CANTON, Ohio, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Newcomers Marcus Allen and Herschel Walker and returnees Bill Parcells and Bob Kuechenberg head the list of 74 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame released Wednesday.
Allen and Walker are running backs who won the Heisman Trophy before going on to stellar pro careers. In a 16-year career with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, Allen rushed for 12,243 yards and scored 145 touchdowns.
Walker, who began his pro career in the USFL, rushed for 8,205 yards, caught nearly 500 passes for 4,710 yards and amassed 82 touchdowns.
They are joined by six other first-time nominees -- quarterback Boomer Esiason, tight end Brent Jones, tackle Gary Zimmerman, linebacker Sam Mills and special teams standout Steve Tasker.
Parcells is a traditional-style coach who guided a pair of teams to the Super Bowl and Kuechenberg is one of the members of the offensive line of the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins. They will be automatically included on the list of 15 finalists for the Class of 2003 because they finished in the top six in last year's voting.
Also included on the list of finalists is former coach Hank Stram, the recommended candidate of the Hall of Fame's Senior Committee. Stram was an offensive innovator who guided the Kansas City Chiefs to a huge upset of Minnesota in Super Bowl IV.
The remaining 12 berths will be determined by a straight plurality vote from the list of nominees. Phil Simms, Roger Craig and Art Monk are among the players, Super Bowl winners Jimmy Johnson and Tom Flores are among the coaches and NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue is among the contributors.
Additional nominated players include quarterbacks Jim Hart, Jim McMahon and Jim Plunkett; running backs Chuck Foreman and Ottis Anderson; receivers Cliff Branch, Isaac Curtis, James Lofton, Drew Pearson, Sterling Sharpe and Wesley Walker; tight ends Raymond Chester and Todd Christensen; centers Ray Donaldson, Jay Hilgenberg, Rich Saul and Jeff Van Note; guards Joe DeLamielleure and Russ Grimm; and tackles Jim Covert, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn and Jim Lachey.
Defensive nominees include linemen Elvin Bethea, Dave Butz, Ray Childress, Fred Dean, L.C. Greenwood, Claude Humphrey, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Sean Jones, Joe Klecko and Harvey Martin; linebackers Harry Carson, Randy Gradishar, Wilber Marshall, Clay Matthews, Karl Mecklenburg, Matt Millen, Jerry Robinson and Al Smith; defensive backs Lester Hayes, Ken Riley, Donnie Shell, Jack Tatum and Roger Wehrli; and punter Ray Guy.
Monk, Lofton, Greenwood, Carson, Hayes, Shell and Guy made last year's list of finalists.
Other nominated coaches include Don Coryell, who was famous for his high-powered passing attack, and Chuck Knox, who made a name by using a punishing ground game. Joining Tagliabue as contributors are owners Ed DeBartolo, Jr., Art Modell, Art Rooney, Jr. and Ralph Wilson; personnel men Ron Wolf and George Young; and referee Ben Dreith. Modell, the owner of the Baltimore Ravens, also returns from last year's list of finalists.
The Class of 2003 will be determined at the Selection Committee's annual meeting on Jan. 25, 2003, the day before Super Bowl XXXVII. There is no set number for any class of enshrinees, although current rules call for between four and seven new members to be selected each year.
