Press Release
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Black College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Announced
Priority Payment Systems 2 Annual Enshrinement Ceremony to be Held February 19, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia
October 21, 2010 (Atlanta, GA) - Today the Black College Football Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2011. The newest members were selected from a list of 35 finalists who had been determined earlier by the Black College Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee comprised of journalists and former football executives from around the country. The committee includes Ernie Accorsi, Charles Bailey, Gil Brandt, Charles Garcia, Donald Hunt, Mike Hurd, Roscoe Nance, Ty Miller, Charlie Neal, and Lloyd Vance. Deacon Jones and Bill Nunn, who were inducted in to the Hall of Fame in 2010, also took part in selecting the final eleven to be in the 2011 class.
The inductees will be honored February 19, 2011 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia at the Priority Payment Systems 2nd Annual Enshrinement Ceremony from 6:00-9:30pm. ESPN Monday Night Football Analyst Jon Gruden will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the Enshrinement Ceremony.
Black College Football Hall of Fame - Class of 2011
- Lem Barney (DB, Jackson State University, 1963-1966)
- Mel Blount (DB, Southern University, 1966-1970)
- Roosevelt Brown (OL, Morgan State University, 1949-1952)
- Willie Davis (DL, Grambling State University, 1952-1956)
- "Bullet" Bob Hayes (WR/RB/KR, Florida A&M University, 1960-1964)
- Joe Kendall (QB, Kentucky State, 1934-1936)
- Art Shell (OL, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, 1964-1967)
- Doug Williams (QB, Grambling State University, 1974-1977)
- Earl Banks (Head Coach, Morgan State University, 1960-1973)
- Willie Jeffries (Head Coach, South Carolina State University, 1973-2001)
- Collie J. Nicholson (Sports Information Director, Grambling State University)
The Black College Football Hall of Fame was established in October of 2009 to honor the greatest football players and coaches from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Previous inductees include greats such as Buck Buchanan, Willie Lanier, Walter Payton, Eddie G. Robinson, Jerry Rice, and Tank Younger. Eight players, two coaches and one contributor are inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame annually.
About the Player Inductees
Lem Barney, DB
Barney finished his college career at Jackson State University with three all Southwestern conference honors and 26 career interceptions. He was drafted in 1967 in the second round by the Detroit Lions and named 1967's defensive rookie of the year. He finished his career by being selected to seven Pro Bowls, and finished his career with 56 career interceptions. He also gained over 1,000 yards returning kickoffs and punts. In Barney's first pro start, he intercepted the first pass in his direction from Green Bay's Bart Starr and ran for a touchdown.
Mel Blount, DB
Blount made the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) all- conference team twice and was selected SWAC Most Valuable Player (MVP) his junior year. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1970 as the fifty-third overall pick. He led the NFL in interceptions in 1975 with eleven and was named NFL Defensive MVP for that year. He helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls and played in five Pro Bowls, earning MVP honors in the 1976 game. He played in 200 games and missed only one over the course of 14 seasons.
Roosevelt "Rosey" Brown, OT
Brown revolutionized the game with his 6'3", 255-pound frame, and being very agile and quick on his feet which is very unusual for his era. After being drafted in 1953 in the 27th round of the NFL Draft, Brown was named to the Pro Bowl a total of nine times and helped the Giants win the NFL Championship in 1956. For eight straight years, he was a virtually unanimous All-NFL choice and was named to nine Pro Bowls. In 1975, "Rosey" Brown became only the second player to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the merits of his offensive line play alone.
Willie Davis, DE
Davis never missed a game out of a possible 162 games in his 12-year tenure. He was known for dropping opposing ball carriers or quarterbacks for losses and or causing them to lose possession of the football. He recovered 21 opponents' fumbles during his career, just one shy of the record when he retired. An All-NFL selection five times in six years from 1962 to 1967 and selected to play in five consecutive Pro Bowls his time with the Packers included five NFL championships and six divisional titles in eight seasons.
Bob "Bullet" Hayes, WR
Hayes is the only man to win both a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic Gold medal. His blazing speed helped catapult him as one of the top wide receivers in the nation in college. Drafted in 1964 in the eighth round by the Dallas Cowboys he became the second player in the history of the Cowboys franchise to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year. He finished his 11-year career with an impressive 20 yards per catch average, and holding franchise records for both his career touchdowns and yards per catch average.
Joe "Tarzan" Kendall, QB
Kendall dominated black college football in the 1930s while leading Kentucky State to a national championship in 1934. A three-time First Team All-America selection from 1934-36 by the Pittsburgh Courier, he was inducted into the Kentucky State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1975. He had an impressive 29-7-3 overall record during his years at KYSU. Kendall is the first person from Kentucky State University to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Art Shell, OT
Shell starred on both offense and defense at Maryland Eastern Shore. He was named All-Conference three years, All-America two years by the Pittsburgh Courier and Ebony Magazine. Drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1968, Shell was a first- or second-team All- Pro choice six straight years from 1973 through 1978. He also played in eight Pro Bowl games and the Raiders victories in Super Bowl XI and XV.
Doug Williams, QB
Williams finished his college career with an impressive record of 36-7 as a starter at Grambling State University. He was a first team All-American and finished fourth in the 1978 Heisman Trophy voting in 1978. That same year, Williams was drafted in the first round (17th overall) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is most famous for his time with Redskins where he led the team to victory in Super Bowl XXII, becoming the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Williams completed 18 of 29 passes for 340 yards, with four touchdown passes, and was named Super Bowl MVP.
About the Coaches
Earl Banks, Head Coach
Banks completed his career with a .839 win-loss percentage, and led the nation in total defense twice. There were numerous lofty accomplishments in his 14 years at Morgan State. Three unbeaten seasons, a 31 game win streak, three unbeaten regular seasons, five CIAA conference championships and four bowl games. He was the CIAA Coach of the Year - 1962, 1965, and 1966.
Willie Jeffries, Head Coach
Jeffries was able to record three Black National Championships, seven Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championships, and a record of 179-132-6 in his 29-year career. He coached 19 years at his alma mater South Carolina State University (SCSU) in two stints, five years at Wichita State University, and five years at Howard University. Jeffries won almost 60 percent of the college games he coached, which made him the "winningest coach" in the 107-year history of SCSU and owner of more MEAC victories than any other coach. Jeffries was the first African American head coach of a NCAA Division I-A football program.
About the Contributor
Collie J. Nicholson
Nicholson was best known as the man with the "Golden Pen." In his 30 year career as the Sports Information Director, Nicholson brought national attention to Grambling State University's football program. He found ways for his football teams to travel around the nation. His accomplishments include selling 64,000 seats at Yankee Stadium in 1968 for a game against Morgan State. In 1974, he moved the annual game between Grambling and Southern University, to New Orleans, named it the Bayou Classic and sold it out year after year. He was also responsible for Grambling playing games in Japan in 1976 and 1977. His marketing of the University's athletic programs was trend setting.
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
