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Tag: Pro Football Hall of Fame

  • President Trump pardons 5 former NFL players for crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking

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    President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned five former professional football players — one posthumously — for various crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.The pardons were announced by White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson. Ex-NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and the late Billy Cannon were granted clemency.“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,” Johnson wrote on the social media site X, as she thanked Trump for his “continued commitment to second chances.”Johnson said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones “personally” shared the news with Newton, who won three Super Bowls with the team.The White House did not return a request for comment Thursday night on why Trump, an avid sports fan, pardoned the players.Klecko, a former star for the New York Jets, pleaded guilty to perjury after lying to a federal grand jury that was investigating insurance fraud. A defensive lineman, Klecko was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023. He was a two-time Associated Press All-Pro player and a four-time Pro Bowler.Newton, an offensive lineman, pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge after authorities discovered $10,000 in his pickup truck as well as 175 pounds of marijuana in an accompanying car driven by another man. Newton was a two-time All-Pro player and six-time Pro Bowler.Lewis, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, pleaded guilty in a drug case in which he used a cellphone to try to set up a drug deal not long after he was a top pick in the 2000 NFL draft. Lewis, a running back, was named an All-Pro once and was a one-time Pro Bowler. He was named the 2003 AP Offensive Player of the Year.Henry, who played for the Denver Broncos, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine for financing a drug ring that moved the drug between Colorado and Montana. He was a running back for three teams and a one-time Pro Bowler.And Cannon — who played with the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs — admitted to counterfeiting in the mid-1980s after a series of bad investments and debts left him broke.Cannon was a two-time All-Pro player and a two-time Pro Bowler. Cannon also won the 1959 Heisman Trophy while starring for Louisiana State University, where he had one of the most memorable plays in college football history: an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown against Ole Miss. He died in 2018.

    WASHINGTON —

    President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned five former professional football players — one posthumously — for various crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.

    The pardons were announced by White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson. Ex-NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and the late Billy Cannon were granted clemency.

    “As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,” Johnson wrote on the social media site X, as she thanked Trump for his “continued commitment to second chances.”

    Johnson said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones “personally” shared the news with Newton, who won three Super Bowls with the team.

    The White House did not return a request for comment Thursday night on why Trump, an avid sports fan, pardoned the players.

    Klecko, a former star for the New York Jets, pleaded guilty to perjury after lying to a federal grand jury that was investigating insurance fraud. A defensive lineman, Klecko was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023. He was a two-time Associated Press All-Pro player and a four-time Pro Bowler.

    Newton, an offensive lineman, pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge after authorities discovered $10,000 in his pickup truck as well as 175 pounds of marijuana in an accompanying car driven by another man. Newton was a two-time All-Pro player and six-time Pro Bowler.

    Lewis, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, pleaded guilty in a drug case in which he used a cellphone to try to set up a drug deal not long after he was a top pick in the 2000 NFL draft. Lewis, a running back, was named an All-Pro once and was a one-time Pro Bowler. He was named the 2003 AP Offensive Player of the Year.

    Henry, who played for the Denver Broncos, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine for financing a drug ring that moved the drug between Colorado and Montana. He was a running back for three teams and a one-time Pro Bowler.

    And Cannon — who played with the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs — admitted to counterfeiting in the mid-1980s after a series of bad investments and debts left him broke.

    Cannon was a two-time All-Pro player and a two-time Pro Bowler. Cannon also won the 1959 Heisman Trophy while starring for Louisiana State University, where he had one of the most memorable plays in college football history: an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown against Ole Miss. He died in 2018.

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  • An Eagles Hall of Fame Arm that Might Have Been. If Only They Had Kept Him. – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    •••

    Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons.

    Last week — the Eagles lost a championship quarterback with the passing of HOF Quarterback Sonny Jurgensen at the age of ninety-one. Jurgensen’s command of the field coupled with an amazing arm made him a force on the field. 

