2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalists: Eddie DeBartolo, Charles Haley Make Final 17

by David Fucillo on Jan 7, 2012 12:01 PM PST in San Francisco 49ers News

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced their list of finalists for the 2012 class and former owner Eddie DeBartolo has made the cut. It is the first time he has made it through to the final round. Former outside linebacker/defensive end Charles Haley made the list of finalists as well. Roger Craig was not able to get enough votes to move past the semifinalist stage. The selection committee will meet on February 4 to determine the class and announce it before the Super Bowl.

Kevin Greene and Chris Doleman are finalists as well and spent modest amounts of time with the 49ers. My favorite memory of Kevin Greene was him head-butting Jim Druckenmiller while Druckenmiller was wearing and helmet and Kevin Greene was not. Unfortunately I cannot find a picture of the headbutt, but I've got to think some of you remember it. I think it was when the 49ers played the Rams.

Here are the 17 finalists (*-denotes senior nominee):

" Jerome Bettis, RB -- 1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers
" Tim Brown, WR/KR -- 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
" *Jack Butler, CB -- (1951-59 Pittsburgh Steelers)
" Cris Carter, WR -- 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins
" Dermontti Dawson, C -- 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers
" Edward DeBartolo, Jr., Owner -- 1979-2000 San Francisco 49ers
" Chris Doleman, DE/LB -- 1985-1993, 1999 Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95 Atlanta Falcons, 1996-98 San Francisco 49ers
" Kevin Greene, LB/DE -- 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers
" Charles Haley, DE/LB -- 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys
" Cortez Kennedy, DT -- 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks
" Curtis Martin, RB -- 1995-97 New England Patriots, 1998-2005 New York Jets
" Bill Parcells, Coach -- 1983-1990 New York Giants, 1993-96 New England Patriots, 1997-99 New York Jets, 2003-06 Dallas Cowboys
" Andre Reed, WR -- 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins
" Willie Roaf, T -- 1993-2001 New Orleans Saints, 2002-05 Kansas City Chiefs
" Will Shields, G -- 1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs
" *Dick Stanfel, G -- (1952-55 Detroit Lions, 1956-58 Washington Redskins)
" Aeneas Williams, CB/S -- 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams

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Comments

There are some people who should be locks.

Eddy D, Charles Haley, Tim Brown , Jerome Bettis, Willie Roaf

Californa is world PVP at it's finest.

by Sammallory on Jan 7, 2012 12:07 PM PST reply actions

Cris Carter

by Method24 on Jan 7, 2012 12:19 PM PST up reply actions

I don't think Bettis is one of the greatest RBs of all time

If he gets in its based on his personality as a Steeler

Follow @FLPReliableCPR

by mcwagner on Jan 7, 2012 1:03 PM PST up reply actions

Haley SHOULD be a lock

But, we all know that the votes needed to get in are not based ENTIRELY on one’s play on the field, and Haley, while a remarkable talent, was SUCH an a-hole that I could see him getting bypassed the first time around.

On the other hand, it’s not an especially strong group, so I put his odds at better than 50/50.

Also, can I just say how much I like Aldon Smith both as a player AND in terms of how he carries himself?

"Football combines the two worst things about America: It is violence punctuated by committee meetings" -George Will

by lottwasgangsta on Jan 7, 2012 2:22 PM PST up reply actions