Press Release
Media Contact:
Marques Fitch
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Finalists Announced for 2011 Black College Football Hall of Fame Induction
The Hall of Fame's 2 Class will include 11 Inductees. Priority Payment Systems 2nd Annual Enshrinement Ceremony to be Held February 19, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia
October 1, 2010 (Atlanta, GA) - Thirty-five finalists were announced today for The Black College Football Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame's 2nd annual class of inductees will include 11 new members to be honored on February 19, 2011 at the Priority Payment Systems 2nd Annual Enshrinement Ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia, in conjunction with Black History Month.
The Black College Football Hall of Fame was established in October 2009 to honor the greatest football players and coaches from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and held its inaugural enshrinement ceremony in February 2010 in Atlanta. The inaugural Hall of Fame induction class included the following players, coaches and contributors: Junious "Buck" Buchanan; Alonzo "Jake" Gaither; Willie Galimore; David "Deacon" Jones; Willie Lanier; Bill Nunn; Walter Payton; Jerry Rice; Eddie Robinson; Ben Stevenson; and Paul "Tank" Younger.
ESPN Monday Night Football Analyst Jon Gruden has signed on to be the Master of Ceremonies. 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 has joined as Platinum Sponsors of the Enshrinement Ceremony.
For more information visit www.BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org.
Following the Hall of Fame's tradition, the class of 2011 will include 11 inductees, 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 275 nominees, and will vote again in the middle of October to select the inductees for the class of 2011.
The 35 finalists for 2011 are:
Player Finalists
- Lem Barney (DB, Jackson State University, 1963-1966)
- Elvin Bethea (OLB, NC A&T, 1959-1962)
- Emerson Boozer (RB, Maryland Eastern Shore, 1962-1965)
- 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)
- Harry Carson (DE, South Carolina State University, 1972-1975)
- Willie Davis (DL, Grambling State University, 1952-1956)
- Eldridge Dickey (Tennessee State University, 1964-1967)
- "Bullet" Bob Hayes (WR/RB/KR, Florida A&M University, 1960-1964)
- Kenny Houston (DB, Prairie View A&M, 1964-1967)
- Charles Humphrey (DE, Tennessee State University, 1964-1967)
- Ed "Too Tall" Jones (DL, Tennessee State University, 1970-1973)
- Leroy Kelly (RB, Morgan State University, 1960-1963)
- Joe Kendall (QB, Kentucky State, 1934-1936)
- Larry Little (OG, Kentucky State, 1934-1936)
- Steve McNair (QB, Alcorn State University, 1991-1994)
- Marion Motley (RB/LB, South Carolina State University, 1939-1942)
- Willie "Wonderful Willie" Richardson (WR, Jackson State University, 1959-1962)
- Art Shell (OL, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, 1964-1967)
- Donnie Shell (DB, South Carolina State, 1970-1973)
- John Stallworth (WR, Alabama A&M, 1970-1973)
- Willie "Satellite" Totten (Mississippi Valley State University, 1982-1985)
- Doug Williams (QB, Grambling State University, 1974-1977)
Coach Finalists
- Cleve Abbot (Head Coach, Tuskegee, 1923-1954)
- Earl Banks (Head Coach, Morgan State University, 1960-1973)
- Marino "The Godfather" Casem (Head Coach, Alcorn State University, 1963-1992)
- W.C. Gorden (Head Coach, Jackson State University, 1976-1991)
- Willie Jeffries (Head Coach, South Carolina State University, 1973-2001)
- John "Big John" Merritt (Head Coach, Tennessee State University, 1953-1983)
- Ace Mumford (Head Coach, Southern University, 1927-1961)
Contributor Finalists
- Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones (President, Grambling State University)
- Collie J. Nicholson (Sports Information Director, Grambling State University)
- Howell Hornsby (Football Operations, NC A&T University)
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