    It’s sometimes difficult to remember that 2018 wasn’t the only season when the Eagles had two quarterbacks on the roster capable of winning a championship. When Nick Foles became the first ever quarterback to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia — everyone wondered what would happen to Carson Wentz. Fifty-seven years earlier — the Eagles won another championship with Norm Van Brocklin — “The Dutchman” under center.

    On the Eagles sideline — was Sonny Jurgensen.

    Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons.

    Jurgensen was drafted by the Eagles in 1957. When Van Brocklin retired after winning the Championship in 1960 — Jurgensen became the starter. After a season as an NFL passing leader and record setter with 3,723 yards in 1961 — on April 1st, 1964 — the Eagles traded him to the Washington Redskins in return for Norm Snead and defensive back Claude Crabb.

    Sonny Jurgensen would play ten more years for Washington until 1974 including a short stint with Coach Vince Lombardi. Jurgensen is considered by many as being the best pure passer of all-time. His last game was a playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. Neither Claude Crabb nor Norm Snead could stop the Eagles from falling into the cellar. They would not be relevant again until the mid-1970s when Dick Vermeil took the job as Head Coach.

    For Jurgensen — who gave up giving post-game interviews because he once when he returned all of the beer was gone — will always be remembered from the Eagles team who drafted him and the 1960 Championship Team that he will always be a part of.

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    Michael Thomas Leibrandt

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  • Remembering Sonny Jurgensen, ‘the greatest quarterback in our history’ – WTOP News

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    Washingtonians are remembering the life and legacy of legendary quarterback Sonny Jurgensen. The Hall-of-Famer died Friday at the age of 91.

    FILE – Washington quarterback Sonny Jurgensen looks to pass against the New York Giants during an NFL football game in 1974. (AP Photo/File)

    Washingtonians are remembering the life and legacy of legendary quarterback Sonny Jurgensen.

    The Hall-of-Famer died Friday at the age of 91.

    “I was shocked today when I heard the news,” said Frank Herzog, former WTOP broadcaster who shared broadcasting duties with Jurgensen and the late Sam Huff, calling radio play-by-play during Washington football games.

    “I expected Sonny to live to 100,” Herzog said. “He was tough. He was ornery. He could do it. I was sure of it. You see, I was a big fan.”

    During his 11 seasons with Washington’s football team, Jurgensen led the league in passing yards three times (1966, 1967, 1969), led in touchdown passes in 1967 and posted the NFL’s best completion percentage in 1970. He was also selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1960s.

    By the time he retired in 1974, Jurgensen had amassed 2,433 completions, 32,224 passing yards, 255 touchdown passes and five 3,000-yard seasons.

    “Sonny, Sam and Frank,” said legendary Washington cornerback Hall-of-Famer Darrell Green, referring to how the trio was identified during their broadcasts. “You’re not one of us until those guys crown you as one us.”

    “Sonny Jurgensen was always just a great gentleman,” Green said. “That’s what I’ll remember about Sonny Jurgensen. And, of course, the greatest quarterback in our history.”

    In a statement issued by the Commanders organization, the team said, “Sonny Jurgensen is, and always will be, one of the defining legends of Washington football. He was a giant of the game, and a beloved part of our team’s identity. Our hearts and prayers are with Sonny’s family, friends and everyone who loved him.”

    Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, Jurgensen chose to remain close to home for college, enrolling at Duke University. He earned first-team All-ACC honors twice and helped lead Duke to multiple conference championships and a victory in the 1955 Orange Bowl.

    “He’s going to be well-missed. We loved him. Everybody loved him,” Green said. “What the man did and who the man is, second to none.”

    Jurgensen retired at age 40, remaining active in the organization through broadcasting for 38 consecutive seasons.

    “I think Sonny did think he could still play if he could play out of the shotgun and if he didn’t have to use his knees,” Herzog joked. “He didn’t mind being in front of the public on television and as a player, but he kind of squirmed being with the public, because people so much adored him, they wouldn’t leave him alone. And it got very uncomfortable for him.”

