1990 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project Class.

Here we are!  Again!!

If you have been following our Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project, you know we have asked the question: What if the PFHOF had begun in January 1946?

After soliciting and obtaining a passionate group of football fans and historians, we sent out a ballot for a Preliminary Vote, in which each voter selected 25 names as their semi-finalists and five names for the Senior Pool. We then asked the group to vote for their 15 Finalists in the Modern Era and 3 in the Senior Category. The final stage was to vote for their five Modern Era inductee and one Senior inductee.

This is the result of the 45th official class. 

Below are the final results of this project based on 31 votes.

Remember that we have reverted back to the top five candidates entering the Hall in the Modern Era

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1990:

This is for the “Senior Era”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1990.

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1990.

About the 1990 Inductees:

Jack Lambert, LB, PIT 1974-84: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1990 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

The Steelers had already put together a powerful defensive corps before they used their Second Round Pick in 1974 to take Jack Lambert, the MAC Defensive Player of the Year two years before.

Lambert became the Steelers’ starting Middle Linebacker early in his rookie season, and he was so impressive that he was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year.  Lambert was arguably the final piece of the puzzle to create the Steelers dynasty, as Lambert, Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, and Franco Harris would win the Super Bowl that year.  As we know, that would be the first of four Super Bowls of the decade, and Lambert was at the heart of all of them. 

Lambert would become known as one of the hardest and most feared hitters in the National Football League.  Lambert won the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 1976, and with all due respect to Greene, Lambert was now the top dog of the Steel Curtain.  The Linebacker was a perennial Pro Bowl Selection from 1975 to 1983, and in addition to his 1976 First Team All-Pro, he had five more from 1979 to 1983.

Had Lambert not suffered from severe turf toe in 1984 (causing him to retire that year), it is conceivable he could have continued to pile on accolades.  Lambert left the game with a sick rate of 136 Approximate Value to 146 Games, one of the best ratios of its kind at his position.

Jack Youngblood, DE, RAM 1971-84: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1990 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

Jack Youngblood came from the University of Florida, and the 1st Round Pick would be asked to fill the shoes of possibly the most iconic defensive force in Rams history, Deacon Jones.  Considering the pressure he had to feel that he was under, it is more than safe to say that he did one hell of a job!

In his third season in the NFL (1973), Youngblood was named to his first of seven consecutive Pro Bowls, five of which earned him First Team All-Pro honors.  Although the Quarterback Sack was not an official statistic when he played, Youngblood is believed to have recorded 151.5 sacks over his career. 

In a tough sport, Youngblood was one of the toughest and most durable players, missing only one game in his 14 seasons, and is best remembered by Rams fans for playing with a broken fibula in both the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl XIV against the Steelers.  Although the Rams lost, the legend of Jack Youngblood grew to even greater heights in those two games.

Ken Houston, DB, HOU 1967-72 & WAS 1973-80.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1990 on his 5th Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

From Prairie View A&M, Ken Houston was taken way back in the 9^th Round of the 1967 Draft, and it could have been the biggest steal of that year's draft.  Ironically, the Oilers would make the worst trade in franchise history when they sent him to Washington years later.

The Safety was a starter as a rookie, starting nine of his 14 Games, and he made the Pro Bowl the following year and again over the next four seasons.  Houston was easily one of the top Safeties in the AFL/AFC when he competed as an Oiler, and he picked off 25 passes, returning nine for Touchdowns.  

The Oilers had a superstar in their defensive back corps, but they made a tactical error; as though they were struggling, they traded him to Washington for five players.  None of the players that Houston acquired would be decent

Houston continued his streak of Pro Bowls, adding six more to have a twelve-year streak.  Unlike while wearing the oil derrick, Houston was a First Team All-Pro in two of his seasons (1975 & 1978), and he had 24 Interceptions as a Redskin.  Houston was also regarded as one of the game’s most punishing tacklers, and he was one of the fastest players on the field.  He retired after the 1980 season, the year after his run of consecutive Pro Bowls ended.

