,000 yard season.anyways It makes me mad that the only player on the broncos that anyone gives credit to is Elway.
Atwater was a great Defensive captain and an 8 time pro bowler he was in 3 super bowls and won 2 I think he deserves to get in
Randy is not on the HOF list because he is no longer elegible. You are elegible for only a specific nimber of years, 25 I think, and then the only way you can get in the HOF is the HOF Senior Selection Committee and that’s a one time shot. If you want a perfect example of how prejudiced the HOF is against the Broncos, consider this fact; there are only 6 players who’ve ever been named to two different teams of the decade. Five of them were elected to the HOF on the first or second year of elegibility. Zman was eleceted on his sixth, but Troy Aikman’s twice convicted duggie buddy, Michael Irvin, was elected to the HOF before Zman.
Which Broncos will get in this year? Definitely Shannon, possibly Dan Reeves, who should have been nominated years ago, remote possibility of Steve Atwater. Especially if his hit on the “Nigerian Nightmare” is played over and over by the HOF selection Committee. Tom Jackson may have a shot at it because of how well know he is because of his TV career, even though he was not the player Randy was. Anybody else , forget it.
Shannon get’s in first ballot! I would love to see Atwater and Davis get in. Who am I kid’n I would love to see Karl Mecklenburg get in,but that will not happen. I do not think davis will get in because of the success that the Broncs have had running the ball sine TD has played. Unfortunately, that is going to hurt his chances. The question seems to be, was it the player or the system?
good list atwater wright sharp davis thats awesome home they all make it in
All I can say is that Terrell Davis is the most deserving player for the Hall of Fame. Not only did he have great stats, he was the missing piece for the Broncos and John Elway. Without him, I don’t know if they would have won those Super Bowls. He had to be one of the most dominant running backs ever and if he doesn’t get in at some point, there is something seriously wrong with the selection process. By the way, it was his birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday TD.
about time some of the bronco nation players are on this list. i want to see everyone of them get in.
Steve Atwater, Shannon Sharpe, Louis Wright, and Terrell Davis all deserve to be in there. I’d love to see Mecklenburg, Dennis Smith, and Ed McAffery in there too…
Sharpe and Davis are no-brainers…..
Really liked what dimondgirl said. “Ed McAffery”
I would love to see that guy get into Canton someday
Sharpe’s a lockdown for the hall. TD deserves it just as much, but only Broncos fans seem to know that. You can’t ignore what Terrell did for this team. Atwater should have gotten in last year damn it!
Shame about Randy not being elegible anymore.