    Jurgensen was traded to Washington by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1964 and made a quick impact in D.C. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and named second team all pro in his first season.

    “All I ask of my blockers is four seconds,” Jurgensen once said. “I try to stay on my feet and not be forced out of the pocket … I beat people by throwing, not running. I won’t let them intimidate me into doing something which is not the best thing I can do.”

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    Alan Etter

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  • Former Carolina Panther Luke Kuechly has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame

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    Former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly made All-Pro seven times in his eight-year career from 2012-19. He remains active with the team as one of its radio analysts.

    Former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly made All-Pro seven times in his eight-year career from 2012-19. He remains active with the team as one of its radio analysts.


    JEFF SINER

    jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

    Carolina Panthers legend Luke Kuechly earned the highest honor of his starry NFL career Thursday night, making the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026.

    The announcement came Thursday night at the NFL Honors show in San Francisco. Kuechly, elected on his second attempt, will be joined in the five-man class by quarterback Drew Brees, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, kicker Adam Vinatieri and running back Roger Craig. Kuechly becomes the first hall of famer to have played his entire career with the Panthers, where he was a linebacker from 2012-19.

    Kuechly’s career was cut short at age 28, due to injury complications. Now 34, he did so much in such a relatively short time on the field that he will become the second-youngest football player ever inducted into the hall of fame. Only former Chicago Bears running back Gale Sayers was younger.

    The Charlotte Observer spoke with Kuechly about the possibility of this honor earlier this week, and he was quick to credit his teammates and coaches.

    “It’s an individual accomplishment, yes,” Kuechly said of the idea of making the hall of fame. “But football is the ultimate team game. And I think it would just really highlight that group of guys from that period when we had a ton of success. That, to me, is the coolest part.”

    Kuechly went on to mention the people who drafted him No. 9 overall out of Boston College in 2012 — coach Ron Rivera, general manager Marty Hurney and team founder Jerry Richardson among them — as well as defensive coordinator Sean McDermott for building a defense that “really highlighted linebackers.”

    “I had so much fun playing for the Panthers,” said Kuechly, who now broadcasts Carolina games as an analyst on the team’s radio network. “I grew so much as a person…. I hope this will also highlight the team that gave me the opportunity to go do it.”

    Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly (right) points and yells out instructions to the defense as New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady prepares to call out a play in a 2015 preseason game.
    Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly (right) points and yells out instructions to the defense as New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady prepares to call out a play in a 2015 preseason game. Jeff Siner jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

    Dave Tepper, the Panthers’ current owner, was in the crowd at the event. Several of Kuechly’s former Carolina teammates also planned to celebrate with him later in the evening.

    While Kuechly will get a gold jacket signifying his induction, former N.C. State star Torry Holt was once again a finalist who didn’t make the cut. Holt, a wide receiver whose NFL statistics are comparable to several men already in the hall of fame, has been eligible for 12 years and a top-15 modern-era finalist seven times.

    Also notably missing in the Class of 2026 was Bill Belichick, the current UNC coach who was thought by many to be a sure first-ballot hall of famer due to his six Super Bowl wins as a head coach in New England. Instead, Belichick will have to wait at least another year after falling short in voting as previously reported by ESPN (coaches, along with other senior players and contributors, are voted on in a separate category). Quarterback Eli Manning also was a top-15 finalist who lost in the voting, which is conducted by a panel of 50 voters — most of them media members who have covered the NFL for many years.

    Kuechly’s honor came only a few minutes after Tetairoa McMillan was named the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year at the same NFL Honors award show.

    Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly during a 2019 practice, the last year he played for the Panthers.
    Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly during a 2019 practice, the last year he played for the Panthers. Jeff Siner jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

    In eight NFL seasons, Kuechly was named All-Pro seven times, AP Defensive Rookie of the Year once, AP Defensive Player of the Year once and won the league’s best sportsmanship award once. You could argue that he was the best inside linebacker in the NFL every single year he played. Even today, his pre-snap diagnoses of what the opposing quarterback was trying to do are cited around the NFL as the gold standard in preparation.

