Tweet
LINK
The wait is over
Steve King, Staff Writer
02.03.2007
Gene Hickerson's long wait -- a wait that has encompassed nearly three decades -- is finally over.
It ended mid-Saturday afternoon when the former Browns offensive guard got the news that he had been elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after being on the eligibility list for 29 years.
Better late than never. In fact, when a Browns aide at Hickerson's home in the Cleveland suburb of Cleveland was informed by clevelandbrowns.com that he had made it, the roar in the house was as loud and deafening as that from the 80,000 who used to watch him play at Cleveland Stadium.
"I want to thank my many teammates throughout my NFL career that made playing in Cleveland so special," Hickerson said. "We had so many talented players who cared for each other and helped to create a true team concept, especially on that 1964 NFL championship team."
Hickerson, who will turn 72 on Feb. 15, will be inducted into the Canton, Ohio shrine during the annual HOF weekend Aug. 4 and 5.
He will be joined by:
*Tight end Charlie Sanders (1968-77 with the Detroit Lions).
*Wide receiver Michael Irvin (1988-99 with the Dallas Cowboys).
*Running back Thurman Thomas (1988-99 with the Buffalo Bills and 2000 with the Miami Dolphins).
*Cornerback Roger Wehrli (1969-82 with the St. Louis Cardinals).
*Offensive lineman Bruce Matthews (1983-2001 with the Houston/Tennessee Oilers and Tennessee Titans), the younger brother of former Browns star linebacker Clay Matthews.
All of them were also voted in Saturday by the HOF Selection Committee when it met in Miami prior to Sunday's Super Bowl XLI matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears at Dolphin Stadium.
Specific voting results were not announced, but by rule, inductees have to receive a minimum of 80 percent, or 32 votes, from the 40 electors. By rule, they had to select between three and six finalists, and they chose to go the limit by taking six.
Hickerson, who first became eligible for the HOF in 1978, five years after he retired, had been to this stage of the selection process on three other occasions, in 1981, '82 and '83 as a modern-day finalist. In 1992, he fell under the jurisdiction of the Senior Committee, a sub-group of the Selection Committee representing older players, but never made it back again as a finalist until this year, when he was one of 17 remaining from a preliminary list of over 100.
The Senior Committee can name two nominees every year, and Hickerson got the nod along with Sanders. They were joined by 15 modern-day finalists.
The finalists who did not make it were defensive ends Fred Dean and Richard Dent, punter Ray Guy, offensive guards Bob Kuechenberg and Russ Grimm, wide receivers Art Monk and Andre Reed, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, linebackers Derrick Thomas and Andre Tippett and offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman.
Thus, Hickerson, who played for the Browns for 15 years, from 1958-60 and 1962-73, becomes the sixteenth former member of the club -- and the fifth offensive linemen -- to make it into the HOF. That puts the Browns into sole possession of fifth place among NFL teams for most players in the Hall. They had been tied with the Washington Redskins.
Other ex-Browns linemen in the HOF are tackles Lou Groza and Mike McCormack, center Frank Gatski and guard Joe DeLamielleure. Groza also was a place kicker.
The remaining Browns in the HOF are middle guard Bill Willis, wide receivers Paul Warfield and Dante Lavelli, tight end Ozzie Newsome, running backs Marion Motley, Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell, quarterback Otto Graham, defensive end Len Ford and head coach Paul Brown.
Hickerson, who was born in Trenton, Tenn., was a seventh-round draft choice -- a future selection, as it was called then -- of the Browns in 1957, when he still had a year of eligibility remaining at Mississippi. He joined the club in 1958 and was used as a messenger guard through '62 for Paul Brown. He missed the 1961 season with a broken leg suffered in the preseason opener.
When Brown was fired, his replacement, Blanton Collier, immediately made Hickerson a full-time starter in 1963 and he remained in that role for the next 11 seasons. He was a five-time All-NFL pick, was selected for six Pro Bowls and was named to the NFL's All-Decade team for the 1960s, helping the Browns to four NFL Championship Games in a six-year span, and seven playoff appearances overall.
The Browns, who never suffered a losing season when Hickerson was with them, captured the NFL crown in 1964 with a 27-0 victory over the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts.
Hickerson, who remained in the Greater Cleveland area following his retirement and now resides in the suburb of Avon, will be busy appearing in various HOF functions in the months leading up to his enshrinement.
His first order of business will be to leave the snow and bitter cold of Northeast Ohio and fly to the sun and warmth of Honolulu, where he will be honored with the other inductees next Sunday night at the annual Pro Bowl. That, in itself, may have been worth this 29-year wait.
