Six new members named to NFL Hall of Fame

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Six new members will be inducted Aug. 8 into the 2009 National Football League Hall of Fame.

The NFL announced Saturday the newest members include former defensive star Bruce Smith, defensive back Rod Woodson, linebacker Derrick Thomas, guard Randall McDaniel and wide receiver Bob Hayes.

The sixth is Ralph Wilson Jr., who founded the Buffalo Bills in 1959 and saw his team win back-to-back AFL titles in the mid-1960s.

The Bills and Tennessee Titans will open up the NFL's celebration of the AFL's 50th anniversary when they play in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, Aug. 9, 2009.

The Bills and Titans -- formerly the Houston Oilers -- were two of the original eight members of the AFL when the league played its first season in 1960, 10 years before it merged with the NFL. The teams will wear "throwback" uniforms in honor of their history. The Titans moved from Houston to Tennessee after the 1996 season.