The Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project: 1955 FINAL VOTE

1955 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 of 1946?

After soliciting and obtaining a passionate group of football fans and historians, we sent out a ballot for a Preliminary Vote, 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, one Senior inductee and one Coaches/Contributor inductee.

This is the result of the tenth official class;

Below, are the final results of this project based on 30 votes, with a major change that we began “last year”:  ALL FINALISTS MUST obtain 50% of the VOTE!

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1955:

This is for the “Senior Era”, which resulted in no entry, though Youngstrom was close!

About the 1955 Inductees:

Jim Benton E, RAM 1938-42 & 1944-47, CHI 1943: Inducted in 1955 on his 3^rd Ballot.  Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Selected in the 2^nd Round out of the University of Arkansas in 1938, Jim Benton would go onto be one of the first great receivers in the history of the Rams franchise.  Benton led the NFL in Yards per Reception as a rookie and was named to the Pro Bowl in his second season.  He took 1941 off and returned to the NFL in 1942, and due to a heart murmur, he was not permitted to enlist in the U.S. Military for World War II.  He was loaned to the Chicago Bears in 1943 as the Rams were unable to field a team due to a depletion of talent but returned in 1944 and 1945 and 1946 but together two excellent seasons where he was the NFL leader in Receiving Yards.  1945 was a uniquely special season for Benton.  Not only would it be a large part of the Rams 1945 NFL Championship, his league-leading 1,067 Receiving Yards was accomplished in only nine games.  He also would become the first Wide Receiver to exceed 300 Yards in a Game, a mark that was duplicated for another 40 Years!  At the time of his retirement, he was second all-time in Receiving Yards, and he was chosen for the 1940’s All-Decade Team.

Cecil Isbell TB-HB, GNB 1938-42: Inducted in 1955 on his 8^th Ballot. Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Usually, when you speak of a five-year career in any sport, you can't be talking about a great player.  Not very many people had a five-year run like Cecil Isbell.  Isbell was the 7^th Overall Draft Pick by Green Bay in 1938, and as a rookie, he joined Arnie Herber in the Packers backfield.  Isbell was rushing more in the first two years, and back in those days, Tailbacks were often passing and rushing with similar frequency.  He would subsequently the Packers win the 1939 NFL Championship.  Isbell would take more of a passing role, and in 1941 and 1942, he would lead the NFL in Passing Yards and Passing Touchdowns, the last year seeing him be the first passer to throw for 2,000 Yards.  He would set the since broken record with 23 straight games with a Touchdown Pass.  He would retire after the 1942 season, though not due to injury but due to beginning a coaching career.