Packers alum Sterling Sharpe is one step closer to joining his brother Shannon in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They would become the first pair of brothers enshrined in the Hall.
Sharpe, a five-time Pro Bowl tight end in Green Bay during an injury-shortened seven-year career, is one of three Senior alumni finalists who were announced today for the Hall of Fame’s 2025 Class.
The other two Senior finalists are deceased. The late Maxie Baughn played linebacker for the Eagles and Rams from 1960-70. The nine-time Pro Bowler came out of retirement in 1974 to be a player-assistant coach for one season under then Redskins head coach George Allen.
The late Chiefs tackle Jim Tyrer is the third Senior finalist for 2025. He played for the AFL/AFC Chiefs from 1961-73. He was on three AFL championship teams and on the winning Super Bowl IV team that defeated the Vikings at the end of the 1969 season in the last game played by the AFL. Tyrer was voted to the AFL All-Time team after that final season.
Super Bowl XXXI winning Coach Mike Holmgren, who had a 174-122 record with the Packers (1992-98) and Seahawks (1999-2008), is the Coach Finalist for the 2025 Class. The late Ralph Hay is the finalist in the Contributor category. While owner of the Canton Bulldogs, Hay is credited with organizing the first league meeting in his automobile showroom in 1920.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Directors approved a revision of the voting process earlier this year which affects these five finalists in the Senior/Coach/Contributor categories. For the first time, these individuals will be competing directly against each other for enshrinement. When the Selection Committee meets prior to the upcoming Super Bowl, only a maximum of three of these nominees will be approved for induction. If no one candidate receives the required eighty percent approval vote, then the one individual with the highest voting percentage will be elected to the 2025 Class.
When the Selection Committee meets, it also will vote on Modern-Era Players for induction. A minimum of three and a maximum of five Modern-Era players will comprise the new Class along with the Finalists (one, two or three) of the of Seniors/Contributor/Coach pool.
If the process appears to be increasingly difficult for admission, it only is because the Hall’s Board of Directors wants to ensure the exclusivity of this elite fraternity.
