The Peanut Punch.

Every week in the NFL, there is a contest where the announcer references those three words when a defensive player punches the ball out of a carrier’s arm, resulting in a forced fumble.  It is part of the football lexicon and is practiced by every defender in football.  It all began with Charles “Peanut” Tillman.

From Louisiana-Lafayette, Tillman was Chicago’s Second Round Pick in 2003, and became their starting Left Corner as a rookie.  A takeaway machine with his ball-stripping skills, Tillman also was a competent ball hawk who had 38 Interceptions, eight of which were returned for pick-sixes.  Tillman was twice named to the Pro Bowl (2011 & 2012), the latter year in which he co-led the NFL in Forced Fumbles (10) and Interception Return Touchdowns (3), and was a First Team All-Pro.

Peanut might be unlikely to enter Canton, but his imprint on the National Football League will forever be felt.

One of the most successful Cornerbacks in Ohio State history, Antoine Winfield was an All-American who won both the Jim Thorpe Award and the Jack Tatum Trophy in 1998, which propelled him to a First Round Pick where he landed in nearby Buffalo.

The Bills used him as the third Corner as a rookie, but he became a starter and showcased elite tackling and man-to-man coverage over the next four seasons.  Winfield started as a Bill, but he became a star in Minnesota purple.  He signed with the Vikings in 2004, where his versatility shone through.

Winfield was a Viking from 2004 to 2012, where he had 21 of his 27 Interceptions.  He also had a three-year run of Pro Bowls (2008-10), which included a Second-Team All-Pro in 2008. He had always been a physical player, but in the late 2000s, he finally got his due.

Winfield retired after the 2012 Season with 1,054 Tackles and an imprint on everyone he delivered them to.

1961 SEMI-FINAL RESULTS:

Thank you for all of you who have participated in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project. If you are unaware of what that is, we acted as if the PFHOF had its first class in January 1946.

We have completed the years up to 1960.

For “1961,” a Preliminary Vote with over 100 players whose playing career ended by 1954. We are also following the structure in that players have 20 years of eligibility, and if they do not make it into the Hall, they are relegated to the Senior Pool.

Each voter was asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, and the top 25 vote-getters were named Semi-Finalists.

A week later, the voters were asked to pick 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists, and next week, they will pick five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process weekly until we catch up to the current year.

30 Votes took place, with the top five advancing.

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

We will post the Finalists of the Class of the 1961 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project next Saturday.

Thank you to all who contributed. If you want to be part of this project, please let us know!

Doug Wilkerson was all set to play college ball at Michigan State, but an incident with another student in his senior year of high school led to its revocation.  It didn't derail his path to the pros; though he attended the small HBCU North Carolina Central, he shone so brightly that the Houston Oilers selected him in the first round in 1970.  As a rookie, Wilkerson did not start and was also playing at Defensive End.  The Oilers traded the Guard to San Diego, and he would play a large part in the “Air Coryell” Offense of the Chargers. 

Wilkerson was San Diego’s starting Left Guard from 1971 to 1984, and with the arrival of Dan Fouts in 1973 and Coryell’s arrival in 1978, Wilkerson became the protector of the Chargers offense.  Fouts was routinely throwing for unprecedented passing yards at the time, and Wilkerson was one of the top guards who rarely got his due, with the exception of the San Diego media.  Wilkerson was finally rewarded with three straight Pro Bowls (1980-82) and a First Team All-Pro in 1982.  Arguably one of the best Offensive Linemen in Chargers history, Wilkerson is part of the Chargers Hall of Fame and Black College Hall of Fame.