Former Redskins linebacker Chris Hanburger voted into Pro Football Hall of Fame

Former Redskins linebacker Chris Hanburger was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday, 32 years after his final season.  Hanburger played 14 seasons for the Redskins, making the Pro Bowl nine times and winning the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 1972 when Washington made it to the Super Bowl.

Hanburger joins cornerback Deion Sanders, running back Marshall Faulk, tight end Shannon Sharpe, defensive end Richard Dent, and NFL Films founder Ed Sabol as 2011 Hall of Fame inductees. Former Los Angeles Rams linebacker Les Richter made the Hall posthumously as a senior candidate. 

In the 1970s, Hanburger was part of George Allen’s “Over the Hill Gang,” a group of veterans who led the Redskins to five playoff appearances and seven winning seasons in a row from 1971 to 1977.  Hanburger, an outside linebacker who was named All-Pro four times, retired in 1978.

Hanburger intercepted 19 passes in his career, returning two for touchdowns, and recovered 17 fumbles, returning three for scores.  A great all-around player, Hanburger played in an era when linebackers played every down on defense, playing the run, dropping into coverage, and blitzing effectively well.

In the 1960s, Hanburger played alongside Hall of Famer Sam Huff, who praised his former teammate last week. In the 1970s, Hanburger teamed with fellow linebacker Jack Pardee as Washington led the league in scoring defense in 1972.

For five years Hanburger was the signal caller on Allen’s defense.  Defensive tackles Diron Talbert, Ron McDole, and cornerback Pat Fischer helped anchor the defense in the early 1970s as veterans who were brought in by Allen from other teams.

None of the Redskins in the Hall of Fame was selected to the Pro Bowl more often than Hanburger.  Washington now has 19 players, coaches, and owners who spent most or all of their careers with the Redskins inducted into the Hall, and seven others who spent parts of their careers with the Redskins. 

Hanburger becomes the fourth Redskin in the last four years to make it to Canton, Ohio.  Last year, guard Russ Grimm made it to Canton.  Two years ago, receiver Art Monk and cornerback Darrell Green were enshrined.

Hanburger, like Monk and Grimm, was a humble player who did not promote his accomplishments during or after his career. 

Modesty may have hurt them in being overlooked for the Hall for a number of years.  Like Monk (inducted in his eighth year of eligibility) and Grimm (inducted in his 14th year of eligibility), Hanburger was bypassed for many years, making it 27 years after he was first eligible. 

Hanburger joins Allen, Ken Houston, Sonny Jurgensen, John Riggins and Charley Taylor as Redskins Hall of Famers from the 1970s. Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones also played one season (1974) with Washington.

Several other Redskins from those 1970s teams deserve consideration.  

• Larry Brown - running back, Redskins (1969-1976). Brown was the best running back in the NFC in the early 1970s.  He won the 1972 NFL MVP Award with 1,216 yards rushing and 12 total touchdowns in 12 games, leading the league in yards from scrimmage.  Brown rushed for more than 5,000 yards his first five seasons.
   
• Pat Fischer – cornerback, St. Louis (1961-’67), Redskins (’68-’77).  Fischer had 56 interceptions – two more than Redskins Hall of Famer Darrell Green. He was also credited with inventing or popularizing the “bump and run” technique to slow down receivers near the line of scrimmage.  Fischer made the Pro Bowl three seasons.

• Richie Petitbon – safety, Chicago (1950-’68), Los Angeles (’69-’70), Redskins (’70-’71); Redskins defensive coordinator (’81-’92).  Petitbon had 48 interceptions and returned three of them for touchdowns, and also led the Redskins to four Super Bowls and three wins as defensive coordinator.  He was recognized as an excellent coordinator who confused quarterbacks and got the most out of his players.  His career as a player and coordinator is similar to recent Hall of Fame inductee Dick LeBeau.

• Jerry Smith – tight end, Redskins (1965-1977).  Smith held the NFL record for touchdowns by a tight end (60) from 1977 when he retired until it was broken in 2003. Smith caught 421 passes for an average of 13.1 yards per catch, very high numbers for a tight end of that era. He made the Pro Bowl twice.

