Here we are!  Again!!

If you have been following our Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project, you know that we have asked the rhetorical question…what if the PFHOF began in January of 1946?

After soliciting and obtaining a passionate group of football fans and historians, we sent out a ballot for a Preliminary Vote, which we asked each voter to give us 25 names as their semi-finalists, and 5 in the Senior Pool. Following that, we asked the group to vote for their 15 Finalists in the Modern Era, and 3 in the Senior Category. The final stage was to vote for their 5 Modern Era inductees and 1 Senior inductee.

This is the result of the fourth official class;

Below, are the final results of this project based on 32 votes:

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1949:

Player	Year of Eligibility	Vote Total
Bronko Nagurski FB-LB-T	1	28
Johnny Blood TB-HB-WB-BB-DB	6	14
Danny Fortmann G-LB	1	14
Lavvie Dilweg E	10	13
Link Lyman T	10	13
Vern Lewellen B	12	12
Cliff Battles TB-FB-WB-DB	7	12
Clark Hinkle FB-LB-HB-DB	3	12
Joe Guyon WB-TB-BB-FB	17	10
Dutch Sternaman HB-QB-FB	17	9
Jimmy Conselman BB-TB-HB-E	15	8
Mike Michalske G-T-LB-BB	7	7
Ray Flaherty E-DB	8	3
Ox Emerson G-C	6	3
Tuffy Leemans FB-TB-DB-QB	1	3

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1949:

Ted Nesser	N/A	18
Blondy Wallce	N/A	8
Henry McDonald	N/A	3
1 person abstained

About the 1949 Inductees:

Bronko Nagurski FB-LB-T, CHI 1930-37 & 1943: Inducted in 1949 on the 1^st Ballot.  Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

A powerful runner on offense, and punishing hitter on defense, Bronko Nagurski was a nine-year veteran of the NFL, all with the Chicago Bears.  Nagurski did nothing fancy, nor did he need to do.  Rushing for over 4,000 Yards, Nagurski took Chicago to three NFL Championships (1932, 1933 & 1943), the latter of which occurring after a five-year absence when he was a successful professional wrestler.  Nagurski’s induction makes him the first person to enter on his first true year of eligibility in this project. 

Johnny “Blood” McNally TB-HB-WB-BB-DB, MIL 1925, DUL 1926-27, POT 1928, GNB 1929-33 & 1935-36 & PIT 1934 & 1937-38: Inducted in 1949 on his 4^th Ballot (technically his 6^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

Is there a better nickname than “Blood”?  It was so good, that he was mostly known as “Johnny Blood”.  From Notre Dame, McNally did it all, though excelled mostly at Halfback, and was the blueprint to what offensive skill players would later become.  While McNally played for five different teams, it was the Green Bay Packers where he was mostly known for, having won four NFL Championships there (1929, 1930, 1931 & 1936).

Danny Fortmann G-LB, CHI 1936-4: Inducted in 1949 on the 1^rd Ballot.  Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

Danny Fortmann was about as good a blocker as there was.  Playing for the Chicago Bears for the entirety of his career, Fortmann entered the NFL at the tender age of 20, but became a leader almost instantly.  Fortmann called the signals for the lineman, and on defense, he was able to deduce his opponents plays, which often led to one of his punishing tackles.  He would help lead Chicago win three NFL Championships (1940, 1941 & 1943), and individually was chosen for six consecutive First Team All-Pros (1938-43).

Lavvie Dilweg E, MIL 1926, GNB 1927-34: Inducted in 1949 on his 10^th Ballot (technically his 12^th year of eligibility). Was never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Lavvie Dilweg was a star at Marquette, and he would keep his athletic talents in the state of Wisconsin, as he signed with the Milwaukee Badgers in 1926. The stay in Milwaukee was short-lived as the team folded that year.  He would travel north and join the Green Bay Packers in 1927, an organization he played for until 1934.  Dilweg was considered to be one of the most complete players of his era, a time frame in which the football players performed at both ends, and his peers viewed him as one of the top tacklers and blockers of his day.  Stats back then were not well kept, but he was also a decent offensive weapon, and overall, he helped the Green Bay Packers win three consecutive NFL Championships (1929, 1930 & 1931).

Link Lyman T, CAN 1922-23 & 1925, CLE 1924, FRN 1925, CHI 1926-34: Inducted in 1949 on his 4^rd Ballot (technically his 10^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964.

William Roy “Link” Lyman was known for his pioneering style of shifting on defense, which helped enable the former Nebraska Cornhusker to carve out an 11-year career in the NFL.  One of the first true “Defensive Quarterbacks” of the game, Lyman signed with the Canton Bulldogs in 1922, and he helped them win that year’s title and the one after.  He was one of many players to be sold to the Cleveland franchise, where he won a third Championship in as many seasons.  Lyman joined the Chicago Bears in 1926, where he played until 1934.  As a Bear, the Tackle won his fourth NFL Championship (1933), and was twice a First Team All-Pro.

Ted Nesser: Inducted in 1949 on the 4^th Senior Ballot. Was never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ted Nesser was a member of the first great family of football, the seven Nesser brothers who all starred on the gridiron.  Never playing college ball, or even finishing high school, Ted was considered the toughest of the brood, and though he played professionally for many teams, he is primarily associated with the Columbus Panhandles of the Ohio League, and later the early NFL.  He also won three Ohio League Titles with Massillon.

