AP Photo/Paul Spinelli
CANTON, OHIO – "Selection Saturday" resulted in eight "Heroes of the Game" earning election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Hall's selection committee held its annual selection meeting today in Minnesota to elect the Class of 2018. The new class of Enshrinees was just announced on stage at NFL Honors , a two-hour primetime awards special that will air nationally tonight at 9 p.m. (ET and PT) on NBC. The newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame include contributor Bobby Beathard, linebacker Robert Brazile, safety Brian Dawkins, guard Jerry Kramer, linebacker Ray Lewis, wide receiver Randy Moss, wide receiver Terrell Owens, and linebacker Brian Urlacher.
Today's annual selection meeting in Bloomington, Minnesota capped a year-round selection process. The newly elected Hall of Famers were chosen from a list of 18 finalists who had been determined earlier by the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Selection Committee.
Representatives of the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche tabulated all votes during Saturday's meeting.
The Class of 2018 will be officially enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during the spectacular Enshrinement Ceremony held inside Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton on Saturday, Aug. 4.
The Enshrinement Ceremony is the main event of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls.
RANDY MOSS
Wide Receiver … 6-4, 210 … Marshall … 1998-2004, 2010 Minnesota Vikings, 2005-06 Oakland Raiders, 2007-2010 New England Patriots, 2010 Tennessee Titans, 2012 San Francisco 49ers 14 seasons, 218 games … 1st round pick (21st overall) by Vikings in 1998 NFL Draft … Made instant impact at pro level with 69 catches for 1,313 yards and a league-leading 17 touchdowns in rookie season … Named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year … Eclipsed 100-catch mark in back-to-back seasons, 2002-03 … Recorded career-best 111 catches for 1,632 yards for Vikings in 2003 … Set NFL record with 23 touchdown receptions in his first season with Patriots, 2007 … Started in four conference championship games and two Super Bowls … Registered 10 or more TD catches in a season nine times … Led NFL in TD receptions five times (1998, 2000, 2003, 2007, and 2009) …Became second player to eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving 10 times … Career numbers include 982 catches for 15,292 yards and 156 TDs … Also scored touchdown on punt return; threw 2 TD passes and scored four two-point conversions … Earned All-Pro honors four times … Voted to six Pro Bowls… Selected to NFL All-Decade Team of 2000s … Born February 13, 1977 in Rand, West Virginia.
SELECTION MEETING
The first order of business for the Selection Committee at today's meeting was to discuss and debate the merits of the Senior Finalists, Brazile and Kramer. Both former players were required to receive at least an 80 percent positive vote to earn election. Next, the career of Beathard, this year's Contributor Finalist, was reviewed. Like all other Finalists, the Contributor Finalist needed a minimum 80 percent positive vote to be elected. The Selection Committee then presented and reviewed the 15 Modern-Era Finalists that included two cut downs in the process. The first cut of finalists was from 15 to 10. The five eliminated from consideration at that point were Isaac Bruce, Joe Jacoby, Edgerrin James, John Lynch and Everson Walls. The final 10 finalists were reduced to five. Removed at that point were Tony Boselli, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, Ty Law and Kevin Mawae. The five remaining finalists – Dawkins, Lewis, Moss, Owens and Urlacher – were then voted on individually and all five received the necessary 80 percent positive vote from the Selection Committee to be elected.
2018 PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
ENSHRINEMENT WEEK POWERED BY JOHNSON CONTROLS
Beathard, Brazile, Dawkins, Kramer, Lewis, Moss, Owens and Urlacher will be formally enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. The Enshrinement Ceremony takes place at the spectacular Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton and will be televised nationally by NFL Network and ESPN. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls, a multi-day celebration of the enshrinement of the newest Hall of Fame Class, is held each year in Canton. The 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls kicks off with the annual Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Aug. 2. Other major events complementing the Enshrinement Ceremony and Hall of Fame Game are the nationally televised (NFL Network) Enshrinees' Gold Jacket Dinner (Friday, Aug. 3) and the Enshrinees Roundtable (Sunday, Aug. 5). The festivities wrap up on Sunday night with the Concert for Legends. More than 130 Gold Jackets (living Hall of Famers) return to the Hall of Fame each year to be a part of the Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls. Nowhere else are fans able to see and interact with as many Hall of Famers in one place at one time as in Canton during the annual celebration. The Hall of Fame Game, Enshrinement Ceremony and the Concert for Legends, will be held in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The venue is a major component of the $800 million Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, currently under construction on the Hall's campus.
