Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1993 celebrates 30-year anniversary
Hall of Famers
Published on : 7/20/2023
Fans who favored the offensive side of the ball found plenty to celebrate with the enshrinement of the Class of 1993. The five new members who unveiled their Bronzed Busts on the front steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on July, 31, 1993, included a quarterback and a running back who rewrote the record book, a massive lineman who helped his team reach football perfection and a coach whose precision play-calling won three Super Bowl rings. Defense wasn’t absent, of course, with the head coach whose “Steel Curtain” produced four Super Bowls victories in six seasons.
Celebrating their 30-year anniversary in Canton this year are quarterback DAN FOUTS, guard LARRY LITTLE, coach CHUCK NOLL, running back WALTER PAYTON and coach BILL WALSH.
Fouts elevated a San Diego Chargers franchise that had endured several lean years since its heyday in the AFL, leading the team to three division titles and two AFC Championship Games. Totaling just over 43,000 yards passing with 254 touchdowns, he was the first player to throw for more than 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. In 1982, the Pro Football Writers of America named Fouts the NFL’s MVP. He was selected to six Pro Bowls and named first-team All-Pro three times.
Little helped spark success in Miami after being traded to the Dolphins in 1969. A pass- and run-blocking force, Little earned All-NFL recognition six times and was a five-time Pro Bowl selection. Heralded by Hall of Fame coach DON SHULA, Little was named the NFL Players Association's AFC Offensive Lineman of the Year in 1970, 1971 and 1972. His final year earning that honor, he won the first of back-to-back Super Bowls as the Dolphins completed a 17-0 season.
Noll, a Pittsburgh Steelers legend, led his teams to four Super Bowls – IX, X, XIII and XIV – in a six-season span. A nine-time AFC Central Division champion, Noll worked closely with owner ART ROONEY to build the Steelers into a powerhouse with a distinct style their nickname captured. He finished his career with an overall record of 209-156-1 record that included a 16-8 mark in the playoffs.
Payton, the No. 4 overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, ended his career after 13 seasons – all in Chicago – as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards in 190 career games. Nicknamed “Sweetness,” he totaled 1,000 or more rushing yards in 10 seasons. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection, Payton occupies elite company, still ranking second all time in career rushing yards and fifth in career rushing touchdowns. A member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for both the 1970s and 1980s, he also was named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team. Shortly after Payton’s death in 1999, the NFL renamed its Man of the Year Award in his honor.
Walsh was hired in 1979 to revive a struggling 49ers franchise, and in Year 3 he led the team to a 13-3 regular-season record and its first Super Bowl title. By the time he retired from coaching after the 1988 season, his teams had won the Vince Lombardi Trophy three times and had established themselves as the best practitioners of the “West Coast Offense.” A six-time NFC West Division champion, Walsh went 10-4 in the postseason and twice was named NFL Coach of the Year (1981, 1984).
Celebrating their 30-year anniversary in Canton this year are quarterback DAN FOUTS, guard LARRY LITTLE, coach CHUCK NOLL, running back WALTER PAYTON and coach BILL WALSH.
Fouts elevated a San Diego Chargers franchise that had endured several lean years since its heyday in the AFL, leading the team to three division titles and two AFC Championship Games. Totaling just over 43,000 yards passing with 254 touchdowns, he was the first player to throw for more than 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. In 1982, the Pro Football Writers of America named Fouts the NFL’s MVP. He was selected to six Pro Bowls and named first-team All-Pro three times.
Little helped spark success in Miami after being traded to the Dolphins in 1969. A pass- and run-blocking force, Little earned All-NFL recognition six times and was a five-time Pro Bowl selection. Heralded by Hall of Fame coach DON SHULA, Little was named the NFL Players Association's AFC Offensive Lineman of the Year in 1970, 1971 and 1972. His final year earning that honor, he won the first of back-to-back Super Bowls as the Dolphins completed a 17-0 season.
Noll, a Pittsburgh Steelers legend, led his teams to four Super Bowls – IX, X, XIII and XIV – in a six-season span. A nine-time AFC Central Division champion, Noll worked closely with owner ART ROONEY to build the Steelers into a powerhouse with a distinct style their nickname captured. He finished his career with an overall record of 209-156-1 record that included a 16-8 mark in the playoffs.
Payton, the No. 4 overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, ended his career after 13 seasons – all in Chicago – as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards in 190 career games. Nicknamed “Sweetness,” he totaled 1,000 or more rushing yards in 10 seasons. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection, Payton occupies elite company, still ranking second all time in career rushing yards and fifth in career rushing touchdowns. A member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for both the 1970s and 1980s, he also was named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team. Shortly after Payton’s death in 1999, the NFL renamed its Man of the Year Award in his honor.
Walsh was hired in 1979 to revive a struggling 49ers franchise, and in Year 3 he led the team to a 13-3 regular-season record and its first Super Bowl title. By the time he retired from coaching after the 1988 season, his teams had won the Vince Lombardi Trophy three times and had established themselves as the best practitioners of the “West Coast Offense.” A six-time NFC West Division champion, Walsh went 10-4 in the postseason and twice was named NFL Coach of the Year (1981, 1984).
2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame anniversary classes
- Pro Football Hall of Fame celebrates decades of football excellence
- Pro Football Hall of Fame’s inaugural Class of 1963 celebrates 60-year anniversary
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1968 celebrates 55-year anniversary
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1973 celebrates 50-year anniversary
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1978 celebrates 45-year anniversary
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1983 celebrates 40-year anniversary
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1988 celebrates 35-year anniversary
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1993 celebrates 30-year anniversary
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1998 celebrates 25-year anniversary
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2003 celebrates 20-year anniversary
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013 celebrates 10-year anniversary
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