The story of Duke Slater is unique, as very few men can say that they have blazed paths as much as he did.

Slater played his college ball at the University of Iowa, helping them win a share of the National Championship.  He signed with the Rock Island Independents following his college career, making him the first African-American Linemen in league history.  In 1926, Slater signed with the Chicago Cardinals, making him the first black signee of any team still in existence regarding current NFL teams.

Slater played five years and part of another year for the Cards and was one of their best performers throughout.  In every full year, he was with the team, he received a version of an All-Pro and had a seven-year stretch doing so, making him the first Lineman to accomplish that feat.  The legendary George Halas described Slater as a one-man line, and praise does not get much better than that.

Following his retirement, there was an unofficial ban on African Americans that stood for nearly 20 years.  He continued to break barriers in his personal life, becoming an attorney in 1933 and later a judge.  Slater would posthumously enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.

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 third 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 1948:

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1946:

About the 1948 Inductees:

Duke Slater T, MIL 1922, RII 1922-25, CRD 1926-31: Inducted in 1948 on the 3^rd Ballot (technically his 12^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.

One of the best Tackles of the 1920s, Duke Slater shattered barriers everywhere he went. A superstar at the University of Iowa where he was a three-time All-Big 10 Selection, Slater played two games for the Milwaukee Badgers before he signed with the Rock Island Independents where he played for four years. He signed with the Chicago Cardinals in 1926, making him the first African-American player who signed with a team still in existence. A Cardinal until 1931, Slater was consistently named an All-NFL player, which considering the racial bias that existed was a testament to his undeniable skill. Following his career, Slater would graduate from law school and later became the first African-American judge to serve on the Superior Court of Chicago.

Guy Chamberlin E, CHI 1920-21, CAN 1922-23, CLE 1924, FRN 1925-26 & CRD 1927: Inducted in 1948 on the 3^rd Ballot (technically his 16^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965 as a Coach.

Chamberlin was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965 as a Coach, but for the purposes of this exercise, he is here as a player, and deserves to be. An 1920s All-Decade End, Chamberlin was a legend at the University of Nebraska and he followed his hero, Jim Thorpe, to the Canton Bulldogs where in 1919 where he helped them win the Ohio Championship. Chamberlin then made history as a player winning the first four NFL Titles, the first two with Chicago and the next two back with Canton, where he also served as their Head Coach. A fifth title came with the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1926 where he again had the dual capacity of playing and coaching.

Pete Henry T, CAN 1920-23 & 1925-26, NYG 1927 & POT 1927-28: Inducted in 1948 on the 3^rd Ballot (technically his 15^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

A three-time All-American at Washington & Jefferson, Henry signed with the Canton Bulldogs in 1920 and played for them that very day. A two-way player, Henry was short and stout (5’ 11 and 245), and was nicknamed “Fats”, but that hid what was a premier athlete, and one of the largest players of his time. Henry was a First Team All-Pro in his first four seasons, and he helped lead the Bulldogs to two NFL Championships. The Tackle was also an excellent kicker and punter, setting marks for the longest Punt (94 Yards) and Longest Dropkick Field Goal (50 Yards).

George Trafton C, CHI 1920-32: Inducted in 1948 on his 3^rd Ballot (technically his 12^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964.

George Trafton was one of the game’s first pure Centers, and a true innovator of the position. Trafton, who like all players from the 1920s, played 60 minutes, and he was with the Chicago Bears for his entire 148-Game career. Trafton was the first player to use one hand to snap the ball, and when he was on the defensive side, he was the first to rove. He would win two NFL Championships and was twice a First Team All-Pro.