    Kuechly never won a Super Bowl — coming closest in 2015, when the Panthers made the big game but lost, 24-10, to Denver. In retirement, Kuechly has continued to live in Charlotte and each year helps former teammates Greg Olsen and Jonathan Stewart coach the Charlotte Christian middle-school football team.

    The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 will be inducted in early August in Canton, Ohio, which is where the hall is located.

    This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 10:14 PM.

    Scott Fowler

    The Charlotte Observer

    Columnist Scott Fowler has written for The Charlotte Observer since 1994. He has earned 24 national APSE sportswriting awards and hosted The Observer’s podcast “Carruth,” which Sports Illustrated once named “Podcast of the Year.” Fowler hosts the online series and podcast “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” which features 1-on-1 interviews with NC and SC sports icons. He also writes occasionally about non-sports subjects, such as the 5-part series “9/11/74,” which chronicled the plane crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 in Charlotte in 1974.
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    Scott Fowler

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  • Washington football legend Joe Jacoby moves to next round of Hall of Fame consideration – WTOP News

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    Joe Jacoby, former offensive tackle for Washington’s NFL franchise and three-time Super Bowl champion, advanced in consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

    Joe Jacoby, former offensive tackle for Washington’s NFL franchise and three-time Super Bowl champion, advanced in consideration for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class on Thursday.

    Jacoby was one of 52 in the seniors category and he made the cut to one of 34. In four weeks, that number will be cut down to nine semifinalists and then to 3 who will be considered for the Class of 2026.

    Washington signed Jacoby, 66, as an undrafted free agent after his college career at the University of Louisville in 1981. He went on to play in the league for 13 years, retiring after the 1993 season. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time first-team All-Pro.

    Jacoby spoke to D.C.-area sports and entertainment producer Joe Yasharoff and shared his reaction to moving onto to the next round. 

    “I’ve been down this road once before. It’s exciting, yes. I’m honored. The thing I’m honored about … I look how old I am. I started back in 1981. And I’m still getting people who still remember the name and what I did, and stuff Iike that.” he said.

    Jacoby has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame three times before but did not advance further. Although he is excited to be in the running again, he doesn’t want to get his hopes up just yet.

    “You would hope sooner or later because of my resume and stuff, they would give me a little bit bigger crack in that door to get in, but we’ll see what happens this time around,” Jacoby said.

    He wished good luck to former teammate running back Brian Mitchell and linebacker London Fletcher, who were also named among the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 128 Modern-era nominees for the Class of 2026.

    Jacoby got emotional as he shared what making it into the Hall of Fame would mean to him.

    “You look at where I came from — I do, and to see that now I’m included into that shrine, or whatever you want to call it. It’s kind of neat,” he said.

    Jacoby’s final message: Thanking the fans who helped him get to where he is today.

    “Just being the fans that they are, they’re the ones that help us get to where we are in those Super Bowls and stuff. I couldn’t have done what I did without them being behind us.”

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    Zsana Hoskins

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  • 2 Detroit Lions Icons Miss Out on Hall of Fame Advancement

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    The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced its list of 52 Modern-Era semifinalists, but two familiar Detroit Lions legends didn’t make the cut.

    Among the 76 players eliminated from the original 128 nominees were wide receiver Herman Moore and kicker Jason Hanson, two of the most consistent and beloved players in franchise history.

    Herman Moore’s Incredible Four-Year Peak

    Between 1994 and 1997, Herman Moore was one of the most dominant wide receivers in football. Over that four-year span, he hauled in 405 receptions for 5,448 yards and 42 touchdowns, numbers that put him among the elite of his era.

