The Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project: 1993 Final VOTE

1993 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 48th 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 1993:

This is for the “Senior Era”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1993.

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1993.

About the 1993 Inductees:

Walter Payton, RB, CHI 1975-87: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1993 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

A Chicago Bear for his entire professional playing career, Walter Payton would be the one to eclipse Jim Brown’s rushing record, and for a time, he was the all-time leader in rushing yards (16,726) and all-purpose yards (21,264).

Payton would rush for at least 1,200 yards nine times, making both the 1970s and 1980s All-Decade Teams. A beloved player, Payton was always giving back to the community, winning the Man of the Year Award in 1977, the same season he won MVP.

He died young at 45, falling victim to a rare liver disease. The NFL would rename an accolade he once won, the Man of the Year Award, the Walter Payton Man of the Year.

Perhaps the best way to describe Payton is a quote from his former coach, Mike Ditka, who told him, "the greatest player he had ever seen, but even greater as a human being."

Kellen Winslow, TE, SDG 1979-87: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1993 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

The San Diego Chargers used their first-round pick in 1979 to obtain Kellen Winslow, a Tight End from Missouri.  Injuries held him to seven Games that year, but over the next four years, he was easily the best Tight End in the National Football League.

From 1980 to 1983, Winslow was named to the Pro Bowl and was a First Team All-Pro in the first three years of that window.  He exceeded 1,000 Receiving Yards in three of those seasons and would have had the fourth had it not been for the 1982 strike. Winslow was ahead of his time, as he set a single-season receiving record for Tight Ends (1,290 in 1980) that held until Rob Gronkowski broke it in 2011.  In San Diego, he will always be known for his playoff game against the Miami Dolphins in 1981 with a 166-yard, one-touchdown performance, and a block of a Field Goal to send the game into overtime.  San Diego's Head Coach, Don Coryell, expertly used Winslow, lining him up in unique positions to create mismatches all over the field. 

Injuries began to pile up in 1984, and following his last Pro Bowl year in 1987, knee problems caused him to retire.  The two-time leader in Receptions had 6,741 Yards for 45 Touchdowns, which were phenomenal stats for a Tight End of his day.

Dan Fouts, QB, SDG 1973-87.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1993 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Dan Fouts played his entire pro career with the San Diego Chargers, and his arm was the basis of the passing mantra of Don “Air” Coryell.

Fouts arrived as a third-rounder in 1973, and his first five seasons in the NFL were neither terrible nor impressive. This changed in 1978 when the Chargers named Don Coryell as their Head Coach.  Coryell believed in a high-octane, long-pass system, which enabled Fouts to use his full skill set.   

From 1979 to 1982, Fouts was the NFL’s most prolific passer, and he led the NFL in Passing Yards in all of those seasons. Fouts was the first player to throw for over 4,000 Yards in three straight seasons, and he was first in Passing Yards per Game in six different years.  The Quarterback would take the Chargers to the AFC Championship Game, and he was named to the Pro Bowl in five consecutive seasons (1979-83) and was twice a First-Team All-Pro.  Fouts was the 1982 NEA MVP, PFWA MVP, and the Offensive Player of the Year, and that was his second straight year leading the NFL in Approximate Value.  It was especially impressive considering he had an AV of 22, in what was only a nine-game year due to the strike!  Fouts retired after the 1987 season and was considered one of the best QBs of his era. 

While Philip Rivers passed many of Fouts' franchise passing records, Fouts was putting up numbers that few could at the time, and when he retired, only Fran Tarkenton had more Passing Yards than Fouts, who retired with 43,040. 

Dwight Stephenson, C, MIA 1980-87.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1993 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

Dwight Stephenson played mostly on Special Teams in his first two seasons in the NFL after being chosen from Alabama in the second round of the 1980 draft, but by 1982, he was ready to become one of the best Centers in the game.

Stephenson would go to the Pro Bowl in 1983 and continued that honor over the next four seasons.  In 1983, Quarterback Dan Marino was drafted, and as he became a megastar, Stephenson led the Offensive Line that would protect one of the most exceptional passers of all time.  From 1984 to 1987, Stephenson was a perennial First Team All-Pro, and there were few, if any, defensive players who could get past him, and if they did, it rarely happened again.  He was also known for his philanthropic work, and he won the Man of the Year Award in 1985.

A knee injury cut short his 1987 season, and he elected to retire afterward. 

Robert Brazile, LB, HOU 1975-84.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1993 on his 4th Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

With the imposing nickname of "Dr. Doom," Robert Brazile was one of the first players from an HBCU to be a high First Round selection when the Houston Oilers took the Jackson State star sixth in 1975.

Brazile instantly won the starting Right Outside Linebacker job for the Oilers and was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year.  A devastating tackler, Brazile was one of the few Linebackers who could stop the run at the same high level that he could pass rush, and his leadership on defense helped take Houston to back-to-back AFC Championship Games in the late 70s.

The seven-time Pro Bowler played all of his career with Houston, retiring after the 1984 season following the death of his wife, Cookie, in a car crash.  

Brazile entered the Titans Ring of Honor in 2018.

Marshall Goldberg, FB-HB, CRD 1939–43 & 1946-48.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1993 on his 20th Senior Ballot.  Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Marshall Goldberg was a major star at the University of Pittsburgh, and he would ply his trade well for the Chicago Cardinals.  Goldberg did it all in the early 1940s, especially in the 1941 season, where he rushed for 427 Yards, received passes for 313 yards, and was the top finisher in Kick Return Yards (290), earning him the league lead in All-Purpose Yards (1,236) and a Pro Bowl Selection.  He would finish fifth in All-Purpose Yards in 1942.

Like many NFL players, he served his country in World War II, and when he came back, he would rejoin the Cards and help them win the NFL Championship in 1947.  Historically, Goldberg was one of the first Jewish stars in the NFL.

Tex Schramm, President/General Manager, DAL 1960-88.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1993 on his 14th Coach/Contributor Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

Tex Schramm was an executive for the Los Angeles Rams from 1947 to 1956, but when your birth name is "Texas" (although he was born in California), you assume you will arrive in the Lone Star State. When it became clear that the NFL was going to expand in Dallas, Schramm lobbied to become their general manager. Through his connections, he got his wish, and the Dallas Cowboys were better because of it.

Two of Schramm's early hires were head coach Tom Landry and chief scout Gil Brandt. Both Landry and Brandt became Hall of Famers, but Schramm had his own contributions to make.

Schramm had a vision not just for the Dallas Cowboys but for the NFL as a whole. The Cowboys became "America's Team" and went to five Super Bowls, winning two while Schramm was their top executive. Schramm was a major figure in labor negotiations across the league, and he advocated cosmetic changes to the sport, such as instant replay, referees’ microphones, and the 30-second clock between plays. 

You can argue that much of the “look” of the NFL came from Schramm.