5 former Falcons advance for Pro Football Hall of Fame in seniors category
Five former Falcons are on the list of players under consideration to determine three finalists from the seniors category for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
Chris Hinton (1990-93 with the Falcons), Billy “White Shoes” Johnson (1982-87), Mike Kenn (1978-94), Clay Matthews Jr. (1994-95) and Tommy Nobis (1966-76) are on the list, which was released Thursday.
Former Georgia Tech standout Maxie Baughan also advanced.
Falcons who did not advance include Cornelius Bennett (1997-98), George Kunz (1969-74) and Eugene Robinson (1998-99).
Herschel Walker, Bobby Walston, Bill Stanfill and Jake Scott, who all played at Georgia, did not advance. Former Tech linebacker Pat Swilling was also passed over.
The nine-person seniors blue-ribbon committee received the names following the initial work of the separate seniors screening committee, which had been tasked with reducing the list of 162 nominees for the new class to 50. (Ties for the final spot also advanced.)
The seniors blue-ribbon committee will reduce the list of 52 candidates to 25, then again to nine, in balloting that will occur over the next several weeks. They then will meet virtually to discuss those nine semifinalists and will choose three finalists for the Class of 2026.
To be considered this election cycle, each person in the seniors category could have appeared in a professional football game no more recently than the 2000 season.
Here’s the list of players who remain eligible for election with the Class of 2026:
QUARTERBACKS (5): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Roman Gabriel, Jack Kemp, Don Meredith.
RUNNING BACKS (6): Ottis Anderson, Larry Brown, Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul “Tank” Younger.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS (9): Mark Clayton, Isaac Curtis, Lavvie Dilweg, Henry Ellard, Harold Jackson, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Otis Taylor.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (11): Jay Hilgenberg, Chris Hinton, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, Marvin Powell, Dick Schafrath, Jerry Sisemore, Walt Sweeney, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (4): L.C. Greenwood, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Jim Marshall, Harvey Martin.
LINEBACKERS (8): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Mike Curtis, Larry Grantham, Lee Roy Jordan, Clay Matthews Jr., Matt Millen, Tommy Nobis.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (8): Dick Anderson, Bobby Boyd, Pat Fischer, Lester Hayes, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Lemar Parrish, Everson Walls.
SPECIAL TEAMS (1): Steve Tasker.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
