Cal in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The University of California Golden Bears do not have a strong presence in Canton. The induction of Tony Gonzalez this weekend doubles the number of former Cal players honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Les Richter
Tony Gonzalez

That's it. It's a deserved total. Richter came out of the Senior pool of candidates in 2011. He should've made it long before that. It's been said that once you're in the Hall of Fame it doesn't matter how long it took. In Richter's case, it does matter. He passed away about six months before he made it. But that's a whole other story. This is about Cal's presence in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Cal's college football history has had some really strong moments. Andy Smith's Wonder Teams of the early 1920's, 1937, Pappy Waldorf's 1948-50 Rose Bowl teams, 1991, a couple of Jeff Tedford's teams in the 2000s. So, there's been about two handfuls of terrific football teams in over 130 years of Cal football. Go Bears!

Despite a modest, at best, college football presence Cal has sent some solid football talent to the NFL. Here's a list of some of that talent.

Lee Artoe
Bob Reinhard
Johnny Olszewski
Matt Hazeltine
Craig Morton
Joe Kapp
Ed White
Loren Toews
Ray Wersching
Steve Bartkowski
Chuck Muncie
Ted Albrecht
Wesley Walker
Ron Rivera
Gary Plummer
Hardy Nickerson
Ken Harvey
Sean Dawkins
Chidi Ahanotu
Todd Steussie
Reagan Upshaw
Deltha O'Neal
Andre Carter
Nick Harris
Scott Fujita
Nnambi Asomugha
Aaron Rodgers
Brandon Mebane
Marshawn Lynch
Tarik Glenn
Lorenzo Alexander
DeSean Jackson
Alex Mack
Tyson Alualu
Cameron Jordan
Mitchell Schwartz
Keenan Allen
Jared Goff

It's a modest list, but there's some strong NFL talent. Especially among the more recent players.

Aaron Rodgers will be heading to Canton five years after he retires. Alex Mack, Cameron Jordan, Mitchell Schwartz, and Keenan Allen are currently doing the sort of things that get players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Speaking of Schwartz, has there ever been a player that's received All-Pro recognition for three years (one 1st-team) and not received a Pro Bowl invite? He's the best right tackle in the league. How is he not a Pro Bowl regular? A Hall of Fame case can and will be made for Nnambi Asomugha, Marshawn Lynch, and maybe even DeSean Jackson. I think that Asomugha's best years needed to last a little longer. Lynch was among the better running backs in the league for nearly all of his career. I don't think that he was one of the best running backs in the league for enough years. Jared Goff? Who knows? But he's had a nice start to his career.

There are two former Cal players that never played in the NFL that deserve a mention. Jackie Jensen might be the best football player to ever play for Cal. If he'd chosen football over baseball maybe he's in Canton. The other Golden Bear didn't get to the NFL for a far different reason. Cancer took Joe Roth before he even had the chance.

Cal's Hall of Fame tally stands at two. That'll change in the coming years.