The Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project: 1979 Final VOTE

1979 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 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. 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 34th official class. 

Below are the final results of this project based on 32 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 1979:

This is for the “Senior Era”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1979.

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1978.

About the 1979 Inductees:

Dick Butkus LB, CHI 1965-73: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1979 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

A beast at the University of Illinois, Dick Butkus was a two-time All-American who won the Big Ten MVP in 1963. Butkus stayed close to home as a pro, as he was taken with the third overall pick in 1965.

Chicago was not a powerhouse when Butkus played, but he was the reason to pay attention to the team. One of the most punishing tacklers in football history, offensive skill players were quaking with the knowledge that they could be on the end of a Butkus tackle. Butkus would define the middle linebacker position, and his versatility became a standard that only a few have since matched.

Butkus played in the NFL for nine seasons, earning Pro Bowl honors for the first eight and being named a First Team All-Pro for five of them. He is also one of the select few who have won the Defensive Player of the Year award twice.

After Butkus retired, he went on to become a successful actor.

Johnny Unitas, QB, BAL 1956-72 & SDG 1973: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1979 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

Johnny Unitas is considered by many (and include us in that category) as the games first modern Quarterback, an incredible accomplishment for someone who was not drafted in the top 100.

“Johnny U” took over the reins full time in 1957 and promptly took the Colts to their first winning season.  The following season was even more magical.  Unitas took his team to the NFL Championship and won the game in what was then called “The Greatest Game Ever Played”, a win in overtime that cemented the National Football League as a television juggernaut.  

Unitas would top that in 1959, again winning the NFL Title and this time winning his first of three MVPs.  Four times Unitas would lead the NFL in Touchdown Passes and four times he would lead the league in Passing Yards.  The revolutionary pivot and five-time First Team Pro Bowl selection was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility.

Larry Wilson, DB, STL 1960-72.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1979 on his 2nd Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978.

Larry Wilson fell to the Seventh Round of the 1960 Draft as many teams worried about his small stature translating into the pro ranks.  As it turned out, the St. Louis Cardinals got one of the biggest bargains in draft history.

Wilson played his entire career with the Cardinals, and is regarded as one of the best Safeties in the game.  An eight-time Pro Bowl and five-time First Team All-Pro, Wilson led the NFL in Interceptions in 1966 (10), and had 52 overall.  Wilson was also excellent in the pass rush, and while he did not invent the Safety Blitz, he was the first to perfect it.

Don Maynard, FL-WR, NYG 1958, NYT/NYJ 1960-72 & STL 1973.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1979 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

A college star at Texas Western (the future UTEP), Don Maynard was drafted by the New York Giants. He played for them sparingly as a rookie, prompting him to leave the team for Hamilton of the Canadian Football League the following season.  In his third professional year, Maynard returned to New York City, but this time with the Titans of the upstart American Football League.

Maynard would become the team’s top Wide Receiver, exceeding 1,000 Yards five times, and winning the AFL Receiving Title in 1967.  A four-time Pro Bowl and All-AFL Team Selection, Maynard helped lead the Jets to a Super Bowl win as the primary target for Joe Namath.

Retiring after a final season with the St. Louis Cardinals, Maynard left the game with an exceptional 11,834 Receiving Yards and 88 Touchdowns. 

Leroy Kelly, RB, CLE 1964-73.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1979 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994. 

We can't even imagine what it must have been like for Leroy Kelly to follow in the footsteps of Jim Brown.  

Realistically, who could?  

Despite this, Kelly, who was drafted by the NFL in 1964, initially served as Brown's understudy and assumed the starting role when Brown unexpectedly retired.  Kelly thrived, going to six straight Pro Bowls (1966-71) and winning the Rushing Title twice (1967 & 1968).  Kelly also led the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns in three consecutive seasons (1966-68).  While his production was not equal to Brown's, whose was?

Kelly rushed for 7,274 Yards and 74 Touchdowns on the ground, which for his era, was very impressive.

Art Rooney, Owner, PIT 1936-87.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1979 on his 1st Coaches/Contributor Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964.

Art Rooney founded the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933, where they were named the Pirates until 1942.  The Steelers struggled for years, but Rooney weathered huge financial losses to keep the team afloat in a city that loved the game of football.

Rooney is very rare in that he was far more successful after he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (though not in our revisted project).  The Steelers would win four Super Bowls in the 1970s and become one of the most popular teams in sports.