Immortality, sooner or later

A new "For Pete's Sake" blog appears each Thursday.

The National Football League was founded in Canton, Ohio on Sept. 17, 1920. Since that time there have been nearly 22,000 men who've competed in the league. My guess is minimally ten times that number have tried to make it to the NFL and who knows how many young boys have dreamed of making it to the NFL. Add to that figure of the league's alumni the countless number of coaches and administrators who've been involved with the game.

The ultimate quest for anyone who has dedicated themselves to this sport is to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Perhaps it sounds a bit like a cliché, but the Hall of Fame represents immortality. The contributions of the legends bronzed in Canton are here forever. For some that moment comes sooner than later. For others, it takes years if not decades!

Seven new greats will be added this August with the formal enshrinement of the Class of 2011 – Richard Dent, Marshall Faulk, Chris Hanburger, Les Richter, Ed Sabol, Deion Sanders, and Shannon Sharpe. When Faulk and Sabol step to the podium on the grand stage inside Fawcett Stadium on Saturday, August 6, they will represent opposite ends of the spectrum. Sabol is the oldest individual ever elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Faulk will be the 10th youngest person to be enshrined in Canton.

Sabol is just the second nonagenarian (a person in his 90s) to be enshrined. Buffalo Bills founder and owner Ralph Wilson was the first when two years ago at age 90 he was honored. Sabol will be just shy of his 95th birthday at this summer's enshrinement ceremony.

There are two other individuals in addition to Sabol and Wilson who were enshrined in their 80s. They are Wellington Mara in 1997 and Hank Stram in 2003 both of whom were 80.

Enshrinee	Date of Birth	Date of Enshrinement	Age at Enshrinement
Ed Sabol	September 11, 1916	August 6, 2011	94 Years, 10 Months, 26 Days
Ralph Wilson, Jr.	October 17, 1918	August 8, 2009	90 Years, 9 Months, 22 Days
Wellington Mara	August 14, 1916	July 26, 1997	80 Years, 11 Months, 12 Days
Hank Stram	January 3, 1923	August 3, 2003	80 Years, 7 Months, 0 Days

It's worth giving an "honorable mention" to Morris (Red) Badgro who was 78 years, 8 months old in 1981 when he was enshrined into the Hall of Fame. A star of the 1930s, Badgro held the distinction of scoring the first touchdown in NFL championship game history. He waited 45 years from the time he stepped off the football field for the last time to when he stepped to the podium on the Pro Football Hall of Fame's front steps. At the time, he was the oldest person ever enshrined into the Hall. He remains the oldest former player to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Click on the image above to listen to Badgro's enshrinement speech

One memory that always stands out to me is the effort Badgro made to attend the 10th anniversary of his induction. In 1991, at the age of 88, he and his wife Dode drove cross-country from their home in the state of Washington to attend the Enshrinement Weekend.

On the flip side, Faulk is one of 19 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who will be enshrined before his 40th birthday. To be specific Marshall will be 38 years, 5 months, and 11 days old when he walks to the microphone on August 6.

The youngest person ever enshrined was Gale Sayers who was two months removed from his 34th birthday when he was inducted in the summer of the 1977.

Enshrinee	Date of Birth	Date of Enshrinement	Age at Enshrinement
Gale Sayers	May 30, 1943	July 30, 1977	34 Years, 2 Months, 0 Days
Jim Brown	February 17, 1936	July 31, 1971	35 Years, 5 Months, 14 Days
Barry Sanders	July 16, 1968	August 8, 2004	36 Years, 0 Months, 23 Days
Earl Campbell	March 29, 1955	July 27, 1991	36 Years, 3 Months, 28 Days
Dick Butkus	December 9, 1942	July 28, 1979	36 Years, 7 Months, 19 Days
Kellen Winslow	November 5, 1957	July 29, 1995	37 Years, 8 Months, 24 Days
Lance Alworth	August 3, 1940	July 29, 1978	37 Years, 11 Months, 26 Days
O.J. Simpson	July 9, 1947	August 3, 1985	38 Years, 0 Months, 25 Days
Jack Lambert	July 8, 1952	August 4, 1990	38 Years, 0 Months, 27 Days
Marshall Faulk	February 26, 1973	August 6, 2011	38 Years, 5 Months, 11 Days
Eric Dickerson	September 2, 1960	August 7, 1999	38 Years, 11 Months, 5 Days
Walter Payton	July 25, 1954	July 31, 1993	39 Years, 0 Months, 6 Days
Jim Langer	May 16, 1948	August 8, 1987	39 Years, 2 Months, 23 Days
Jim Parker	April 3, 1934	July 28, 1973	39 Years, 3 Months, 25 Days
Jack Ham	December 23, 1948	July 30, 1988	39 Years, 7 Months, 7 Days
Troy Aikman	November 21, 1966	August 5, 2006	39 Years, 8 Months, 15 Days
Mike Singletary	October 9, 1958	August 1, 1998	39 Years, 9 Months, 23 Days
Anthony Muñoz	August 19, 1958	August 1, 1998	39 Years, 11 Months, 13 Days
Lamar Hunt	August 2, 1932	July 29, 1972	39 Years, 11 Months, 27 Days