From James Alder,
Your Guide to Football.
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Oct 14 2003

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has released the preliminary list of nominees for induction in 2004. The list is headlined by first-time nominees John Elway and Barry Sanders, who should both be shoe-ins for enshrinement in Canton, Ohio, in their first go-around.

In early November, the list will be cut to 25 semi-finalists, including LB Harry Carson and league executive George Young, who automatically qualify because they finished in the top six in the voting last year. The list will be narrowed to 13 (again including Carson and Young), and for the first time, two senior nominees will be placed on the list, making 15 total Hall of Fame finalists. Tackle Bob Brown and wide receiver "Bullet" Bob Hayes have already been named as this year's two senior candidates.

The Class of 2004 will be selected from the list of finalists, with the voting being conducted at the Selection Committee’s annual meeting held on Saturday, January 31, 2004, in Houston, Texas. The election results will be announced immediately after the meeting.

Pro Football Hall of Fame rules stipulate that between three and six new members will be selected from the list of finalists. This is a change from previous years when by-laws allowed for anywhere from four to seven inductees.

Among those making the list of 15 finalists in 2003 that were not selected for enshrinement are LB Randy Gradishar, CB Lester Hayes, DE Claude Humphrey, G Bob Kuechenberg, WR Art Monk, QB Ken Stabler, and contributor Ralph Wilson Jr..

Preliminary List of Nominees
Ken Anderson, QB
Matt Blair, LB
Cliff Branch, WR
Harry Carson, LB
Todd Christensen, TE
Don Coryell, Coach
Roger Craig, RB
Fred Dean, DE
Ed DeBartolo, Jr., Contributor
Richard Dent, DE
Ray Donaldson, C
Henry Ellard, WR
Carl Eller, DE
John Elway, QB
Mark Gastineau, DE
Randy Gradishar, LB
Leon Gray, T
L.C. Greenwood, DE
Russ Grimm, G
Ray Guy, P
Cliff Harris, S
Lester Hayes, CB
Chris Hinton, G-T
Kent Hull, C
Claude Humphrey, DE
Rickey Jackson, LB
Joe Jacoby, T
Jimmy Johnson, Coach
Ed “Too Tall” Jones, DE
Mike Kenn, T
Joe Klecko, DE-DT-NT
Chuck Knox, Coach
Bob Kuechenberg, G
Albert Lewis, CB
Nick Lowery, K
Jim Marshall, DE
Harvey Martin, DE
Clay Matthews, LB
Art McNally, Contributor
Karl Mecklenburg, LB
Art Modell, Contributor
Art Monk, WR
Drew Pearson, WR
Jim Plunkett, QB
Ken Riley, CB
Barry Sanders, RB
Rich Saul, C
Sterling Sharpe, WR
Donnie Shell, S
Elbert Shelley, ST/DB
Phil Simms, QB
Chris Spielman, LB
Ken Stabler, QB
Paul Tagliabue, Contributor
Darryl Talley, LB
Steve Tasker, ST/WR
Andre Tippett, LB
Jeff Van Note, C
Mike Wagner, S
Herschel Walker, RB
Wesley Walker, WR
Roger Wehrli, CB
Ralph Wilson, Jr., Contributor
Ron Wolf, Contributor
Rayfield Wright, T
George Young, Contributor
Gary Zimmerman*, T