CANTON, Ohio (AP) -Let the lobbying begin.
Even before the six newest members were officially inducted into the Hall of Famer Saturday, some of their predecessors were already campaigning for other players and coaches to make the cut.
Joe Gibbs, who won three Super Bowls with the Washington Redskins and was part of the 1996 induction class, started the parade after being asked whether he was surprised only three players, including new inductees Art Monk and Darrell Green, had been selected from his teams. The other is running back John Riggins, who was enshrined in 1992.
“If you look back at that period in time, it kind of overlapped the ’80s and the ’90s, and I kind of felt like that may have hurt them,” Gibbs said. “I was hoping more people would be recognized, and I hope a number of other guys get in, too.”
Gibbs didn’t name names but no players from the team’s trademark offensive line, nicknamed “The Hogs,” are in.
Then again, the Hall has only 33 offensive linemen enshrined, and it wasn’t until this year that Gary Zimmerman, considered one of the best tackles of his era, made it.
But Gibbs’ hardest effort didn’t come for a Redskin; it was his former mentor, Don Coryell, an offensive innovator who won 72 games with San Diego and created the moniker “Air Coryell.”
“I have strong feelings about this, in part because I played for him,” Gibbs said. “He had no ego, had great common sense and had an intensity for the game. He was extremely creative and fostered things that are still in today’s game because he was so creative. I think he’s affected a lot of coaches, and I’d like to see him get in.”
Next up: Thurman Thomas, the former Buffalo Bills running back, on behalf of former teammate Andre Reed.
Reed caught 951 passes in his career before retiring in 2000. That’s more than Monk, who retired as the career leader in receptions (940) in 1995. Jerry Rice now holds that record with 1,549.
One knock against the Bills is that despite making four straight Super Bowls, they never won one.
Reed has already missed three chances to get in, and receivers such as Rice, Cris Carter and Tim Brown are all ahead of him on the receptions chart – and could get in before him.
“I hope it doesn’t take him 13 years to get in,” Thomas said.
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STILL PLANNING: During last year’s induction speech, Thomas asked his wife to marry him again.
A year later, the couple still has not renewed their vows.
Why?
“I have an idea of what I want to do, and it will definitely be part of a nice package for my wife,” Thomas said. “I want all of the Hall-of-Famers to come back for it because this is where I did it. It takes time to work some of these things out because everyone has a busy schedule.”
Thomas is asking everyone to just be patient.
While he still has not set a date or a place for the event, he again promised it will happen in time.
“You know it took me six years to get in here, it may take me six more years to get it done again,” he said.
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INSIDE LOOK: John Hannah and Anthony Munoz were two of the best offensive linemen of their era.
They also felt privileged that Andre Tippett and Gary Zimmerman were about to join them in the Hall of Fame.
Hannah, who played for New England with Tippett, said he was one of the toughest players he ever faced – even if it was only in practice.
“I got to go against him one on one in practice,” Hannah said. “His greatest skill was his nasty and relentless desire to play football. On game day, he was an inspiration for his teammates.”
Munoz had a different look at Zimmerman, who played with Minnesota and Denver.
Instead of lining up against Zimmerman, Munoz kept tabs by watching him closely from his home in Cincinnati. Munoz, one of the greatest tackles to play in the NFL, believed Zimmerman was just as good as others said he was.
“He’s a guy I watched a lot, and I thought he was one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Munoz said.
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ALL IN FAMILY: Green and Monk were such good friends in Washington that they would sometimes take their family vacations together.
So it seems only fitting that Green’s son, Jared, and Monk’s son, James, were both chosen to introduce their fathers Saturday. The reunion in Canton this week has done more than just rekindle old memories. It’s also prompted some storytelling.
“When I think of Jared, I think of taking family trips to Disney and giving him piggyback rides at Disney,” James Monk said.
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SHORT STUFF: If you’re looking for the Green family this weekend, the new inductee says his contingent shouldn’t be hard to find.
“If you see a bunch of people under 5-foot-9, that’s us,” he said.
Green was not only one of the fastest players in the league, winning the NFL’s fastest man competition four times, but also one of its smallest at 5-8.
He couldn’t even count how many family members came to Canton, explaining instead that seven of his siblings are here – his youngest brother couldn’t make the trip because he is ill. Also in town are nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles and even grandchildren.
“We’re a short group,” he said. “Oh, except for my one son (Jared), who is 6-2.”
Green’s son is a sophomore at Virginia, where he plays wide receiver.
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