2004 Senior Nominees Announced

Bob Brown

Bob Brown, an All-NFL tackle with the Philadelphia Eagles (1964-68), Los Angeles Rams (1969-70), and Oakland Raiders (1971-73), and Bob Hayes, an All-NFL wide receiver with the Dallas Cowboys (1965-74) and San Francisco 49ers (1975), have been selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Seniors Committee as finalists for election into the Hall of Fame with the Class of 2004. As the Seniors Committee nominees, Brown and Hayes will join 13 Modern-Era candidates on the list of finalists from which the Class of 2004 will be selected. The Hall of Fame selection meeting will be held on January 31, 2004, the day before Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas.

  To be elected, Brown and Hayes must each receive the same 80 percent voting support that is required of all finalists. The Hall's 39-member Board of Selectors will elect between three and six new members during next January's meeting. One of several recent modifications to the Hall of Fame selection process, this is the first year that the Seniors Committee has nominated two candidates to be considered among the finalists for election. During his 10 seasons with the Eagles, Rams, and Raiders, Brown was named All-NFL seven times. An aggressive blocker, who used his size and strength to neutralize pass rushers, Brown was also chosen for six Pro Bowls -- three with the Eagles, two with the Rams, and one final time with the Raiders.

"I'm about as subtle as a sixteen-pound sledgehammer," Brown once said of his style of play and most his opponents agreed. "Defensive ends used to come away with their ribs aching from all the punishment he delivered," Hall of Fame linebacker Ted Hendricks said.

Brown was not only a punishing pass blocker; he was an outstanding run blocker as well. "I don't know of many other linemen that you had to make special adjustments for -- he was terrific," Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll offered.

Bob Hayes

Bob Hayes, a world-class track star who won a pair of gold medals in the 1964 Olympic Games, was a rarity. He possessed tremendous football skills and instincts that helped him to develop into a terrific NFL wide receiver. Hayes' speed, complemented by his football instincts, caused defenses to commit to a kind of deep double coverage rarely seen in the NFL at that time. It is often said that the bump and run defense was developed in an attempt to slow down the former Florida A&M running back. "I know one thing, and I played with him," commented Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka, "he changed the game. He made defenses and defensive coordinators work hard to figure out what you had to do to stop him."

Four times Hayes was named first- or second-team All-NFL. Three times he led the Cowboys in receptions, including back-to-back titles in 1965-66 when he caught a total of 110 passes for 2,235 yards and 25 touchdowns. During his career he caught 371 passes for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, averaging 20 yards per catch.

 Senior Nominees, 1972-2004