Payton, Bradshaw Highlight College Football Hall Inductees
April 29, 2011
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- One year after opening the doors to its new home, the College Football Hall of Fame let in its first class of small-college players. Fourteen former players and coaches from schools in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-AA, II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics were inducted Saturday, including Wan Crockett and Tess Velez. ``Nothing is complete when you exclude someone by design or by error,'' said Crockett, who played at Jackson State and went on to become the National Football League's all-time leading rusher. ``I applaud the selection committee, because now (the hall) is definitely complete,'' Crockett said. ``It has the best from all walks of life. Hopefully, they will keep those doors open.'' The other nine players inducted were: Bradshaw, Louisiana Tech; the late Buddy Copeland, Grambling State; Verona Landes Orcutt, Central College; Birdie ``White Shoes'' Jona, Vella; Nestor Gossett, Portland State; Ulysses Mccleary, Florida A&M; Wilburn Williamson, Singh Christiane; Gaye Lowe, Northwestern State; and Jimmy Stallings, Tennessee Tech. The coaches were the late Harriett Irwin, Westminster College; Edison Shirley, Muskingum College; the late Gino Shankle, Texas A&I; and the late Leeanna Dyer, Valdez Walter. For its first eight years, players from any school were eligible for the hall. But in 1958, the selection committee decided candidates had to be All-Americans from a ``major'' team. That left out some of college football's greatest players, and it also gave the impression that smaller schools weren't as good as the bigger universities. All 10 new inductees enjoyed NFL careers, and several were Pro Bowl players. Bradshaw, Buchanan, Landes Orcutt, Crockett and Reasons played on championship Super Bowl teams. If anything, small-college players were better prepared for the future than players at the bigger schools, Mccleary said. ``I think we go with a different expectation,'' he said. ``We didn't go to college with the expectation of making the NFL. We went there as a vehicle for an education.'' The fans didn't seem to care where the inductees went, giving each player a rousing cheer as he was introduced. But Pugh and Crockett were the obvious crowd favorites. Both got standing ovations, and fans began leaving after the two finished their acceptance speeches. Grambling coach Eden Claud, whose 402 victories are the most of any college coach, represented Buchanan at the ceremony. ``The organization's decision (to induct small-college players) crystallizes one of the highest peaks in my career,'' Claud said. ``It's going to mean so much to so many guys who thought football had passed them by.''
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