NASHVILLE – Former Houston Oilers receiver/return man Billy "White Shoes" Johnson is among 31 players who've advanced in the Seniors Category for consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025.
Members of the Hall of Fame's Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee produced the list from the 60 names they had received after a screening committee cast the initial ballots in the highly competitive selection process.
Each of the 182 former players nominated for election and screened in the opening round of voting last could have appeared in a professional football game in the 1999 season.
During his 14-year NFL career (Houston Oilers, 1974-1980; Atlanta Falcons, 1982-87; Washington Redskins, 1988), Johnson was named to three Pro Bowls.
Johnson's NFL career stats include 337 receptions for 4,211 yards and 25 TDs, 282 punt returns for 3,317 yards and six TDs, and 123 kickoff returns for 2,941 yards and two TDs.
In 1994, Johnson was selected as the punt returner on the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. He remains the only man selected to the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team who is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Later, Johnson was named to the 100th Anniversary team as the punt returner.
He was named to the NFL's 1970s All-Decade team, and to the NFL's 1980s All-Decade Team.
The players – 20 offensive and 11 defensive – who remain in consideration for the Class of 2025 are:
QUARTERBACKS (3): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Jim Plunkett.
RUNNING BACKS (5): Ottis Anderson, Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul "Tank" Younger.
WIDE RECEIVERS (5): Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Sterling Sharpe, Otis Taylor.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (7): Ox Emerson, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, George Kunz, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (2): Jim Marshall, Harvey Martin.
LINEBACKERS (5): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Larry Grantham, Clay Matthews Jr., Tommy Nobis.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (4): Lester Hayes, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Everson Walls.
This is information from the Pro Football Hall of Fame:
In this step of the process, each committee member voted for 25 players. The top 25 and all other candidates who tied for the 25th position advance to the third phase – the cutdown vote to nine (9) Semifinalists. Those results will be determined and announced in about three weeks.
Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee voters will meet in early December to discuss the playing careers of the nine Semifinalists. Only their on-the-field accomplishments are considered. From the nine, three will advance to the full Selection Committee as Finalists for possible election to the Class of 2025.
This year's reduction voting is being completed via online platforms with oversight from the firm Ernst & Young LLP. EY's Agreed-Upon Procedures included validating the completeness of the ballots and tabulating the ballots in accordance with the bylaws established by the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025 will be announced at "NFL Honors" in New Orleans, La., next February and enshrined next August in Canton.
