THE BLACK SPORTS LEGENDS FOUNDATION PLANNING COMMITTEE  TIMELINE  FOR               THE  NATIONAL EMAIL AND LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN FOR THE INDUCTION OF        RAYMOND CHESTER INTO THE  2015 NFL PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS

      On October 5, 2013, the Black Sports Legends Foundation,  a 501 C 3 nonprofit organization announced the formation of a planning committee headed by Derrick Ramsey,  Athletic Director of  Coppin State University, to get Raymond Chester nominated to the NFL  Pro – Football  Hall Of Fame for the class of 2015.  The announcement occurred at the 2013 Pre-Game Memorial & Celebration , on the campus of Morgan State University. 

     The strategies  that will be implemented  will  include  the following : Engaging  the Morgan State University School of Communications Student Organization , Morgan State University National  Alumni Association  office and  the Morgan State University Baltimore City Howard Cornish Chapter. We will also be contacting the Superintendants Of Schools for the Baltimore,  City Public Schools, and Oakland, California City Public school system to get public school students engaged in the national email voting campaign.  We have contacted the public relations department for the Oakland Raiders, which we plan to engage to generate emails and letters from the Oakland Raider’s Nation fan base  to jump start the national email and letter writing campaign.

       We will also be reaching out to members of the Black College Football Hall of Fame, headed by Doug Williams and James Harris, and members of the NFL Pro- Football Hall of Fame.  Local and national sports writers and sports broadcasters  will  move the campaign forward by emailing the NFL seven – man member senior committee.  

Please take a minute of your time to visit our website at www.theblacksportslegendsfoundation.org and, click on the photo gallery to view the 2013 Pre-Game Memorial & Celebration.

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Charged with the vital task of continuing to ensure that new enshrines are the finest the game has produced is the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 46-person Selection Committee (see list below).

FAQ about the Hall’s selection process

The Committee consists of one media representative from each pro football city with two from New York, inasmuch as that city has two teams in the National Football League. A 33rd member is a representative of the Pro Football Writers of America and there are 13 at-large delegates.

How is a Senior Candidate Chosen?

To assure that older players will be considered, along with the Modern Era players, a Seniors Committee, made up of nine veteran members of the overall Selection Committee, has been established to consider nominees whose active career has been completed by at least 25 years.  

Like the full Committee, the members of the Seniors Committee are provided a preliminary list of eligible nominees.  The list, which is compiled and mailed to the selectors by June 1, includes carry-over nominations from the previous year, first-time eligible candidates, and nominations from any outside source.  By way of a mail ballot the Committee members reduce the list to 15 Senior Nominee finalists.   Five members of the nine-man Committee, selected on a rotating basis, are designated to attend the annual Seniors Committee meeting held in Canton, where they are charged with the responsibility of nominating two candidates from that list to be among the 17 finalists for Hall of Fame election.  In advance of the meeting, each selector is provided with detailed biographical information on the candidates.

Senior Committee members are assisted during their annual meeting by two Hall of Fame consultants, chosen by the Hall’s president, who were contemporaries of the majority of the nominees.  The consultants offer only their opinions and are not entitled to vote.  After each candidate is discussed thoroughly, the consultants are excused from the meeting.  Additional discussion is conducted followed by a series of reduction votes that results in the naming of two Senior Nominees.

Although the Senior Nominees will be presented to the full Selection Committee as two of the 17 finalists, their election to the Hall of Fame is not automatic.  The Senior Nominees must receive the same minimum 80% of the vote as a Modern Era candidate to be elected.

NFL PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME SENIORS COMMITTEE VOTERS

1.) Dan Pompei* Former sports columnist Chicago Tribune – Twitter – Dan Pompei @ danpompei

2.) Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News* – email – rgosselin@dallasnews.com

3.) John McClain, Houston Chronicle* email- john.mcclain@chron.com

4.) Ron Borges boston herald*- email ron.borges@bostonherald.com

5.) Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch* email- bjmiklasz@post-dispatch.com

6.) John Czarnecki*  At Large  –   email – John Czarnecki, msn.foxsports.com

7.) Dave Goldberg At Large*  –  email –  dgoldberg@ap.org