Miami – All those Super Bowls. Six for those counting, more than any NFL team but the Dallas Cowboys.
All those wins. No other NFL team has a better regular-season record since 1974 than the Broncos (311- 199-2).
All those great players, with multiple Pro Bowl appearances.
Yet just one Hall of Famer. When it comes to his place in Canton, Ohio, John Elway is a lonely Bronco.
For the fourth time in five years, former Broncos offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman was a finalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame voters. For the fourth time in five years, he didn’t get past the first cut, much less 32 of the necessary 40 votes for election.
“I’m not surprised,” Zimmerman said from his home in Bend, Ore. “It’s just hard for an offensive lineman to make it. There are no stats to judge it. It’s almost an invisible position when you’re doing your job. A guy like Bruce Matthews, who played 19 seasons and made all those Pro Bowls, I don’t have that.”
Matthews, a versatile Houston Oilers offensive lineman who made 14 consecutive Pro Bowls, was the only member of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2007 elected on the first ballot. Also getting the nod Saturday were Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas, Detroit Lions tight end Charlie Sanders, St. Louis Cardinals cornerback Roger Wehrli and Cleveland Browns guard Gene Hickerson.
The selections of Hickerson, who mostly played in the 1960s and blocked for three Hall of Fame running backs (Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Kelly), and 1970s-era players Sanders and Wehrli showed an emphasis the voting committee placed on remembering yesteryear.
“There aren’t many guys in that (voting) room who saw these guys play and if we don’t take care of them soon, nobody’s going to,” said Don Pierson of the Chicago Tribune. “Nobody has anything against Gary Zimmerman. But the Hall of Fame didn’t start until 1963 and it already had a 40-year backlog. It’s taken us another 40 years to catch up. And we’re still catching up. I don’t think Zimmerman has to worry.”
Zimmerman joined former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue among those who didn’t make the first cut Saturday from 17 finalists to 11. The selection committee then trimmed the list to the final six. The five who made the final 11, but not Canton: defensive ends Fred Dean and Richard Dent, linebackers Andre Tippett and Derrick Thomas and wideout Art Monk.
Zimmerman, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection in his 12 NFL seasons, remains the only player to make two all-decade teams – 1980s and 1990s – and not make the Hall of Fame among players who are eligible.
Zimmerman played his first seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, then finished his career with Denver.
“Don’t even mention the Vikings with me,” Zimmerman said. “My teammates and their fans were great, but the organization treated me so poorly. The Broncos were the complete opposite. (Owner) Pat Bowlen made it easy for us to feel like we were part of a family.”
Zimmerman, 46, was forced to retire in part because of chronic shoulder pain after the Broncos won their first NFL championship with a 31-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII.
Elway, the quarterback who led the Broncos to five Super Bowls and two NFL titles, was inducted in 2004.
Two other former Broncos are in the Hall of Fame, but running back Tony Dorsett played 11 of his 12 active seasons with the Cowboys and cornerback Willie Brown played 12 of his 16 seasons with the Oakland Raiders.
Hall of Fame
A capsule look at those elected Saturday into the Hall of Fame:
GENE HICKERSON
Guard, 6-feet-3, 248 pounds
1958-73 Browns
15 seasons, 202 games
Selected as future choice in seventh round of 1957 draft. … A tackle in college, was shifted to guard. … Was lead blocker for three Hall of Famers: Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Kelly. … First-team all-pro five consecutive seasons (1966-70). … Voted to Pro Bowl six straight times (1966-71). … Chosen for NFL’s all-decade team of the 1960s.
MICHAEL IRVIN
Wide receiver, 6-2, 207
1988-99 Cowboys
12 seasons, 159 games
Cowboys’ first-round pick (11th overall) in 1988 draft. … Led league with 1,523 yards on 93 catches in 1991. … Had 1,000-
yard seasons in all but one year from 1991-98 … In 1995, Irvin had his finest season: 111 catches for 1,603 yards. He also established an NFL record with 11 100-yard games and scored 10 touchdowns. … Cowboys made four straight appearances in NFC championship game (1992-95) and won three Super Bowls. … Finished career with 750 receptions for 11,904 yards and 65 TDs. … Selected to five straight Pro Bowls. … Picked for NFL’s all-decade team of the 1990s.
BRUCE MATTHEWS
Guard, tackle, center, 6-5, 289
1983-2001 Oilers/Titans
19 seasons, 296 games
Selected by Houston in first round (ninth overall) of 1983 draft. … Was anchor on offensive line that contributed to team’s seven consecutive playoff seasons. … Voted to first of 14 consecutive Pro Bowl teams (nine at guard, five at center) following 1988 season, tying Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen for most ever. … Was voted all-pro nine times. … Selected as guard on NFL’s all-decade team of the 1990s.
CHARLIE SANDERS
Tight end, 6-4, 230
1968-77 Lions
10 seasons, 128 games
Selected by Detroit in third round (74th player overall) of 1968 draft. … Was voted to seven Pro Bowls. … In second season, caught 42 passes for 656 yards and three TDs, earning first of three consecutive all-pro honors. … At time of retirement was Lions’ all-time receptions leader (336), and his career yards receiving (4,817) ranked second. … Was Lions’ leader or co-leader in receptions six of his 10 seasons. … Chosen for NFL’s all-decade team of the 1970s.
THURMAN THOMAS
Running back, 5-10, 198
1988-99 Bills, 2000 Dolphins
13 seasons, 182 games
Selected in the second round of the 1988 draft. … A key part of Bills’ unprecedented run of four straight Super Bowl appearances. They lost all of them. … Set record by leading NFL in total yards from scrimmage four consecutive seasons. … In 1991, gained more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and was voted league’s MVP. … At time of retirement, ranked sixth all-time in career yards from scrimmage (16,532). … Rushed for 12,074 yards. … Only Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders ran for more yards in the 1990s. … One of only three running backs (Walter Payton and Marcus Allen) to have more than 400 receptions and 10,000 yards rushing…. Selected to five consecutive Pro Bowls.
ROGER WEHRLI
Cornerback, 6-0, 190
1969-82 Cardinals
14 seasons, 193 games
Selected in first round (19th overall) of 1969 draft. … Amassed 40 career interceptions, two for touchdowns. … From 1974-76, picked off 12 passes as Cardinals put together string of three straight double-figure win seasons, including back-to-back NFC East titles (1974, 1975). … Intercepted three of Roger Staubach’s passes during key 31-17 win over division-rival Dallas, Dec. 7, 1975. … Recovered franchise record-tying 19 fumbles during career. … Voted to NFL’s all-decade team of 1970s, was first-team all-pro five times (1970, 1974-77) and made Pro Bowl seven times.
Source: Pro Football Hall of Fame.