The wait is over
Steve King, Staff Writer
02.03.2007
Gene Hickerson's long wait -- a wait that has encompassed nearly three decades -- is finally over.
It ended mid-Saturday afternoon when the former Browns offensive guard got the news that he had been elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after being on the eligibility list for 29 years.
Better late than never. In fact, when a Browns aide at Hickerson's home in the Cleveland suburb of Cleveland was informed by clevelandbrowns.com that he had made it, the roar in the house was as loud and deafening as that from the 80,000 who used to watch him play at Cleveland Stadium.
"I want to thank my many teammates throughout my NFL career that made playing in Cleveland so special," Hickerson said. "We had so many talented players who cared for each other and helped to create a true team concept, especially on that 1964 NFL championship team."
Hickerson, who will turn 72 on Feb. 15, will be inducted into the Canton, Ohio shrine during the annual HOF weekend Aug. 4 and 5.
He will be joined by:
*Tight end Charlie Sanders (1968-77 with the Detroit Lions).
*Wide receiver Michael Irvin (1988-99 with the Dallas Cowboys).
*Running back Thurman Thomas (1988-99 with the Buffalo Bills and 2000 with the Miami Dolphins).
*Cornerback Roger Wehrli (1969-82 with the St. Louis Cardinals).
*Offensive lineman Bruce Matthews (1983-2001 with the Houston/Tennessee Oilers and Tennessee Titans), the younger brother of former Browns star linebacker Clay Matthews.
All of them were also voted in Saturday by the HOF Selection Committee when it met in Miami prior to Sunday's Super Bowl XLI matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears at Dolphin Stadium.
Specific voting results were not announced, but by rule, inductees have to receive a minimum of 80 percent, or 32 votes, from the 40 electors. By rule, they had to select between three and six finalists, and they chose to go the limit by taking six.
Hickerson, who first became eligible for the HOF in 1978, five years after he retired, had been to this stage of the selection process on three other occasions, in 1981, '82 and '83 as a modern-day finalist. In 1992, he fell under the jurisdiction of the Senior Committee, a sub-group of the Selection Committee representing older players, but never made it back again as a finalist until this year, when he was one of 17 remaining from a preliminary list of over 100.
The Senior Committee can name two nominees every year, and Hickerson got the nod along with Sanders. They were joined by 15 modern-day finalists.
The finalists who did not make it were defensive ends Fred Dean and Richard Dent, punter Ray Guy, offensive guards Bob Kuechenberg and Russ Grimm, wide receivers Art Monk and Andre Reed, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, linebackers Derrick Thomas and Andre Tippett and offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman.
Thus, Hickerson, who played for the Browns for 15 years, from 1958-60 and 1962-73, becomes the sixteenth former member of the club -- and the fifth offensive linemen -- to make it into the HOF. That puts the Browns into sole possession of fifth place among NFL teams for most players in the Hall. They had been tied with the Washington Redskins.
Other ex-Browns linemen in the HOF are tackles Lou Groza and Mike McCormack, center Frank Gatski and guard Joe DeLamielleure. Groza also was a place kicker.
The remaining Browns in the HOF are middle guard Bill Willis, wide receivers Paul Warfield and Dante Lavelli, tight end Ozzie Newsome, running backs Marion Motley, Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell, quarterback Otto Graham, defensive end Len Ford and head coach Paul Brown.
Hickerson, who was born in Trenton, Tenn., was a seventh-round draft choice -- a future selection, as it was called then -- of the Browns in 1957, when he still had a year of eligibility remaining at Mississippi. He joined the club in 1958 and was used as a messenger guard through '62 for Paul Brown. He missed the 1961 season with a broken leg suffered in the preseason opener.
When Brown was fired, his replacement, Blanton Collier, immediately made Hickerson a full-time starter in 1963 and he remained in that role for the next 11 seasons. He was a five-time All-NFL pick, was selected for six Pro Bowls and was named to the NFL's All-Decade team for the 1960s, helping the Browns to four NFL Championship Games in a six-year span, and seven playoff appearances overall.
The Browns, who never suffered a losing season when Hickerson was with them, captured the NFL crown in 1964 with a 27-0 victory over the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts.
Hickerson, who remained in the Greater Cleveland area following his retirement and now resides in the suburb of Avon, will be busy appearing in various HOF functions in the months leading up to his enshrinement.
His first order of business will be to leave the snow and bitter cold of Northeast Ohio and fly to the sun and warmth of Honolulu, where he will be honored with the other inductees next Sunday night at the annual Pro Bowl. That, in itself, may have been worth this 29-year wait.
Comment