    During that stretch, Moore was named to four consecutive Pro Bowls and earned First-Team All-Pro honors three times. His 1995 campaign was especially remarkable, when he led the league with 123 receptions for 1,686 yards and 14 touchdowns, setting franchise records that still stand as some of the most impressive single-season marks in team history.

    Even after his playing days ended, Moore’s impact on the franchise has endured. He remains second all-time in Lions receiving yards and is remembered as one of the most precise route-runners and reliable targets in team history.

    Jason Hanson’s Longevity and Legacy

    Jason Hanson, meanwhile, defined consistency. Drafted by the Lions in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft, he went on to play 327 career games, the most in franchise history, and spent his entire 21-year career in Detroit.

    Hanson made 495 field goals on 601 attempts, converting at an impressive 82.4% rate, and scored more points than any other player in Lions history. His dependability earned him two Pro Bowl selections and the 1992 PFWA Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, a rare honor for a kicker.

    Through good seasons and bad, Hanson was the constant. His accuracy, clutch kicks, and quiet leadership made him one of the most respected specialists of his generation.

    The Bottom Line

    Neither Herman Moore nor Jason Hanson advanced to the semifinal round of Hall of Fame voting, but their place in Detroit Lions history is unquestioned.

    Both men represent what the franchise stands for, excellence, loyalty, and professionalism. Even if Canton never calls, their legacies in Honolulu Blue will always endure at Ford Field and beyond.

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    Don Drysdale

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  • As the countdown to Canton hits the home stretch, Broncos’ newest Hall of Famer soaks in “Randy Gradishar Day”

    As the countdown to Canton hits the home stretch, Broncos’ newest Hall of Famer soaks in “Randy Gradishar Day”

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    When a governor is serving as your hype man and a mayor is volunteering himself as your aide for the afternoon, you’re having a pretty good day.

    When the day itself is proclaimed in your honor, all the better.

    That was Friday on the west steps of the state capitol for Randy Gradishar.

    The Broncos legend and 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee soaked in a sunny May 3 afternoon that Gov. Jared Polis named Randy Gradishar Day after the linebacker who wore No. 53 in the middle of Denver’s defense for one of its most dominant decades.

    “Having this opportunity to come out and have Randy Gradishar Day with the governor and the mayor and just in Colorado people appreciating this, it’s just really humbling for me,” Gradishar said afterward. “Having the opportunity to be recognized this way and knowing that finally the Pro Football Hall of Fame is here is a real blessing.”

    Polis spoke while wearing one of the Broncos’ new uniforms with the No. 24 and “Polis” on the back and said the only reason he didn’t wear his signed Gradishar jersey is because he’d had it framed and hung in his office.

    He read the official proclamation, which included some of Gradishar’s career statistical highlights and nodded to many of Gradishar’s off-the-field pursuits, like decades of work with Colorado youth and military personnel.

    A sizable group of Broncos fans and onlookers gathered in front of the orange-and-blue arc of balloons set up for the event, which also included Broncos cheerleaders, the drum line and, of course, “Miles” the mascot in addition to friends and former teammates of Gradishar’s and team executives.

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    Parker Gabriel

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  • 49ers win big at NFL’s 2024 Honors Ceremony

    49ers win big at NFL’s 2024 Honors Ceremony

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    (FOX40.COM) — The NFL hosted its 13th annual award ceremony, known as NFL Honors, on Thursday, and some current and former members of the Super Bowl-contending San Francisco 49ers were able to come away with some hardware.

    49ers star All-Pro running back and Stanford alumni Christian McCaffrey, who compiled nearly 1,500 rush yards (1,459), over 2,000 yards from scrimmage (2,023), and over 20 touchdowns (21) during the 2023-2024 season, was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.
    •Video Above: 49ers fans in the Sacramento area celebrate the NFC title win

    Those stats are even more impressive when one considers that McCaffrey sat out the team’s final game of the season.

    McCaffrey beat out Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to win the award. He also beat out Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who would win Most Valuable Player later in the night for the second time in his young career.

