Press Release
Contact: Jeff McKenzie
646-246-2480
Jeff@CoachingCharities.com
Finalists Announced for Black College Football Hall of Fame
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Inaugural Class of Inductees Expanded to 11;
Priority Payment Systems Inaugural Enshrinement
Ceremony
to be Held February 20 in Atlanta, Georgia
December 10, 2009 (Atlanta, GA) – Thirty-five finalists were announced today for The Black College Football Hall of Fame. The inaugural class of inductees has been expanded to 11 members and will be honored on February 20, 2010 at the Priority Payment Systems Inaugural Enshrinement Ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia, in conjunction with Black History Month.
The Black
College Football Hall of Fame was established in October by football pioneer quarterbacks Pro
Bowl MVP James "Shack" Harris and Super Bowl MVP
Doug Williams to honor the
greatest football players and coaches from Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs).
ESPN Monday Night Football Analyst Jon Gruden will serve as Master of Ceremonies and former U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations and Statesman Andrew Young will serve as an Honorary Chairman for the Enshrinement
Ceremony. The event will be held from 6:00 – 9:30 p.m. at The Four
Seasons Hotel in Atlanta, Ga. (75 Fourteenth St. NE). Priority
Payment Systems is Title Sponsor and The
Four Seasons Hotel and King and
Spalding LLC have joined as Platinum
Sponsors of the Enshrinement Ceremony. For more information visit www.BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org.
The inaugural class of inductees will include eight players, two coaches and one contributor. A Selection Committee comprised of prominent journalists and football executives chose the finalists from a field of more than 260 nominees, and will vote again to select inductees. The 35 finalists are:
Player Finalists
Lem Barney (DB, Jackson State University, 1963-1966)
Mel Blount (DB, Southern University, 1966-1970)
Robert Brazile (LB, Jackson State University, 1971-1975)
Rosevelt Brown (OL, Morgan State University, 1949-1952)
Willie Brown (DB, Grambling State University, 1959-1963)
Junious ÒBuckÓ Buchanan (DE, Grambling State University, 1959-1963)
Harry Carson (DE, South Carolina State University, 1972-1975)
Willie Davis (DL, Grambling State University, 1952-1956)
Eldridge Dickey (Tennessee State University, 1964-1967)
Willie ÒGallopinÕ GalÓ Galimore (RB, Florida A&M University, 1953-1956)
Joe Gilliam, Jr. (QB, Tennessee State University, 1966-1969)
ÒBulletÓ Bob Hayes (WR/RB/KR, Florida A&M University, 1960-1964)
David ÒDeaconÓ Jones (DE, South Carolina State and Mississippi Valley State, 1958-1960)
Ed ÒToo TallÓ Jones (DL, Tennessee State University, 1970-1973)
Leroy Kelly (RB, Morgan State University, 1960-1963)
Willie ÒHoney BearÓ Lanier (LB, Morgan State University, 1963-1967)
Steve McNair (QB, Alcorn State University, 1991-1994)
Marion Motley (RB/LB, South Carolina State University, 1939-1942)
Walter ÒSweetnessÓ Payton (RB, Jackson State University, 1971-1974)
Jerry Rice (WR, Mississippi Valley State University, 1981-1984)
Willie ÒWonderful WillieÓ Richardson (WR, Jackson State University, 1959-1962)
Art Shell (OL, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, 1964-1967)
Ben ÒBig BenÓ Stevenson (RB, Tuskegee University, 1923-1930)
Willie ÒSatelliteÓ Totten (Mississippi Valley State University, 1982-1985)
Paul "Tank" Younger (RB/DB, Grambling State University, 1945-1948)
Coach Finalists
Earl Banks (Head Coach, Morgan State University, 1960-1973)
Marino ÒThe GodfatherÓ Casem (Head Coach, Alcorn State University, 1963-1992)
Alonzo ÒJakeÓ Gaither (Head Coach, Florida A&M University, 1945-1969)
Willie Jeffries (Head Coach, South Carolina State University, 1973-2001)
John ÒBig JohnÓ Merritt (Head Coach, Tennessee State University, 1953-1983)
Ace Mumford (Head Coach, 1927-1961)
Eddie G. Robinson (Head Coach, Grambling State University)
Contributor Finalists
Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones (President, Grambling State University)
Collie J. Nicholson (Sports Information Director, Grambling State University)
Bill Nunn, Jr. (Pittsburgh Courier Reporter and Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Scout)
The Black College Football Hall of Fame is sponsored by The Shack Harris & Doug Williams Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization. For more information visit www.BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org.
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