Star-studded stage

{GALLERY}"The Kansas Comet,” “Tyler Rose,” “The Mad Stork,” “Prime Time,” and “Mr. Cowboy,” are all well-known monikers of pro football’s past elite. Equally well-known are the Hall of Fame players to which the nicknames refer; Chicago Bears legendary running back Gale Sayers, the Houston Oilers powerful fullback Earl Campbell, Oakland Raiders linebacker Ted Hendricks, Atlanta Falcons/Dallas Cowboys defensive back Deion Sanders and Cowboys devastating defensive tackle Bob Lilly. They along with dozens of their fellow Hall of Famers will be in Canton on August 4, to welcome the 2012 Class of Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinees, Jack Butler, Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Curtis Martin and Willie Roaf.

More than 60 previously elected Hall of Famers have already made their plans to be in Canton for the multi-day Enshrinement Festival, including: Joe Greene, Harry Carson, Shannon Sharpe, Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Floyd Little, John Madden, Lynn Swann, Nick Buoniconti, Paul Warfield, Carl Eller and numerous others.

“I feel like this is my second home,” is how Eller described his annual return to Canton. “It’s good to welcome the new guys because you can see that they really relish and appreciate and understand what this is going to mean to them for the rest of their lives and their families.”

Based on attendance in the past, the number of returning Hall of Famers will no doubt swell to 80 or more by the time the new Class of 2012 takes center stage for their formal enshrinement. See the up-to-date list of legends returning for next month’s festivities below. The list will be continually updated on this page.

“Nowhere will fans have an opportunity to see this many Hall of Famers in one place at one time,” commented Hall of Fame President/Executive Director Steve Perry. “And to witness one of the most spectacular pro football events, the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony, it’s beyond description. It is a pro football fan’s dream come true.”

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony will be held on Saturday, August 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET in Fawcett Stadium, located right next to the recently expanded Hall of Fame. Good seats remain for the Enshrinement Ceremony as well as the Hall of Fame Game scheduled for 8 p.m. ET the following night. The Hall of Fame Game features the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals.

Tickets for the Enshrinement Ceremony are $35, $45, and $60 and Hall of Fame Game tickets are $52 and $62 and may be purchased online (buy now) or by calling 1-800-913-9788, and are also available at the Pro Football Hall of Fame box office.

List of returning Hall of Famers (last updated: 8/02/2012, 4:08 p.m. EDT).

Here’s what you can’t see unless your inside Fawcett Stadium! In-stadium fans see what happens during TV commercial breaks. Each year, more than 80 returning Hall of Famers are seated on stage with the new class. Large jumbotron screens display interviews with many of these legends when television cuts away for commercials. See this clip of John Elway from last year’s induction.