    CMC becomes the first Niners player to win OPOY since Jerry Rice won it in 1993, and the fifth Niners player in the organization’s history to win the award, joining Rice, Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Roger Craig.

    But McCaffrey wasn’t the only Niners player to receive attention at the awards ceremony. Former linebacker Patrick Willis, who was drafted by the 49ers in 2007 and spent his entire career with the team, was announced as a 2024 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

    According to Pro Football Focus, a sports analytics company that “focuses on thorough analysis of the NFL,” Willis was the highest-graded linebacker in the company’s history.

    The rest of the 2024 Hall of Fame class is made up of defensive legends like Julius Peppers, Dwight Freeney, Steve McMichael, and Randy Gradishar, along with wide receivers Andre Johnson and Devin Hester.

    McCaffrey takes the field on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada for Super Bowl LVIII, where he’ll look to add a Lombardi trophy to his impressive resume.

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    Aydian Ahmad

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  • Hall of a Night: Broncos’ Randy Gradishar elected to Hall of Fame

    Hall of a Night: Broncos’ Randy Gradishar elected to Hall of Fame

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    DENVER — When Randy Gradishar was a teenager, he received a phone call that changed his life. It was from the office at Champion High School. Gradishar had a visitor, some guy named Woody Hayes.

    “I had no clue who that was,” Gradishar recalled last summer.

    It was not long before Hayes, the iconic Ohio State football coach, was chatting up Gradishar’s father at the local grocery store. The two talked about World War II. They hit it off, and soon afterward, Gradishar became a Buckeye and college football star.

    Thursday night, he received another memorable call. Gradishar learned that the selection committee rubberstamped his candidacy, leading to his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

    “Randy is one of the most impactful figures in the history of the Broncos and one of the greatest linebackers of all-time. The famed ‘Orange Crush’ will now finally have its first Hall of Famer,” said Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner.

    For Gradishar and the Broncos, it ends one of the most confusing snubs of excellence. Gradishar last played in 1983. His stats have not changed — he remains a seven-time Pro Bowler, multiple-time All-Pro and the 1978 Defensive Player of the Year. Yet, it took three decades to reach Canton.

    Gradishar leaned on his faith over the past decade, refusing to become soured by his omission. It made his election Thursday, which was announced at the NFL Honors in Las Vegas, resonate even deeper for his friends, family, and advocates.

    “Oh man, this means a lot. Many people have heard me say this 1,000 times, ‘Randy Gradishar should have been in before a ton of Hall of Famers,’ including myself,” Broncos Hall of Famer Steve Atwater said. “He’s always been deserving. He was the epitome of the Orange Crush. He’s such a wonderful guy. I love that he’s not even upset that it took as long as it did. He’s happy he’s in now, and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.”

    Gradishar carved out a legacy as an iron man, playing in all 151 games of his career with versatility and ferocity. The former Ohio State star intercepted 20 passes and scored three touchdowns. But the highlights of Gradishar begin and end with a man who had more big hits than Taylor Swift.

    He became a stop sign at the goal line. Go through the black-and-white photos or the YouTube highlights, then pick up your jaw. Gradishar slammed into ball carriers in a way that caused cringes of concern for the running back’s family.

    And about those stats. Gradishar finished with more than 2,000 tackles. He could crank out 20 in a game and 200 in a season with alarming regularity. There were so many that his numbers were viewed suspiciously. That led to a discussion that he was good, not great. It was a mistake of ignorance. There’s no other way to view it.

    In August 2023, Gradishar called his advancement by the senior committee a blessing. He remained optimistic and unselfish over the last decade as his name threatened to become a fading memory.

    Thursday became a validation of his career, even if he wasn’t seeking it. The Broncos’ Orange Crush defense represents the pinned location that put Denver on the map as a legitimate sports city. When Denver beat the Raiders in the AFC Championship Game, it changed everything. That defense inspired T-shirts and Orange Crush sodas.

