The 54 seniors, coaches, and contributors announced as semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2023 include Super Bowl champion coaches Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren.
Along with Holmgren and Shanahan, who won with the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos, there are 27 other coaches and contributors, including former Raiders CEO Amy Trask and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Ken Anderson, versatile running back Roger Craig, return specialist Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, and five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Lester Hayes are among the 25 former players on the list.
12 seniors and 12 coaches/contributors will be chosen by their respective selection committees to advance to the finalists round. On July 27, the findings will be made public.
The remaining players are cornerbacks Eddie Meador, Ken Riley, and Everson Walls, wide receivers Otis Taylor, Sterling Sharpe, and Mark Clayton, end LaVern Dilweg, offensive linemen Chris Hinton and Bob Kuechenberg, and two-way player Cecil Isbell. They are also linebackers Randy Gradishar, Maxie Baughan, Clay Matthews Jr., Tommy Nobis, and Chuck Howley, as well as defensive linemen Joe Klecko and Jim Marshall.
No later than the 1996 season, each semifinalist played his final game of professional football.
The remaining list of coaches/contributors: former Oilers/Titans owner K.S. “Bud” Adams Jr.; television executive and producer Roone Arledge; longtime Oilers/Titans scout C.O. Brocato; coach Don Coryell; athletic trainer Otho Davis; former Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay; front-office executives John McVay, Carl Peterson and Frank “Bucko” Kilroy; scout Eddie Kotal; general manager Rich McKay; former Browns/Ravens owner Art Modell, Cowboys founder Clint Murchison Jr.; coach Buddy Parker; coach Dan Reeves; journalist Lee Remmel; Steelers vice president Art Rooney Jr.; coach Marty Schottenheimer; officials Jim Tunney and Jerry Seeman; coach Clark Shaughnessy; Elias Sports Bureau owner Seymour Siwoff; and scouts Jack Vainisi, Lloyd Wells and John Wooten.
To choose up to three seniors for final consideration as members of the class of 2023, the Seniors Committee will convene on August 16th. The expansion of the senior pool for candidates running for election to the Hall for the classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025 was approved earlier this year.
The members of the Coach/Contributor Committee will get together on August 23 to choose one coach or contributor for the Class of 2023 to receive final consideration.