Hayes and Howley are Hall of Fame Finalists
By Matt Cordon (kh). Filed in Bob Hayes, Chuck Howley, Classic Player Profiles |
The Dallas Morning News has reported that Chuck Howley and Bob Hayes have been named as two of the finalists for the senior slots of the Hall 
of Fame. Both of these players are members of the Ring of Honor, and both are very deserving of selection. Thus, this is very good news for Cowboys fans.
This is from the DMN piece:
Bob Hayes and Chuck Howley, two mainstays on the Cowboys in the 1960s, are among the 17 finalists for the two senior slots in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008.
Players must be retired from the NFL for 25 years to become eligible for seniors consideration. The two senior nominees will join the 15 modern-era candidates on a slate that will be voted on Feb. 2. As many as eight of the 15 candidates – six modern-era and two seniors – could comprise the Class of 2008.
Rayfield Wright was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the Class of 2006 as a seniors candidate, and Bob Hayes was an unsuccessful seniors candidate in 2004. The seniors committee will select the two finalists next week at a meeting in Canton, Ohio.
Hayes is in a small handful of players in NFL history to average 20 yards per catch, and he scored a touchdown every 5.2 receptions. Howley was the MVP of Super Bowl V and went to six Pro Bowls in his 15-year career.
I am not at all sure how Cliff Harris was left off the list this time. By my calculations, Drew Pearson and Harvey Martin should become eligible for seniors consideration next year, since both retired after the 1983 season. You might be able to tell that I am not giving this up any time soon.
Friday, August 17th 2007 at 5:40 am
So if I understand this right, they are competing with 15 other senior candidates for just two slots.
Wednesday, August 27th 2008 at 5:12 pm
Ex-Dallas Cowboy Bob Hayes getting second chance at Hall of Fame
http://tinyurl.com/5nxjo7
11:53 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 27, 2008
By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News
rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Bob Hayes didn’t give many defensive backs a second chance in his days as a game-breaking wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys.
But the Pro Football Hall of Fame has decided to give Hayes a second chance.
The seniors committee of the Hall of Fame on Wednesday decided to re-nominate Hayes – just five years after he was rejected as a senior candidate. Hayes is joined by Claude Humphrey as the two senior candidates for the Class of 2009.
Second chances are rare from the senior committee. It has been around since 1972 and has nominated 38 players, coach and administrators. Thirty of them have been enshrined. Only 10 have been voted down – and Hayes becomes just the fourth senior candidate given a second chance.
Henry Jordan and Lou Creekmur were both voted down as seniors in the 1980s and then enshrined in the 1990s. Marshall Goldberg was the only senior candidate ever rejected twice, in 1979 and 2008.
Hayes won an Olympic gold medal at Tokyo in 1964, claiming the honor as the world’s fastest man by winning the 100-meter dash. The Cowboys drafted that speed in the seventh round in 1964 and he went on to play 10 seasons for them.
Hayes caught 371 career passes for a franchise-record 71 touchdowns. He scored 18 TDs of 50 yards or more and his average of 19.98 yards per career catch ranks second best in NFL history by anyone with 300 career receptions.
Hayes died in September 2002.
Hayes and Humphrey will be included among the 17 candidates for the Class of 2009. The candidates will be discussed, voted upon and named on Jan. 31 in Tampa, Fla. The 15 modern era candidates will be announced in January.