Hogs Haven
It’s past time for the HoF to recognize Doug’s historical achievement
The NFL has announced the semifinalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the “Contributor” category. Super-Bowl winning quarterback for the Washington Redskins, Doug Williams, is among the nine semifinalists. Here are some details of the selection process:
Nine individuals who contributed to the sport of professional football in varied ways have been named as Semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 presented by Visual Edge IT.
Members of the Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee made their selections from a field of 25 in their most recent reduction vote. The committee will discuss the Semifinalists at length when it meets virtually Nov. 12 to select one Finalist for the full Selection Committee to consider for possible election with the new class of enshrinees.
The nine Semifinalists in the Contributor category this year are: K.S. “Bud” Adams, Ralph Hay, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Art Modell, Art Rooney Jr., Seymour Siwoff, Doug Williams and John Wooten.
Looking at the list, I don’t see anyone that I would automatically put ahead of Doug. We should get another update soon after the November 12 meeting.
There are many categories of potential inductees to the Hall of Fame. A short while back, I wrote about the slate of “Senior” candidates, with a focus on several players with links to the Washington franchise.
The NFL has just announced the 25 candidates in the “Contributor” category. The list focuses mostly on men and women who are deceased or, if alive, beyond middle years since it focuses on a lifetime of contribution. The list covers a wide range of roles. For example, television sportscasters like Chris Berman and Howard Cosell are on the list. The thunder-voiced narrator of the early NFL films, John Facenda, made the cut. Team owners like Robert Kraft, Virginia McCaskey and Art Modell (and others) also qualify. Jim Tunney, a long-time official, is one of the twenty-five names on the “Contributor” list.
There is only one person on the list, however, that is known primarily for his career as an NFL player — that person is Doug Williams.
Williams’ place in NFL history was cemented when he became the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl (XXII), not to mention doing so with an MVP performance. For anyone young enough not to remember that achievement or to think it is somehow without merit or meaning, let me assure you that players like Jayden Daniels, Dak Prescott, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Michael Vick and others only got the opportunity to play the position in the NFL because of Doug Williams and a handful of his contemporaries — players like Vince Evans, Warren Moon and Randall Cunningham who overcame tremendous bias to become successful pro quarterbacks.
In the 1970s, when Williams entered the NFL, it was widely believed that Black athletes lacked the intelligence and leadership...