Is there an anti-Redskins bias that prevents players from making the Hall of Fame in favor of players from Pittsburgh and Dallas?  The Redskins aren’t considered as glamorous as the Cowboys or the Steelers, who have 11 and 10 players, respectively, in the Hall of Fame from their Super Bowl winning teams.

Listing a statistic or two next to players’ names does not do justice to their careers, but here is a short list of some other Redskins who deserve a shot at the Hall.

• Joe Jacoby, left tackle, Redskins (1981-’93).  Jacoby may have been the best offensive lineman of the Hogs, one of the best offensive lines in history.  Jacoby changed the way the game was played because after he entered the league, it became a requirement for left tackles to have the size (6-6, 310) and athleticism of Jacoby.

• Gary Clark, wide receiver, Redskins (1985-’92), Phoenix/Arizona (1993-’94), Miami (1995).  Clark’s career compares favorably with the career of Michael Irvin.  They each had 65 touchdowns.  Clark averaged 64 catches in 11 years; Irvin averaged 63 over 12 seasons.  Clark didn’t play with a Hall of Fame quarterback other than his final season in Miami.  There is precedent for two receivers from the same team to make it (Lynn Swann and John Stallworth).
   
• Wilber Marshall, linebacker, Chicago (1984-‘87), Redskins (1988-‘92), Houston (1993), Arizona (1994), N.Y. Jets (1995).  Marshall had 45 sacks, 23 interceptions, 24 fumbles forced, 16 fumble recoveries, four touchdowns on interception returns and fumble recoveries, six seasons of more than 100 tackles, three Pro Bowl appearances, was named All-Pro twice, and won the 1992 NFC Defensive Player of the Year award.  But stats don’t begin to tell the story for Marshall, a fierce hitter with great speed who could do it all.  Marshall played for two of the greatest teams of all-time, the 1985 Chicago Bears (18-1) and the 1991 Washington Redskins (17-2). 

• Brian Mitchell, kick returner, Redskins (1990-’99), Philadelphia (2000-’02), N.Y. Giants (2003).  Mitchell had 19,013 combined return yards and 13 special teams touchdowns, both NFL records.
   
• Charles Mann, defensive end, Redskins (1983-‘93), San Francisco (1994).  Mann was a 6-6 pass rusher with speed and a swim move that enabled him to get 83 sacks, one fewer than Hall of Famer Howie Long. Mann had more than 80 tackles six times, excellent numbers for a defensive end. Mann played in three Super Bowls with the Skins, winning two; Long won one.  Mann also got a ring with the 49ers though he was a backup.  Mann played in four Pro Bowls to Long’s eight.  

• Coy Bacon, defensive end, Los Angeles (1968-’72), San Diego (1973-’75), Cincinnati (1976-’77), Redskins (1978-’81).  Bacon had 130 sacks and three Pro Bowl appearances (sacks stats are unofficial).

• Lemar Parrish, cornerback, Cincinnati (1970-’77), Redskins (1978-’81), Buffalo (1982).  Parrish had 47 interceptions and 13 touchdowns on kick returns, interception returns, and fumble returns.  He was selected to eight Pro Bowls.

Finally, there are many players from the Joe Gibbs era who may not be Hall of Famers, but were great players who should not be forgotten. Here’s a list:

• Jeff Bostic, center
• Charlie Brown, receiver
• Kelvin Bryant, running back
• Dave Butz, defensive tackle
• Earnest Byner, running back
• Monte Coleman, linebacker
• Pete Cronan, special teams
• Jim Lachey, tackle
• Dexter Manley, defensive end
• Mark May, guard
• Mark Moseley, kicker
• Mike Nelms, special teams
• George Rogers, running back
• Ricky Sanders, receiver
• Joe Theismann, quarterback
• Don Warren, tight end
• Joe Washington, running back
• Greg Williams, special teams

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