Bob Hayes, SE-WR, DAL 1965-74 & SFO 1975.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1990 on his 10th Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

A two-sport athlete at Florida A&M, “Bullet” Bob Hayes starred in the 1964 Olympics, winning two Gold Medals (100m and 4x100m relay).  The Dallas Cowboys drafted him in the 7th Round, but he was not yet a refined football player, and it was widely assumed he would be a work in progress.  It did not take long to make it work!

Hayes’ explosive speed caused havoc for defenses and forced opponents to adopt zone schemes and bump-and-run to limit his advantage.  He led the NFL in Touchdown Receptions in his first two years, and later propelled the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl.

He compiled 7,414 Rushing Yards with 71 TDs, and is arguably the reason why General Managers look at 40-yard times! 

Franco Harris, RB, PIT 1972-83 & SEA 1984.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1990 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

With all due respect to the many great Running Backs that the Pittsburgh Steelers had, they are all in line behind Franco Harris, who is still the team’s all-time leading rusher.

Harris debuted in the professional ranks in 1972 for the Steelers, a team he didn’t have to travel far from, as he was a star at Penn State.  The Running Back won the Offensive Rookie of the Year, going to the Pro Bowl and rushing for 1,055 Yards and 10 Touchdowns.  This was the year Harris benefited from the "Immaculate Reception," a still-debated play in which the Steelers beat the Raiders in the playoffs.  Pittsburgh didn't win it all that year, but they had a Running Back in tow who could help them.

Harris was one of the best Running Backs of the decade, going to the Pro Bowl every season from 1972 to 1980.  Harris was a First Team All-Pro in 1977 (1,162 Rushing Yards and 11 TDs), but he arguably was better the season before with a league-leading 14 TDs and 1,128 Rushing Yards.  Harris helped propel the Steelers to four Super Bowl titles, earning MVP honors in the first.  Over 19 Playoff Games, Harris had 2,060 Yards From Scrimmage with 17 Touchdowns, an incredible number over intense situations.

Harris was with the Steelers until 1983, playing one final year in Seattle before retiring.  Overall, Harris would accumulate 14,234 Yards From Scrimmage with an even 100 Touchdowns. 

Gene Lipscomb, DT, RAM 1953-55, BAL 1956-60 & PIT 1961-62.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1990 on his 3rd Senior Ballot.  Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb enlisted in the military and played football at USMC Camp Pendleton, so if you think the teams of the NFL lightly recruited him, you would be right!

The 300-pound Lipscomb would, however, sign with the Los Angeles Rams in 1952 and would win the starting Right Defensive Tackle job in 1953, but went on to greater success when he was traded to the Baltimore Colts.  "Big Daddy" would help anchor the Colts to the 1958 and 1959 NFL Championships, and not so coincidentally, he was named a First Team All-Pro for his efforts.  Lipscomb went to Pittsburgh in 1961 and went to his third Pro Bowl in 1962, but that would be his final year in Pro Football, as sadly, his career ended when he died of a heroin overdose in May of 1963. 

Don Coryell, Coach, STL 1973-77 & SDG 1978-86.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1990 on his 2nd Coach/Contributor Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

Coryell was dubbed “Air Coryell” for placing a premium on the passing game and for creating a unique rhythm, forcing defenses to cover all parts of the field.  Tight Ends, Running Backs would go in motion, Receivers had no set start point, and the ball would be going to the target before the receiver would get there.  Coryell made deep routes a major part of his offense and changed how Tight Ends were played, making them a bigger part of the offensive target mix.  All of this is commonplace today, but it wasn’t happening before Coryell literally changed the way the game was played.

He would begin this revolution with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he would win two consecutive division titles, but it was in San Diego that he had the Quarterback he wanted (Dan Fouts), where he was really able to bring his vision to light.  His Chargers won the division three times and led the National Football League in passing for six consecutive seasons, a record that still stands today.

Coryell took his teams to the playoffs often, though he never made it to the Super Bowl; his offensive mindset changed the game.   That is a Hall of Fame worthy!

Spending the first decade of his career with the Dallas Cowboys (1965-74), Bob Hayes had a spectacular beginning, where he went to the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons and was a First Team All-Pro in his second and fourth year.  The Split End led the NFL in Touchdown Receptions in his rookie and sophomore year, and in both of those seasons, he went over the 1,000 Yard mark.