1949 PRELIMINARY RESULTS:

Thank you for all of you who have participated in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project, and if you are unaware of what that is, simply, we acted as if the PFHOF had their first class in January of 1946?

We have completed the first two years, where a Preliminary, Semi-Final and Final vote for the 1946 Class, which inducted two full classes

For “1949” a Preliminary Vote with 130 players whose playing career ended by 1943. We are also following the structure in that players have 20 years of eligibility, and if they do not make it into the Hall, they are relegated to the Senior Pool.

Last week, each voter was asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, with the top 25 vote getters named as Semi-Finalists.

This week, the voters were asked to pick 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists, and next week, they will pick five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process weekly until we catch up to the current year.

29 Votes took place

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

Player	Year of Eligibility	Vote Total
Johnny Blood TB-HB-WB-BB-DB	6	30
Bronko Nagurski G-LB	1	28
Lavvie Dilweg E	10	27
Cliff Battles TB-FB-WB-DB	7	27
Mike Michalske G-T-LB-BB	7	26
Link Lyman T	10	25
Clark Hinkle FB-LB-HB-DB	3	24
Verne Llewellen B	12	23
Jimmy Conzelman HB-TB-BB-E	15	21
Joe Guyon WB-TB-BB-FB	17	21
Ray Flaherty E-DE	8	21
Dutch Sternaman HB-QB-FB	17	19
Danny Fortmann G-LB	1	19
Tuffy Leemans FB-TB-DB-QB	1	17
Ox Emerson G-C	6	15
Walt Kiesling G-T	6	14
Bill Hewitt E-DE	1	14
Swede Youngstrom G-T-E-C	17	13
Steve Owen T-G	11	13
Red Badgro E-DE	8	11
Hunk Anderson G-C	19	10
Cecil Isbell TB-HB	2	10
Turk Edwards T	4	9
Cub Buck T	19	8
Beattie Feathers HB-WB	4	7

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

Ted Nesser	N/A	23
Blondy Wallace	N/A	19
Henry McDonald	N/A	18
Sol Butler	N/A	17
Gull Falcon	N/A	13

Next Saturday, we will be posting the results of the 1949 Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project.

Thank you to all who contributed, and if you want to be a part of this project, please let us know!

There is a considerable history of Canadian players who have moved south to play in the world’s largest pigskin league, and these players have made waves at some of the top teams in the league. Even right now in the NFL, there are 25 players who have hailed from Canada and show up regularly in the league playing as nose tackles, cornerbacks, receivers and a number of other positions. As we look towards the biggest game of the American football season, and Canadian fans check out Bet99’s Super Bowl bet selection, we’re taking a look back into NFL history for some of the most prestigious Canadian NFL names.

Two Canadian players have achieved the biggest possible single-player accolade in the sport - entry into the NFL’s Hall of Fame. It seems certain that others will follow - maybe some of those currently playing in the league will make it once they have retired - but for now, we’re going to look at the two men who have climbed the ladder to the Valhalla of American gridiron achievement, and get an idea for why they have been recognised among the best to pull on a pair of cleats.

Bronco Nagurski

 

In recent years, outside of the occasional trick play, football stars have tended to specialise in a specific position, or at least limited their involvement to offensive or defensive play. Back in the day, when squads were smaller, it was not uncommon for players to do their thing on offense and then, when the ball went over to the other team, turn around and play defense. Nagurski was one such player. As a fullback for the Chicago Bears, he racked up more than 4000 yards total offense, threw seven touchdown passes, and then switched around to play as a defensive lineman. In that role, he was pretty much unblockable.

One story about Nagurski goes that he once carried for a touchdown against the Washington Redskins, shaking off two linebackers and watching two defensive backs bouncing off him on his way. He then bounced off the goalposts into a brick wall behind the endzone, and as he joined the huddle for the following PAT told his teammates “That last guy hit me awfully hard”. Maybe true, maybe not, but entirely believable about Nagurski.

Arnie Weinmeister

 

Saksatchewan native Weinmeister entered the American game in 1945, two years after Nagurski’s retirement. He played exclusively as a defensive tackle, first for the Brooklyn/NY Yankees of the All-America Football Conference, and then for the New York Giants before returning to Canada to play for the BC Lions for a couple of seasons. Across 71 NFL games, he recovered eight fumbles, and gained a fearsome reputation as a hand-in-the-dirt defensive lineman. Although his career span was a relatively short eight years, his impact on the game was enough to elect him to the HoF in 1984.

Standing at 6’ 4 in his playing days and weighing 235lb, Weinmeister was one of the biggest tackles playing the game at the time. This, allied to his incredible pace for a lineman and his ethos of always hitting the other guy first (and hardest) made him a force to be reckoned with at the highest level of the game.

Bronko Nagurski was already an established Back in the National Football League when he got into Professional Wrestling in 1933 and on the gridiron he would take the Chicago Bears to three NFL Championships.  His accomplishments in the squared circle were arguably equal, as he would win multiple titles, among which the coveted National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title twice, and was a major draw while doing it.