    Remember Rocktober in 2007? This was similar. And in some ways, Gradishar was the Broncos’ Todd Helton. Like Helton, he played his entire career with one team and showed off a sleeves-rolled-up work ethic.

    Gradishar joins a list of recent Broncos to reach Canton, including the first defenders in Champ Bailey and Atwater. Gradishar turns 72 next month, but he will always be remembered as No. 53, a man who will now forever walk with the game’s immortals.



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    Troy Renck

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  • Hall of Fame NFL official Art McNally dies at age 97

    Hall of Fame NFL official Art McNally dies at age 97

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    Art McNally, the first on-field official inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has died. He was 97.

    His son, Tom McNally, said Monday that his father died of natural causes at a hospital in Newtown, Pennsylvania, near his longtime home.

    McNally died less than five months after getting inducted into the Hall of Fame following more than a half-century working as an on-field official, the head of officiating for the NFL and an adviser to the league who is credited with modernizing the practice of how games are officiated.

    “Art McNally was an extraordinary man, the epitome of integrity and class,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement Monday. “Throughout his distinguished officiating career, he earned the eternal respect of the entire community. Fittingly, he was the first game official enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. But more importantly, he was a Hall of Fame person in absolutely every way.”

    While baseball, basketball and hockey had inducted several officials into their Halls of Fame, McNally was the first to receive the honor in the NFL back in August.

    There couldn’t have been a more appropriate choice for the honor than McNally, whose fingerprints are all over how games are officiated even today.

    After a nine-year career on the field, McNally overhauled the department when he took it over in 1968 and remained involved until retiring in 2015.

    “Art McNally was a quiet, honest man of integrity,” Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in a statement. “To see Art’s decades of service recognized with his enshrinement as part of the Class of 2022 was a special moment for the Hall. His legacy as a strong leader who helped usher in the advanced training of officials and the technology necessary to keep up with a faster and more complicated game will be preserved forever in Canton.”

    McNally got his start in officiating in an informal way when he called games while serving in the Marines in World War II. He went on to call more than 3,000 games in , basketball and baseball, chronicling them all in books he kept, according to son-in-law Brian O’Hara.

    Before shifting to the NFL league office in 1968, McNally would often officiate high school, college and professional games on the same weekend.

    “He was natural at it,” O’Hara said this past summer. “From being a teacher and being kind of like a rule follower his life because he followed the rules. … The biggest thing was he enjoyed making it fair. That’s all he wanted to do was to be fair and to get it right. I guess that’s the things he enjoyed about officiating.”

    McNally’s biggest impact came in how the NFL evaluated and trained officials in a system that is still mostly in place today.

    Under his watch, the NFL standardized how officials worked a game in their positioning and what calls they made to bring more consistency to the sport.

    He used all-22 game film to teach the officials and grade their performance, using the film to teach as well as evaluate officials. He utilized weekly training videos and rules quizzes to help improve the officiating across the league.

    “That was brand new,” Dean Blandino, one of McNally’s successors as the NFL’s head of officiating, said before McNally’s induction.

    “That was kind of cutting edge. People weren’t doing it. Art came in and understood that this was something that was needed and laid that foundation and that foundation is still what we stand on today in the officiating world. Every league in every sport at every level has an evaluation system and that all goes back to Art.”

    McNally also helped implement the NFL’s first use of instant replay in the 1980s and got his first chance to work a Super Bowl as a replay official following the 1986 season.

    That version of replay was abolished in 1991, but McNally provided guidance to his successors when replay returned in 1999, as he was steadfast in his belief that the league should use any tool to help officials make the correct calls.

    “You just want to get it right,” former NFL referee Ed Hochuli said this summer. “Art was the definition of that. If you look up the definition of integrity in the dictionary and there’s a picture of Art.”

    McNally is survived by his wife, Sharon, his children Marybeth, Tom and Michael, and his grandchildren.

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