Ernie Nevers was one of the best professional players in Football in 1926 and 1927, starring for the Duluth Eskimos, but it was a different time, and he left the pro ranks to coach at Stanford for a year.  Despite saying that he would not return to the gridiron, the lure of the game proved too great, and Nevers joined the Chicago Cardinals in 1929 and had what was the most remarkable offensive season to date.

While official stats on Yardage, Rushing, Passing, and many others are unavailable, we know he was a bona fide touchdown creator.  He set the since-tied record of six Rushing Touchdowns in a Game and scored all 40 Points in that contest.  Named a Consensus First Team All-Pro, he would be so again over the next two years, though this time, he also served as Chicago's Head Coach.

Nevers retired after the 1931 Season, this time for good, and it kept his health in check as the pounding he took from being the game's top Fullback for three years took its toll.

Despite only playing two years in the 1930s, Nevers was named to the All-Decade Team and was named to the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame Class in 1963.  Decades later, he was also part of the initial Cardinals Ring of Honor.

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 second official class;

Below, are the final results of this project based on 30 votes:

This is for the “Modern Era”

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

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 1947 Inductees:

Ernie Nevers FB, DUL 1926-27, CRD 1929-31: Inducted in 1947 on the 2^nd Ballot (technically his 11^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

Stanford Head Coach, Pop Warner, called Ernie Nevers a “player without a fault” and if that does not say it all, we don’t know what does. Following his career at Stanford, Nevers first played professional football for a team in Jacksonville, Florida, which he left to play professional baseball for the St. Louis Browns. When the Browns season ended, the dual-sport star returned to the gridiron for the Duluth Eskimos, where the team played 29 Games (14 official in the NFL) and Nevers allegedly played every minute of every game. Following Duluth’s poor 1927 Season (though Nevers was outstanding), Nevers did not play football in 1928, but re-emerged in 1929 with the Chicago Cardinals. With the Cardinals, Nevers set a record by scoring all 40 Points in Chicago’s 40-6 win over the cross-town Bears. The game before, he scored all 19 of his team’s Points! Nevers was the ultimate Fullback for his day, and in all five seasons he played, was named a First Team All-Pro, and he was also a 1920s All-Decade Selection.

Cal Hubbard T-E-DE-G, NYG 1927-28 & 1936, GNB 1929-33 & 1935 & PIT 1936: Inducted in 1947 on the 2^nd Ballot (technically his 6^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

Weighing in at 250 Pounds, Cal Hubbard was a large man for the 1920s and 1930s, and was also incredibly fast and strong. Considered one of the best Linemen of his day, Hubbard won four NFL Championships (one with New York and three with Green Bay). A First Team All-Pro on four occasions, he was named the NFL’s All-Time Offensive Tackle in 1969.

Dutch Clark TB, PRT 1931-32 & DET 1934-38: Inducted in 1946 on the 2^nd Ballot (technically his 4^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

Dutch Clark had an unusual trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one that reflects the unique nature of the game in the 1930s. Clark was an All-American at Colorado College, and while he graduated in 1929, he didn’t play professional until 1931, playing two years with the Portsmouth Spartans as their offensive leader. Throwing, rushing and kicking, Clark was an automatic leader, but he opted out, taking the Head Coaching job at the Colorado School of Mines. That lasted a year, and Clark returned to the Spartans, who were now the Detroit Lions. Clark led Detroit to the 1935 NFL Championship, and was a six-time First Team All-Pro. A greater gridiron leader, the Lions could not have found in the 30s.

Ed Healey T-G-E, RII 1920-22 & CHI 1922-27: Inducted in 1947 on the 2^nd Ballot (technically his 16^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964.

From Dartmouth, Ed Healey began his pro career for the Rock Island Independents. In a 1922 game against the Chicago Bears, the Tackle was so good, that Bears Player/Coach/Owner, George Halas, bought the contract of Healey, marking the first time a player was sold in the NFL. Healey was a First Team All-Pro for Chicago in his first four years as a Bear, and was considered the most versatile Tackle in the game.

Paddy Driscoll HB-QB-TB-BB, CHI 1920 & 1926-29, & CRD 1921-25: Inducted in 1947 on the 1^st Ballot (technically his 13^th year of eligibility). Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

John “Paddy” Driscoll was a “Mr. Everything” of sorts for the Chicago Cardinals, the team that bid for, and won his services when they became a charter member of the NFL in 1920. Driscoll was a small man (5’ 11” and 160) but did it all on both sides of the ball, and as their kicker. An expert rusher and passer (for his era), Driscoll once dropkicked four Field Goals in a game and had a 27 Point Game in 1923. A three-time First Team All-Pro with the Cardinals, he led them to a Championship in 1925. Driscoll then joined the rival, Chicago Bears, in 1926, where he was named to two more First Team All-Pros.

John Brallier: Inducted in 1947 on the 2^nd Senior Ballot. Was never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A valid criticism of the PFHOF is that it has taken little account to those who laid professional football’s groundwork. This was rectified last week with the induction of Pudge Heffelfinger and now this “year” with John Brallier. The first openly paid football player when he was given $10 in 1895 to play for the Latrobe Athletic Association at age 17, Brallier played for many other teams before he went to college.   He returned to Latrobe in 1902 as a player/coach and led his squad to four undefeated seasons.

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!