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:

This is for the “Senior Era”

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

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:

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

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!