The Professional Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, could host up to eight new members on Saturday, in what President and CEO David Baker called “one of the best classes ever introduced”.
It’s a bold statement that Baker joked with some of the current Hall of Fame members who strongly disagreed when he made a similar comment in a call last week, but a look at this year’s 15 finalists reveals the names of some of the greatest players in history of the NFL.
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“I think it will be one of the best classes ever,” Baker told Fox News during an interview this week. “And when you combine it with the 20 guys from the centenary class who had to postpone until this year [because of the pandemic], I think it will be the biggest football meeting of all time. “
This year’s group includes four players eligible for the first year, including quarterback Peyton Manning, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, fullback Charles Woodson and fullback Jared Allen.
“I think almost everyone anticipates that Peyton will be in the Hall of Fame,” said Baker confidently.
Peyton Manning # 18 of the Indianapolis Colts launches a pass against the Cincinnati Bengals during the NFL game at the RCA Dome December 18, 2006 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
Without revealing much, Baker compared Peyton’s nomination to when Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre was due to be chosen in 2016.
“I turned to the guy at The Green Bay Gazette and said, ‘Next is Brett Favre, you have eight minutes.’ And the guy kind of said, ‘Well, I have a presentation here, but do you really want to hear it?’ I looked around the room and everyone laughed and said, ‘No, let’s go ahead.’ “
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He continued, “I think it took about 12 seconds for everyone to know that Brett Favre is entering the Hall of Fame.”
Reports say that Manning’s pitch lasted 13 seconds.
“When I got up that morning, I knew I was going to hit [Favre’s] door. He knew I was going to knock on his door, “Baker recalled.” But when I knocked on his door, he was so humble. He was not that polished 47, 48 year old veteran. He put his hands in his pocket like a 10-year-old boy who bowed his head in humility. “
Consecrated in the 2016 Hall of Fame, quarterback Brett Favre waves to the crowd after receiving his gold jacket during the gold jacket dinner in the Professional Football Hall of Fame on August 4, 2016 at the Canton Memorial Civic Center in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett / Diamond Images / Getty Images)
“I think Peyton is that guy.”
There are only 346 members in the Hall of Fame. The first class started in 1963 and included such legends as Jim Thorpe, Earl Lambeau and Sammy Baugh.
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“John Stallworth (class of 2002) once said that when you wear the golden jacket it’s like getting involved in the whole story of the game, from when the first pigskin was tied up to the presentation of the last Lombardi trophy,” Baker said with proud.
“Being a finalist probably makes you one of the 900 best players of all time, out of 330 million men and now women who played this game.”
Some players end up being nominated as finalists again and again, only to receive the dreaded call from Baker saying: it was not their year.
“If you have great statistics, but maybe there was someone who was a better teammate, does that take on a bigger role? What if your career was spectacular for six or seven years, but someone else’s career was really exceptional for 18 years? “
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Honor is monumental, so, of course, the process of getting there is difficult.
Baker says the general consensus of those who wear the gold jacket is that it changes their lives. It is a lifetime achievement that only a few will be able to claim.