1964 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 that we have asked the rhetorical question: What if the PFHOF began 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 we asked each voter to give us 25 names as their semi-finalists and 5 in the Senior Pool. Following that, we 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 nineteenth official class;

Below are the final results of this project based on 32 votes,

Remember that the group took a vote in “1963”, and we have reverted back to the top five candidates entering the Hall PROVIDING THEY MAKE 50% of the vote.  This will be put to a vote again in “1966”.

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1964:

This is for the “Senior Era”,

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1964, though no candidate made the 50% threshold.

About the 1964 Inductees:

Jack Christiansen DB, DET 1951-58: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1964 on his 1^st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970.

Jack Christiansen was a game-changing Defensive Back who altered how people viewed the Safety position.  A significant part of the Lions’ two early 1950s NFL Championships, Christiansen was one of the game’s first true ball hawks, twice leading the National Football League in picks and earning six nods as a First Team All-Pro.

Christiansen was also a spectacular returner, taking eight punts back for a Touchdown, and still holds the record for the most yards per Punt Return.

Len Ford DE-E, LAD 1948-49, CLE 1950-58: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1964 on his 1^st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976.

A National Champion at Michigan in 1947, Len Ford signed with the Los Angeles Dons of the AAFC, but the Dons were not one of the teams that would be absorbed into the NFL when the two leagues merged after the 1949 Season.  The Cleveland Browns took Ford in the Dispersal Draft, who was one of the teams that the NFL did take and who won all four AAFC Titles.

Ford, who was more of a two-way End in L.A., was predominantly used on defense in Cleveland and aided the Browns in their 1950 NFL Championship Team.  Ford became one of the best Defensive Ends in the game, and he was chosen for four straight First Team All-Pros and Pro Bowls (1951-54) and would later be named to the 1950s All-Decade Team.  He was also integral in Cleveland's 1954 and 1955 NFL Championships.

He played with the Browns until 1957, when he was traded to Green Bay, where he played one final year.

Ford was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976 and was an inaugural member of the Browns Ring of Honor in 2010.

Dick Barwegen, G, NYY 1947, BCL 1948-49, CHI 1950-52, BAL 1953-54.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1964 on his 5^th Ballot.  Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Dick Barwegan was an outstanding Pro Football player, but other than those who decided who should be on the 1950's All-Decade Team; he might be one of the most under the radar players in the history of the game.

It is easy to see why, as he was a late round pick of the Brooklyn Tigers in 1945, but didn’t play pro ball until 1947, and that was with the New York Yankees of the AAFC.  He only played there one year and went to the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts (again in the AAFC) and finally played in the NFL in 1950 with the Chicago Bears, where he played for three seasons before finishing with the second incarnation of the Baltimore Colts for two years.

All of these factors led to Barwegan being lost in the annals of history as he does not have any deep association with any team.  Thus, we have a four-time First Team All-Pro who did not get his due in Canton, but he does here.

From Colorado A&M, Jack Christiansen was chosen in the sixth round of the 1951 NFL Draft, and he came in as a track-star athlete with game-breaking speed. Operating as the catalyst for Detroit’s secondary—famously nicknamed "Chris's Crew"—Christiansen revolutionized the safety position. His closing speed and instincts forced opposing offenses into a strict game plan: don't throw into his zone, and whatever you do, don't punt the ball anywhere near him.

Christiansen made his debut with an outstanding rookie season in 1951, establishing an NFL record by scoring four touchdowns on punt returns. This included a notable single-game achievement against Los Angeles, where he returned two punts for touchdowns—a feat he impressively replicated six weeks later against Green Bay on Thanksgiving. He maintained this momentum throughout 1952, achieving an NFL-record average of 21.5 yards per punt return along with two additional touchdowns. During this period, he also contributed significantly to the secondary, helping Detroit secure its first world championship in 17 years.

In 1953, Christiansen reached his peak performance, transitioning fully to strong safety and delivering one of the most impressive defensive seasons ever. He topped the league with 12 interceptions, including a 92-yard return for a touchdown, helping the Lions secure consecutive NFL Championships against Cleveland. This outstanding year sparked a six-year run of First-Team All-Pro selections (1952–1957), during which he recorded 8 interceptions in 1954 and again in 1956.

The crown jewel of his career came in 1957. Christiansen once again led the NFL in interceptions with 10 takeaways, serving as the defensive general for a squad that dismantled Cleveland 59–14 in the championship game, securing his third world title ring. By the time injuries prompted his retirement after the 1958 season, his eight career punt return touchdowns remained an NFL gold standard for more than three decades.

Statistically, Christiansen played in 89 regular-season games and amassed 46 interceptions for 717 return yards, three pick-sixes, and 85 punt returns for 1,084 yards (a 12.8 career average) with eight touchdowns, alongside three NFL Championship rings. A six-time First-Team All-Pro, five-time Pro Bowler, two-time NFL interception leader, and member of the NFL’s 1950s All-Decade Team, Christiansen was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970 and named a charter member of the Pride of the Lions in 2009.