Small-College Greats Join Big Kids In Hall

One year after opening the doors to its new home, the College Football Hall of Fame let in its first class of small-college players.

Fourteen former players and coaches from schools in NCAA Division I-AA, II, III and the NAIA were inducted Saturday, including Walter Payton and Terry Bradshaw.

“Nothing is complete when you exclude someone by design or by error,” said Payton, who played at Jackson State and went on to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.

“I applaud the selection committee, because now (the hall) is definitely complete. It has the best from all walks of life. Hopefully, they will keep those doors open.”

The other nine players inducted were: Bradshaw, Louisiana Tech; the late Buck Buchanan, Grambling State; Vern Den Herder, Central College; Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, Widener; Neil Lomax, Portland State; Tyrone McGriff, Florida A&M Wilbert Montgomery, Abilene Christian; Gary Reasons, Northwestern State; and Jim Youngblood, Tennessee Tech.

The coaches were the late Harold Burry, Westminster College; Edgar Sherman, Muskingum College; the late Gilbert Steinke, Texas A&I and the late Lee Tressel, Baldwin Wallace.

For its first eight years, players from any school were eligible for the hall. But in 1958, the selection committee decided candidates had to be All-Americans from a “major” team.

That left out some of college football’s greatest players, and it also gave the impression that smaller schools weren’t as good as the bigger universities. Not true, McGriff said.

All 10 players inducted went on to NFL careers, and several were Pro Bowlers. Bradshaw, Buchanan, Den Herder, Payton and Reasons played on championship Super Bowl teams.

If anything, small-college players were better prepared for the future than players at the bigger schools, McGriff said.

“I think we go with a different expectation,” he said. “We didn’t go to college with the expectation of making the NFL. We went there as a vehicle for an education.”

The fans didn’t seem to care where the inductees went, giving each player a rousing cheer as he was introduced. But Bradshaw and Payton were the obvious crowd favorites. Both got standing ovations, and fans began leaving after their acceptance speeches ended.

By the time Jim Tressel spoke on behalf of his father, only about half of the crowd was left.

Grambling coach Eddie Robinson, who has more wins (402) than any other college coach, represented Buchanan at the ceremony.