Centennial Class Finalists

Last week, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 38 finalists for the Centennial Class. The Centennial Class will be a special Class that is part of the NFL's celebration of it's 100th birthday. The finalists were selected by a "Blue Ribbon Panel" composed of some members of the Pro Football Selection Committee, Hall of Famers, coaches, football executives, and several leading historians. This special class has the dual purpose of celebrating the league's wonderful history and doing proper justice to great players, coaches, and contributors that have been overlooked for far too long. No selection process is perfect and a lot of Hall of Fame-worthy people have been missed. The 100th birthday of the NFL is a great time to fix some things. The 38 finalists are made up of 20 senior players, eight coaches, and 10 contributors. The finalists will be deliberated by the "Blue Ribbon Panel" in January. From those deliberations 10 senior players, two coaches, and three contributors will be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020. Here are the 38 Finalists for the Centennial Class.

SENIORS (20 FINALISTS) - A player who last played more than 25 seasons ago

Cliff Branch, WR - 1972-1985 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders

Harold Carmichael, WR - 1971-1983 Philadelphia Eagles, 1984 Dallas Cowboys

Jim Covert, T - 1983-1990 Chicago Bears

Roger Craig, RB - 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings

Bobby Dillon, S - 1952-59 Green Bay Packers

LaVern Dilweg, E - 1926 Milwaukee Badgers, 1927-1934 Green Bay Packers

Ox Emerson, G/LB/C - 1931-37 Portsmouth Spartans/Detroit Lions, 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers

Randy Gradishar, LB - 1974-1983 Denver Broncos

Cliff Harris, S - 1970-79 Dallas Cowboys

Winston Hill, T - 1963-1976 New York Jets, 1977 Los Angeles Rams

Cecil Isbell, TB/DB/HB - 1938-1942 Green Bay Packers

Alex Karras, DT - 1958-1962, 1964-1970 Detroit Lions

Verne Lewellen, HB - 1924-27, 1928-1932 Green Bay Packers, 1927 New York Yankees

Tommy Nobis, LB - 1966-1976 Atlanta Falcons

Drew Pearson, WR - 1973-1983 Dallas Cowboys

Donnie Shell, S - 1974-1987 Pittsburgh Steelers

Duke Slater, T - 1922 Milwaukee Badgers, 1922-25 Rock Island Independents, 1926-1931 Chicago Cardinals

Mac Speedie, E - 1946-1952 Cleveland Browns [AAFC/NFL]

Ed Sprinkle, DE/LB/E - 1944-1955 Chicago Bears

Al Wistert, OT/DT/G - 1943 Phil-Pitt, 1944-1951 Philadelphia Eagles

COACHES (8 FINALISTS) - Coaches who last coached more than five seasons ago

Don Coryell - 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers

Bill Cowher - 1992-2006 Pittsburgh Steelers

Tom Flores - 1979-1987 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-94 Seattle Seahawks

Mike Holmgren - 1992-98 Green Bay Packers, 1999-2008 Seattle Seahawks

Jimmy Johnson - 1989-1993 Dallas Cowboys, 1996-99 Miami Dolphins

Buddy Parker - 1949 Chicago Cardinals, 1951-56 Detroit Lions, 1957-1964 Pittsburgh Steelers

Dan Reeves - 1981-1992 Denver Broncos, 1993-96 New York Giants, 1997-2003 Atlanta Falcons

Dick Vermeil - 1976-1982 Philadelphia Eagles, 1997-99 St. Louis Rams, 2001-05 Kansas City Chiefs

CONTRIBUTORS (10 FINALISTS) - An individual other than a player or coach

Bud Adams, Owner - 1960-2013 Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Titans

Ralph Hay, Owner - 1918-1922 Canton Bulldogs

Frank "Bucko" Kilroy, Scout/General Manager/Executive - 1960-61 Philadelphia Eagles, 1962-64 Washington Redskins, 1965-1970 Dallas Cowboys, 1971-2006 New England Patriots

Art McNally, Official/Administrator - 1959-2015 National Football League

Art Modell, Owner - 1961-1995 Cleveland Browns, 1996-2011 Baltimore Ravens

Clint Murchison, Founder/Owner - 1960-1983 Dallas Cowboys

Steve Sabol, Administrator/President - 1964-2012 NFL Films

Seymour Siwoff, Owner/President - 1952-2019 Elias Sports Bureau

Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner - 1989-2006 National Football League

George Young, Contributor/General Manager - 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts, 1975-78 Miami Dolphins, 1979-1997 New York Giants, 1998-2001 National Football League

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It wouldn't be a Flea Flicker Hall of Fame Class post without a guess at that Class. I'll start with my long-time short list of players most deserving of Hall of Fame induction.

Seniors
Duke Slater
LaVern Dilweg
Al Wistert
Mac Speedie
Alex Karras

From there, I'll add

Verne Lewellen
Ox Emerson
Drew Pearson
Donnie Shell
Randy Gradishar

Coaches
Don Coryell
Jimmy Johnson

Contributors
Steve Sabol
Seymour Siwoff
George Young

I don't know a lot about Seymour Siwoff but I do know that his Elias Sports Bureau has impacted sports like very few others.

It should be noted that the modern-era selection process is continuing as it normally does. The 25 semi-finalists were announced a few weeks ago. The 15 finalists will be announced in a few weeks. The potentially 5-member Hall of Fame Class will be announced on the eve of Super Bowl LIV. All of the debating and voting will be done by the Hall of Fame Selection Committee. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020 will have as many as 20 members, 15 members from the Centennial Class and potentially five modern-era members. There will be two enshrinement celebrations next year. The modern-era, coaches, and contributors will be enshrined on August 8, 2020. The 10 senior players will be on hand and celebrated but they won't be enshrined. Their enshrinement will take place during a celebration of the league's 100th birthday on September 16-19, 2020.