The Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project: 1975 Final VOTE

1975 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 we have asked the rhetorical question: What if the PFHOF began in January 1946?

After soliciting and obtaining a passionate group of football fans and historians, we sent out a ballot for a Preliminary Vote, in which we asked each voter to give us 25 names as their semi-finalists and 5 in the Senior Pool. We then 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 and one Senior inductee.

This is the result of the 30th official class; 

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

Remember that the group took a vote in “1969”, and we have reverted back to the top five candidates entering the Hall.

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1975:

This is for the “Senior Era”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1975.

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1975.

About the 1975 Inductees:

Doug Atkins DE, CLE 1953-54, CHI 1955-66 & NOR 1967-69: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1974 on his 2^nd Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

A legend at the University of Tennessee and eventual College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Doug Atkins was the 11^th Overall Pick in 1953, and joined Paul Brown and the powerful Cleveland Browns organization.

Atkins only stayed in Cleveland for two years, and while he was good and helped the Browns win the NFL Championship in 1954, his easy-going nature allegedly rubbed Brown the wrong way, and he was traded to Chicago to work for George Halas, who also wasn’t sure how to take Atkins.  The personality clash aside, Atkins was with the Bears for 12 years, and would lead a devastating defense and was the center of their pass rush.  Chicago won the 1963 NFL Championship, and Atkins went to eight Pro Bowls and was a First Team All-Pro in their Championship year.

At the end of the 1966 campaign, the Atkins/Halas relationship had reached its end, and he asked for a trade, and got one with the expansion New Orleans Saints as his landing spot.  Atkins retired after the 1969 Season, and had Sacks been calculated when he played, he would have had well over 100.

Willie Davis, DE-DT, CLE 1958-59 & GB 1960-69: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1975 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

Playing his college ball at Grambling, Davis was drafted in the 15^thRound by the Cleveland Browns, but due to military service, he did not suit up on the gridiron until 1958.  Davis was with the Browns for two years, but he was not a starter there, and he was traded to Green Bay in 1960, which was where he became part of a dynasty.

Davis started at Left Defensive End for the Packers throughout the entire 1960s, where he helped them win five NFL Championships and the first two Super Bowls.  Individually, he was chosen for five Pro Bowls and five First Team All-Pro Selections. While Sacks were not official stats, he likely had over 100. 

Sam Huff, LB, NYG 1956-63 & WAS 1964-67 & 1969.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1975 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

An All-American at the University of West Virginia, Huff was a Third Round Pick in 1956, selected by the New York Giants, but he quickly grew frustrated by how he was used, or rather wasn’t.  Giants Assistant Coach, and defensive whiz, Vince Lombardi, recognized how to use Huff, and he became one of the game’s early Middle Linebackers as the cornerstone of the 4-3 Defense, a new scheme at the time.

The Giants went on to win the NFL Championship that year, and with Huff in tow, they appeared in four more Title Games.  Huff went to four Pro Bowls with two First Team All-Pros as a Giant, and in 1964, the year he joined the Washington Redskins, he was a Pro Bowler for the fifth time.  He continued to play until 1969, with a year off in 1968.

Huff was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.  He is also a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team, the Washington Football Team Ring of Fame, the New York Giants Ring of Honor, and his number 75 was retired by the Mountaineers.

Stan Jones, G-DT, CHI 1954-65 & WAS 1966.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1975 on his 4th Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

A National Champion at Maryland, Stan Jones was one of the first football players to understand the value of weight training as a professional football player.

Jones was spectacular on both sides of the ball, excelling at Guard in is first half and Defensive Tackle in his second.  He helped the Chicago Bears win the 1963 NFL Championship, and individually was a three-time First Team All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowl.

John Henry Johnson, FB-HB, CHI 1954-65 & WAS 1966.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1975 on his 4th Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

John Henry Johnson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Second Round of the 1953 Draft, but he opted instead to play in Calgary for a year.  After dominating in Canada, he joined the NFL, but not with Pittsburgh, but with San Francisco.

Johnson was a Pro Bowl Selection as a rookie, joining the Niners’ “Million Dollar Backfield” that also included High McElhenny, Y.A. Tittle and Joe Perry.  He would gradually see less touches, and was traded to Detroit in 1957, where he was converted from Halfback to Fullback, and the move helped lead the Lions to an NFL Championship that year.  After three years, Johnson was traded to the team that took him, Pittsburgh, where he had two 1,000 Yard Rushing Seasons, and went to three straight Pro Bowls (1962-64).

Retiring after one final year in Houston, Johnson retired with 8,381 Yards From Scrimmage and 54 Touchdowns. 

Clark Shaughnessy, HC LAR 1948-49, DC 1951-62.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project on his sixth Coaches/Contributors Ballot.  Was never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

One of the greatest minds in Football history, Clark Shaughnessy was the consummate tinkerer of schemes.  He reimagined the T-Formation, created the the three-receiver set, the 5-3-3 Defense, and consistently boasted one of the best defenses in college and pro football.   Shaughnessy’s selection marks the first (primarily) Assistant Coaches to enter the PFHOFRP.