What is a HOFame Contributor?

Officially, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is working on numbers as the Contributors Blue-Ribbon Committee (CBRC) cuts down the candidates for the 2025 Class from 25 to the nine who were announced Tuesday.

The CBRC will meet on Nov. 12 to name one Finalist to be considered for the 2025 Class. I want to be a fly on that virtual Zoom wall to hear how they reconcile the vast variety of Contributors to find the best of the bunch.

The remaining nine Semifinalists in the Contributor category this year are K.S. “Bud” Adams, Ralph Hay, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Art Modell, Art Rooney Jr., Seymour Siwoff, Doug Williams, and John Wooten.

Looking at the 29 Contributors already in the Hall (see list below), then the 25, and now nine for the 2025 Class, it is difficult to discern a definition that describes who belongs in this category — or who does not.

I have never been on a Contributors Committee, but one name on that list screams CONTRIBUTOR. Without his singular contribution, none of the others would have happened.

What do you know about Ralph Hay?

The key part of his story is told by Chris Willis in The Coffin Corner in 2004. It is from an interview with Dr. James. F. King, the grandson of Ralph Hay.

“Then on September 17th (1920) the NFL’s first historical meeting took place right in Hay’s automobile dealership in downtown Canton. “The meeting was set up for September 17th at about 8:00 pm. Ralph was to host the meeting in his office, but because there were too many people they held the meeting in the showroom. Most of the owners, including George Halas, Art Ranney, Leo Lyons, and Jim Thorpe, sat on the running boards of the cars.” King said. “Also there, was my great-uncle Lester Higgins. Lester worked at the Citizens Bank in Canton and was Secretary-Treasurer of the Bulldogs from 1919 to 1923. George Halas who passed away in 1983 and Lester who passed away in 1981 were the final two living members of the NFL’s first meeting.”

“During the meeting the owners decided to call the league, the American Professional Football Association (APFA), instead of the A.P.F.C. The ten original franchises were from four states- Akron, Canton, Cleveland, and Dayton from Ohio; Hammond and Muncie from Indiana; Rochester from New York; and Rock Island, Decatur, and Racine from Illinois. Four other franchises in Buffalo, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; and Detroit, Michigan joined later that year. Also during the September meeting the owners selected league officials. Ralph Hay was offered the job of league president but turned it down. “Ralph was selfless,” King said. “He was offered the job but he demurred to Jim Thorpe, because he thought Thorpe’s name would give the league more prestige. As it turned out Thorpe lasted only one year and then Joe Carr took over. Thorpe wasn’t very good at the administrative part of football. Ralph could’ve been the first president, but he was looking out for the league, he thought of the league first.” In 1922 the APFA changed its name to the National Football League. After two lackluster seasons of going 7-4-2 and 5-2-3, the Bulldogs put together back-to-back NFL Championship seasons. The 1922 Canton Bulldogs finished with a record of 10-0-2, behind the play of three future Hall of Famers- Guy Chamberlin, Pete “Fats” Henry, and Link Lyman. The Bulldogs outscored their opponents 184-15, including 9 defensive shutouts in the 12 games. Ralph Hay and the city of Canton could now claim a true “World Championship.”

All due respect to the other remaining eight candidates — and the 29 enshrinees who went before — howinhell was ANYBODY inducted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor before Hay?

Given the fluid motion of thought, that may be a rhetorical question, but it is a valid question nonetheless. Do you have an answer? Share it in comments.

Moving on. …

Let’s take a refresher course on what’s next in the new selection process.

Through a sequence of reduction votes over several weeks, the Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee and the Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee will select one (1) Finalist each for the Class of 2025 and, using the same process, the Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee will select three (3) Finalists for the Class of 2025.

This sets up the next process, which puts players, coaches, and contributors head to head. The five Finalists from the Seniors, Coach and Contributor categories will be COMBINED into a group for voting by Selectors. No more than three (3) nor fewer than one (1) may be elected. As with the Modern-Era Players, approval from 80% of the Selectors is required for election.

This ends a process set in 2022 that allowed as many as three senior players to be nominated to the full committee separately from everything else. It was an attempt to relieve the bottleneck of seniors in the “abyss.”

The new reduction from five to three combines senior players, the coach and the contributor. If there are strong coach and contributor prospects — let’s say Belichick and Kraft in 2026 — there is only one spot for a seniors player. The player/coach/contributor equation that goes to the full committee could be 1-1-1, or 2-0-1 or other variables that diminish the senior players’ numbers.

Ok, now let’s get back to discussing who is a Contributor.

The Hall describes these men as individuals who contributed to the sport of professional football in varied ways.

Varied ways indeed. Looking at the 29 Contributors already in the Hall of Fame, and the list of 25 who were trimmed to nine, I struggle to find a clear definition for the term Contributor as it applies to a Hall of Famer.

But looking at this challenge with some chronological integrity, Hay is easily the more overlooked and undervalued contributor some 105 years after he basically co-founded the league.

Sure, others have merit, and we won’t be able to high-five those still around to relish the honor, but Hay must be inducted for the Hall of Fame to maintain proper integrity.

The Hall has the Ralph Hay Pioneer Award, formerly known as the Dan Reeves Pioneer Award, which is presented periodically to an individual who made significant and innovative contributions to professional football.

Maybe it is time to put Ralph Hay himself into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

What’s your call?

Here is a look at Contributors already in the Hall.

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Contributor Blue Ribbon Commitee 

1. Dan Fouts

2. Clark Judge

3. Sal Paolantonio

4. Jim Trotter

5. John McClain

6. Bob Glauber

7. Sam Kouvaris

8. John Czarnecki

9. Ken Crippen

Alternate:  Joel Bussert