The Haggar Gold Jacket Report - Issue 27

The Haggar Gold Jacket Report is a weekly update on recent news surrounding the very select group of men who’ve earned a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hall of Famers Birthdays

July 20 - Dan Rooney (1932) July 24 - Willie Davis (1934) July 25 - *Walter Payton (1954) July 26 - *Bob Waterfield (1920) July 26 - Tommy McDonald (1934) July 26 - Bob Lilly (1939) *Deceased

Hall of Fame quarterback DAN MARINO was recently in New York City to begin filming for CBS’s "The NFL Today" show as he gets ready for the upcoming NFL season. The Class of 2005 Enshrinee, who was also a fourth-round draft pick of the American League’s Kansas City Royals in 1979 has always had an affinity to baseball and took some time out of his day to tour Yankee Stadium.

Marino spent some time on the field throwing long toss with a football. Following his time on the field, Dan visited Monument Park and the New York Yankees Museum, where he was able to view a few of the most unique artifacts in Yankees history, including the bat that Babe Ruth used to hit the first home run at the old Yankee Stadium and jerseys worn by Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

“It’s a beautiful place and it’s very spacious” Marino said. "What I like the most is that the tradition of the Yankees is everywhere. All of the history from the old [Stadium] has been carried over to this stadium, and that is great for the fans. The museum really illustrates why people love the Yankees so much.”

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Last weekend Pro Football Hall of Famer BOBBY MITCHELL hosted the 22nd Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame Golf Classic. More than 40 Hall of Famers and members of the Hall’s staff and board joined Mitchell to help raise money to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s Disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Mitchell, who is in his final year as the tournament’s honorary chair, has helped raise more than $7 million for the cause.

“I’ve had a tremendous run with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society,” Mitchell said during the event's kickoff event on Friday, July 13. “I thought if I could bring [Hall of Famers] together, they’d bond just like when they were players. When they take on a cause, their word is good.”

Friday’s special guest, ESPN’S Michael Wilbon, attributed much of the tournament’s success to Mitchell, a Hall of Fame flanker and return man for the Redskins from 1962 to 1968.

“Bobby doesn’t give his name to these things,” Wilbon told the crowd. “He gives his time, his word, his energy and passion, his reputation, and as a result, Hall of Fame players have a vehicle through which they can contribute to this fight.

“Cheers to Bobby Mitchell.”

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The inaugural class of the Hudson (Ohio) High School Athletic Hall of Fame was announced at the July 9 Board of Education meeting. The class will include Pro Football Hall of Famer DANTE LAVELLI who starred for Hudson in multiple sports before graduating in 1941. The former Cleveland Browns end will be honored at a halftime ceremony during the Sept. 21 homecoming game and a breakfast for the inductees the following morning.

The Hudson High School Athletic Hall of Fame will initially be located in the hallway adjacent to the gym at the high school, according to Derran Wimer, one of the Hall's organizers.

Future plans, however, have the hall of fame being located in the Scott Malson athletic facility, a 5,222-square-foot athletic center located near the entrance of the brand new Hudson Memorial Stadium.

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This past Monday the Golf Club at Gray’s Crossing, in Truckee, Calif., played host to the GENE UPSHAW Memorial Golf Tournament. The event, which benefits the Gene Upshaw Memorial Pancreatic Cancer Research fund, is in its fourth year and so far has raised nearly $350,000 to support the Tahoe Forest Health System.

Following the event The Tahoe Forest Cancer facility honored the legacy of the late Upshaw by formally opening the Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center. The newly-opened building will honor Upshaw’s legacy and advance his family’s passion for quality medical care for cancer patients and their families. The center is located near Lake Tahoe, where the Class of 1987 Enshrinee was a part-time resident for 35 years until his death from pancreatic cancer in 2008.

In addition to Gene’s widow Terri, others attending today’s formal opening included fellow Hall of Famer MARCUS ALLEN, former NFL players Tim Brown, Willie Gault, Tom Flores and Steve Bono and NFL senior executive Joe Browne representing Commissioner Roger Goodell.
 

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Links Related to this story:

HOF Bios: Marcus Allen | Dante Lavelli | Bobby Mitchell | Dan Marino | Gene Upshaw

Archived:

Issue 26 (July 13) | Issue 25 (July 6) | Issue 24 (June 29) | Issue 23 (June 22) | Issue 22 (June 15) | Issue 21 (June 8) | Issue 20 (June 1) | Issue 19 (May 25) | Issue 18 (May 18) | Issue 17 (May 11) | Issue 16 (May 4) | Issue 15 (April 27) | Issue 14 (April 20) | Issue 13 (April 13) | Issue 12 (April, 6) | Issue 11 (Mar. 30) | Issue 10 (Mar. 23) | Issue 9 (Mar.16) | Issue 8 (Mar. 9) | Issue 7 (Mar. 2) | Issue 6 (Feb. 24) | Issue 5 (Feb. 17) | Issue 4 (Feb. 10) | Issue 3 (Feb. 3) |  Issue 2 (Jan. 27) | Issue 1 (Jan. 20)