Former Miami Dolphins Bob Kuechenberg and Dick Anderson are among the 34 seniors to advance to the second round of consideration for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Kuechenberg, a versatile offensive lineman, and Anderson, a ball-hawking safety, were each key cogs in the Dolphins 1971-73 run where they won three AFC titles and two Super Bowls, including finishing 17-0 in 1972.
Additionally, versatile running back Roger Craig, who scored three touchdowns against the Dolphins in Super Bowl 19 in 1985, former MVP Ken Anderson and returning finalists Maxie Baughan and Jim Tyrer are among the 34 players who advanced to the next stage for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 in the seniors category.
A blue-ribbon committee reduced the list down from 52 nominees from a screening committee of players who last could have appeared in a professional football game in the 2000 season.
The committee will cut down the list to nine semifinalists and then three finalists who will advance to voting conducted before the Super Bowl in February. There also will be 15 modern-era finalists, one coach and one contributor for the Class of 2026. Between four and eight new members will be elected in the second year of this current format.
The candidates revealed Thursday also included 2024 finalist Art Powell, who fell short in the final voting that season.
Here is the second-round seniors list:
Quarterbacks (3): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Roman Gabriel
Running backs (4): Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul “Tank” Younger
Wide receivers/tight ends (7): Isaac Curtis, Lavvie Dilweg, Henry Ellard, Harold Jackson, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Otis Taylor
Offensive linemen: (5): Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert
Defensive linemen (2): L.C. Greenwood, Jim Marshall
Linebackers (6): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Larry Grantham, Lee Roy Jordan, Clay Matthews Jr., Tommy Nobis
Defensive backs (6): Dick Anderson, Bobby Boyd, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Lemar Parrish, Everson Walls
Special teams (1): Steve Tasker
Originally Published: