By Lenny Moon
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is slated to install the Black college Football Hall of Fame wing within its confines in Canton, OH later this year. It stands to reason that a large chunk of the NFL’s legacy has been contributed by proteges of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
A breakdown of PFHOF members of HBCU decent shows us that 29 players have such a pedigree, with Jackson State’s Robert “Dr Doom” Brazile becoming the most recent in 2018. The former Houston Oilers star became the third linebacker to enter the hall and the fourth JSU Tiger to be enshrined. Collectively, there are 17 defensive and 12 offensive players that comprise this assembly of HBCU representatives in the PFHOF (see below)
OFFENSE:
Running Backs [2]
Leroy Kelley(’94)……………..Morgan State [1960-63]……….…Cleveland Browns
Walter Payton(’93)………….Jackson State [1971-74]….…….…Chicago Bears
Receivers [5]
Bob Hayes(’09)……………….Florida A&M [1960-63]……….……Dallas Cowboys
Charlie Joiner(’96)………….Grambling State [1965-68]….……Houston/San Diego
Jerry Rice(’10)………………..Miss Valley St [1981-84]….……….San Francisco/Oakland
Shannon Sharpe(’11)………Savannah State[1986-89]………..Denver/Baltimore
John Stallworth(’02)……….Alabama A&M[1970-73]………….Pittsburgh Steelers
Offensive Linemen [5]
Roosevelt Brown(’75)……Morgan State [1949-52]…………….New York Giants
Larry Little(’93)……………..Bethune Cookman [1963-66]…….Miami Dolphins
Art Shell(’89)…………………Md Eastern Shore [1964-67]……..Oakland Raiders
Jackie Slater(’01)…………..Jackson State [1972-75]…………….LA/St Louis Rams
Rayfield Wright(’06)……..Ft Valley State [1963-66]……………Dallas Cowboys
DEFENSE:
Defensive Linemen [8]
Elvin Bethea(’03)…………..N Carolina A&T [1964-67]………….Houston Oilers
Buck Buchanan(’90)………Grambling State [1959-62]………..Kansas City Chiefs
Willie Davis(’81)……………Grambling State [1952-55]…….…..Green Bay Packers
Richard Dent(’11)…………Tennessee State [1979-82]….……..Chicago Bears
Len Ford(’76)…………………..Morgan State [1944]………………..Cleveland Browns
Claude Humphrey(’16)……Tennessee State [1964-67]……….Atlanta Falcons
Deacon Jones(’80)…….…….Miss Valley.SC St [1960]……………LA Rams
Michael Strahan(’14)………Texas Southern [1989-92]…………New York Giants
Linebackers [3]
Robert Brazile(’18)………….Jackson State [1971-74]……………Houston Oilers
Harry Carson(’06)……………SC State [1972-75]……………………New York Giants
Willie Lanier(’86)…………….Morgan State [1963-66]…………..Kansas City Chiefs
Secondary [6]
Lem Barney(’92)……………..Jackson State [1963-66]…………..Detroit Lions
Mel Blount(’89)………………Southern A&M [1966-69].………..Pittsburgh Steelers
Willie Brown(’84)……………Grambling State [1959-62]….……Oakland Raiders
Kenny Houston(’86)……….Prairie View A&M [1963-66]……..Houston/Wash
Emmitt Thomas(’08)………Bishop [1963-66]………………………Kansas City Chiefs
Aeneas Williams(’14)……..Southern A&M [1989-90]…………St Louis/Arizona
We’ll highlight each of the aforementioned segments of these former great HBCU gridders that have gone on to immortality and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
NEXT WEEK:
Running Backs
