gold star for USAHOF

The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, so this results in a long push to revise what we already have; specifically, now with our Football and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the tenth ten of the 2024 Football List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 91 to 100:

91. Joe Fortunato
92. Nick Mangold
93. Adam Vinatieri*
94. Clay Matthews Jr.
95. Cornelius Bennett
96. Abner Haynes
97. Jim Benton
98. Albert Lewis
99. Eli Manning*
100. John Hadl 

*Denotes First Year of Eligibility

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.

1955 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project Class.

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 five Modern Era inductee, one Senior inductee and one Coaches/Contributor inductee.

This is the result of the tenth official class;

Below, are the final results of this project based on 30 votes, with a major change that we began “last year”:  ALL FINALISTS MUST obtain 50% of the VOTE!

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1955:

Player

Year of Eligibility

Vote Total

Jim Benton E

3

20

Cecil Isbell TB-HB

8

16

Tony Latone B

20

10

Gus Sonnenberg T-FB-TB

20

9

Joey Sternaman QB-BB T-FB-TB

20

9

Al Nesser G-T-E-C

19

9

Beattie Feathers HB-WB

10

9

Whizzer White TB-HB

9

9

Bill Osmanski FB

3

9

Kenny Washington B

2

8

Steve Owen T-G

17

6

Wayne Millner E

5

6

Marshall Goldberg FB

2

6

Riley Matheson G

2

5

Ward Cuff WB-QB-HB

3

3

This is for the “Senior Era”, which resulted in no entry, though Youngstrom was close!

Swede Youngstrom

2

14

Hunk Anderson

4

10

Cub Buck

4

4

None of the Above

N/A

2


About the 1955 Inductees:

Jim Benton E, RAM 1938-42 & 1944-47, CHI 1943: Inducted in 1955 on his 3rd Ballot.  Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Selected in the 2nd Round out of the University of Arkansas in 1938, Jim Benton would go onto be one of the first great receivers in the history of the Rams franchise.  Benton led the NFL in Yards per Reception as a rookie and was named to the Pro Bowl in his second season.  He took 1941 off and returned to the NFL in 1942, and due to a heart murmur, he was not permitted to enlist in the U.S. Military for World War II.  He was loaned to the Chicago Bears in 1943 as the Rams were unable to field a team due to a depletion of talent but returned in 1944 and 1945 and 1946 but together two excellent seasons where he was the NFL leader in Receiving Yards.  1945 was a uniquely special season for Benton.  Not only would it be a large part of the Rams 1945 NFL Championship, his league-leading 1,067 Receiving Yards was accomplished in only nine games.  He also would become the first Wide Receiver to exceed 300 Yards in a Game, a mark that was duplicated for another 40 Years!  At the time of his retirement, he was second all-time in Receiving Yards, and he was chosen for the 1940’s All-Decade Team.

Cecil Isbell TB-HB, GNB 1938-42: Inducted in 1955 on his 8th Ballot. Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Usually, when you speak of a five-year career in any sport, you can't be talking about a great player.  Not very many people had a five-year run like Cecil Isbell.  Isbell was the 7th Overall Draft Pick by Green Bay in 1938, and as a rookie, he joined Arnie Herber in the Packers backfield.  Isbell was rushing more in the first two years, and back in those days, Tailbacks were often passing and rushing with similar frequency.  He would subsequently the Packers win the 1939 NFL Championship.  Isbell would take more of a passing role, and in 1941 and 1942, he would lead the NFL in Passing Yards and Passing Touchdowns, the last year seeing him be the first passer to throw for 2,000 Yards.  He would set the since broken record with 23 straight games with a Touchdown Pass.  He would retire after the 1942 season, though not due to injury but due to beginning a coaching career.

97. Jim Benton

Selected in the 2nd Round out of the University of Arkansas in 1938, Jim Benton would go onto be one of the first great receivers in the history of the Rams franchise.  Benton led the NFL in Yards per Reception as a rookie and was named to the Pro Bowl in his second season.  He took 1941 off and returned to the NFL in 1942, and due to a heart murmur, he was not permitted to enlist in the U.S. Military for World War II.  He was loaned to the Chicago Bears in 1943 as the Rams were unable to field a team due to a depletion of talent but returned in 1944 and 1945 and 1946 but together two excellent seasons where he was the NFL leader in Receiving Yards.

22. Jim Benton

One of the early stars of the Cleveland Rams was Jim Benton, the star End from the University of Arkansas who as a rookie would lead all players in Yards per Reception, though this was 1938 and he only had 418 Yards.  Still, that was the game back then, and he would be a Pro Bowler in 1940 where he had 7 Touchdown Passes, again league leading.  After a good 1940, he took a year off to coach (remember there wasn't a lot of money back then), but he returned in 1942 but due to the depletion of players due to World War II the Rams suspended operations, and he would join Chicago where he helped them win the NFL Championship.