Former 49ers running back Roger Craig and former team executive John McVay are among a group of 54 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
The Hall of Fame announced the list of individuals who received enough votes from the members of the seniors and coach/contributor committees to advance past the first stage in the process.
Up to three seniors can be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for 2023, 2024 and 2025. To be eligible for the seniors category, a player must have played his last game in professional football no later than the 1996 season.
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Craig became the first player in NFL history to register 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season (1985). He was a four-time Pro Bowl player and a three-time Super Bowl champion.
Craig is up against stiff competition for one of three spots for next year’s Hall of Fame class. The semifinalists in the seniors category are:
Ken Anderson, Maxie Baughan, Mark Clayton, Roger Craig, LaVern Dilweg, Randy Gradishar, Lester Hayes, Chris Hinton, Chuck Howley, Cecil Isbell, Joe Jacoby, Billie “White Shoes” Johnson, Mike Kenn, Joe Klecko, Bob Kuechenberg, George Kunz, Jim Marshall, Clay Matthews Jr., Eddie Meador, Stanley Morgan, Tommy Nobis, Ken Riley, Sterling Sharpe, Otis Taylor and Everson Walls.
McVay joins former 49ers assistant coaches Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan among the 29 semifinalists in the coach/contributor category.
San Francisco 49ers
McVay served as the 49ers’ top personnel executive during the team’s run of five Super Bowls in the 1980s and ‘90s. Bill Walsh hired McVay in 1979 as director of player personnel. He spent 21 seasons with the 49ers.
Holmgren and Shanahan left their jobs on the 49ers’ offensive coaching staff to become Super Bowl-winning coaches with the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos, respectively.
The semifinalists in the coach/contributor category are:
K.S. “Bud” Adams Jr., Roone Arledge, C.O. Brocato, Don Coryell, Otho Davis, Ralph Hay, Mike Holmgren, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Eddie Kotal, Robert Kraft, Rich McKay, John McVay, Art Modell, Clint Murchison Jr., Buddy Parker, Carl Peterson, Dan Reeves, Lee Remmel, Art Rooney Jr., Marty Schottenheimer, Jerry Seeman, Mike Shanahan, Clark Shaughnessy, Seymour Siwoff, Amy Trask, Jim Tunney, Jack Vainisi, Lloyd Wells and John Wooten.
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The selection committees will vote to send 12 seniors and 12 coach/contributors through to the finalists stage. The results of those reduction votes will be announced July 27.
Then, the committees will meet in August to select three seniors and one coach/contributor for final consideration into the Class of 2023.