1982 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 37th official class. 

Below are the final results of this project based on 33 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 1982:

This is for the “Senior Era”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1982.

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1982.

About the 1982 Inductees:

Merlin Olsen, DT, RAM 1962-76: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1982 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

The Outland Trophy winner from Utah State, Merlin Olson, was the third overall pick in the 1962 Draft, and as a rookie, he would go to the Pro Bowl.  That was the first of fourteen straight Pro Bowl appearances for Olsen, which set a record that has since been tied but not surpassed.  Olsen would anchor the Rams' defense, where he was part of the greatest group of Defensive Linemen of the 1960s, "The Fearsome Foursome," consisting of Olsen, Deacon Jones, Rosey Grier, and Lamar Lundy.

Not only was Olsen good, but he also seemed to be good forever.  In addition to those 14 Pro Bowls, he would be considered an elite performer for most of those seasons.  Olsen was named a First Team All-Pro five straight seasons (1966-70) and was a Second Team All-Pro another four times.  So respected was Olsen that in 1974, he would become the Bert Bell Award winner (becoming the second defensive player to do so), which is presented by the Maxwell Football Club to whom they deem the MVP.  Realistically, if Olsen was going to win this award, it should have been in an earlier year, but in true Olsen fashion, he thanked all defensive players.  This man was indeed a class act!

A member of both the 1960s and 1970s All-Decade Team, Olsen would go on to have a successful career as an actor and broadcaster.  The Rams retired his no. 74, and in 2020, he was posthumously named to the NFL 100th Anniversary Team.

Eddie Meador, DB, RAM 1959-70: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1982 on his 7th Ballot.  Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In the 1960s, the Los Angeles Rams defense was primarily known for its "Fearsome Foursome" Defensive Line, but there was a star in their Secondary by the name of Eddie Meador, who would be chosen for six Pro Bowls.  Meador came from Arkansas Tech and would become the starting Left Cornerback in his second season.  That year (1960), he was named to the Pro Bowl, but when he moved to Right Safety in 1964, he was in a better spot for his skill set.  Meador would go to five straight Pro Bowls (1964-68) and was a First Team All-Pro in both 1968 and 1969.

As of this writing, Meador is still the Rams' all-time leader in Interceptions (46), and he would be named to the 1960s All-Decade Team.

Billy Howton, E, GNB 1952-58, CLE 1959 & DAL 1960-63.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1982 on his 14th Ballot.  Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Billy Howton was the all-time leader when he retired in 1963.  He has dropped considerably since then.

A top receiver for the Green Bay Packers throughout the 1950s, Howton was a constant fixture for years in every receiving category.  When he became the all-time leader in receptions and yards, he took that slot from the legendary Don Hutson.

A huge force works against him (for the actual Hall) as he was cast off from the Green Bay Packers when the most iconic figure in professional football, Vince Lombardi, arrived in the tundra.  Many speculated that if he wasn’t good enough for Lombardi, he couldn’t possibly be good enough for Canton.  That is a compelling argument.  While we acknowledge that fact, Howton helped lay the groundwork for today's modern Wide Receivers, and that also can't be dismissed, as acknowledged here.

Tom Sestak, DT, BUF, 1962-68.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1982 on his 9th Ballot.  Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

One of the most dominating Defensive Tackles of the AFL, Tom Sestak, joined the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League in 1962, where he quickly became the team's defensive anchor.  Sestak was an AFL All-Star in his first four seasons, and in years two through four, he was a First Team All-Pro and was in the top ten in Approximate Value.  The Bills won the 1964 and 1965 AFL Championship, and during that timeframe, Sestak and the Buffalo Defense would hold opponents without a rushing touchdown in seventeen straight games, a record that still stands.  Knee problems would force an early retirement after the 1968 Season, but his play was strong enough to make the AFL All-Time Team.

Abe Woodson, DB, SFO 1958-64 & STL 1965-66.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1982 on his 11th Ballot.  Was never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Abe Woodson’s regular role was at Cornerback, where he would accumulate 19 Interceptions over his career, but it was his returning ability that would see him gain five straight Pro Bowl selections (1959-63)

Drafted in the 2^nd Round from the University of Illinois, Abe Woodson's best seasons were with the San Francisco 49ers.  Woodson, who was also a two-time First Team All-Pro, would record 6,850 Return Yards and would average a whopping 28.7 Yards per Kick Return.  He would have four straight years where he had at least 1,000 All-Purpose Yards.

Weeb Ewbank, Coach, BAL 1954-62 & NYJ 1963-73.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1982 on his 6th Coaches/Contributor Ballot.  Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978.

Weeb Ewbank would win four championships under Paul Brown as an Assistant Coach with Cleveland, and under his learning tree, he was able to thrive as a Head Coach, first with the Baltimore Colts in 1954.

Ewbank guided the Colts to back-to-back NFL Championships in 1958 and 1959, cementing Baltimore as a top franchise.  After falling out of favor with Colts management, he was let go in 1962, but went to the AFL to coach the New York Jets the following year.   Ewbank led New York to the 1968 AFL Title, and then they stunned the sporting world by winning Super Bowl III, defeating his old team. 

Ewbank remained with the Jets until 1974 and went down as the only man in football history to win an NFL and AFL Championship.

He retired with a record of 130-129-7.