Benny Friedman TB-DB, CLE 1927, DET 1928, NYG 1928-31 & BKN 1931-34: Inducted in 1948 on his 3^rd Ballot (technically his 9^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Benny Friedman played a large part in the evolution of passing, first as a two-time All-American at Michigan and then in the NFL. In his second season, Friedman led the league in Rushing and Passing Touchdowns, the first and to date only time that has occurred. The year after, in his first season with New York, threw 20 Touchdown Passes, a record that stood for years. Had a knee injury in 1931 not hampered his play, he would have been in the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame decades earlier. As for us, we are pleased to welcome him into our third Hall of Fame Class.

Charles Follis: Inducted in 1948 on the 3^rd Senior Ballot. Was never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Charles Follis was nicknamed “The Black Cyclone” and he first played football with the Wooster Athletic Association in Wooster, Ohio. After a two-game series against the Shelby Blues, the team manager poached Follis to join their team. In 1904, he signed a contact with the Blues, making him the first African-American to be paid to pay professional football, and he is regarded as the finest player in team history.

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 two years thus far, and here we are with a third year.

For “1948” a Preliminary Vote with 127 players whose playing career ended by 1940. 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.

Each voter is asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, with the top 25 vote getters named as Semi-Finalists.

A week later, the voters will be asked to pick 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists, and a week after, they will pick five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process weekly until we catch up to the current year.

29 people participated in the 1948 Preliminary Vote which yielded the following result:

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

Next Saturday, we will be posting the results of the Semi-Final Vote of the 1948 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited.

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

1947 SEMI-FINAL 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 year, where a Preliminary, Semi-Final and Final vote for the 1946 Class, which inducted Fritz Pollard, George Halas, Curly Lambeau, Jim Thorpe and Red Grange into the “Modern Era”. Pudge Heffelfinger, was chosen as part of the Seniors Category.

For “1947” a Preliminary Vote with 130 players whose playing career ended by 1940. 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.

Each voter is asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, with the top 25 vote getters named as Semi-Finalists.

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

Following 29 votes received in the 1947 Preliminary Ballot, we had the same amount for the Finals.

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

All 11 Finalists from 1946 advanced as Finalists for 1947. As there were no tie for the final spot, we have 15 Finalists. There are four first time Finalists.

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

Next Saturday, we will be posting the results and announce the 1947 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1947.

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

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 year, where a Preliminary, Semi-Final and Final vote for the 1946 Class, which inducted Fritz Pollard, George Halas, Curly Lambeau, Jim Thorpe and Red Grange into the “Modern Era”. Pudge Heffelfinger, was chosen as part of the Seniors Category.

For “1947” a Preliminary Vote with 130 players whose playing career ended by 1940. 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.

Each voter is asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, with the top 25 vote getters named as Semi-Finalists.

A week later, the voters will be asked to pick 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists, and a week after, they will pick five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process weekly until we catch up to the current year.

29 people participated in the 1946 Preliminary Vote which yielded the following result:

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

The first reaction that we had from this tally, is how there were over 30 more candidates with at least one vote than the 1946 Preliminary Ballot.

It is also noteworthy that Turk Edwards, who was a Semi-Finalist in 1946 was unable to advance to that stage in 1947.

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

Next Saturday, we will be posting the results of the Semi-Finalists.

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

After years of observing the Pro Football Hall of Fame process, and all Hall of Fames for that matter, one thing has always felt clear to me; Halls should begin 25 years after an institution begins. This alleviates any backlog that could happen, and often when discussions of the PFHOF occur, a common thread is how many great players have fallen through the cracks.

So… What if the PFHOF had their first class in January of 1946?

Invites went out to people who have displayed knowledge and passion of football’s history, and we followed the same pattern of the current PFHOF electoral process.

Last week, a Preliminary Vote with 130 players whose playing career ended by 1940. 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.

Following the Preliminary vote, 25 Semi-Finalists were named, and the voters were now asked to submit 15 names as their Finalists

Next week, they will pick five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process weekly until we catch up to the current year.

27 people participated in the 1946 Preliminary Vote, and 28 participated in the Semi-Final ballot. This yielded the following result:

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 1946 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited.

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