Pro Football Hall of Fame names 25 semifinalists

AP

Perennial All-Pro linebacker Derrick Brooks and wide receiver Marvin Harrison were among 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2014 announced Wednesday night.

Brooks and Harrison, along with tackle Walter Jones and coach Tony Dungy, were the first-year eligible candidates to make the cut from 126 to 25. Brooks won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay, while Harrison and Dungy were champions with Indianapolis.

Other star players being considered for induction to the Canton, Ohio, shrine next August include placekicker Morten Andersen, running back Jerome Bettis, defensive end-linebacker Charles Haley, safety John Lynch and defensive end Michael Strahan.

Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue also made the semifinals.

The Hall of Fame election will be held Feb. 1, the night before the Super Bowl, in New York.

Along with Harrison, who is third in career receptions with 1,102, Brooks, Dungy and Jones, two other previously eligible candidates made the final 25 for the modern era: coach Jimmy Johnson and guard Steve Wisniewski.

Johnson won two Super Bowls leading the Dallas Cowboys.

The list of 25 semifinalists will be reduced to 15 modern-era finalists. Those 15 will be joined by two recommended candidates from hall's seniors committee: punter Ray Guy and defensive end Claude Humphrey.

Although there is no set number of enshrinees for any Hall of Fame class, between four and seven new members are selected each year. No more than five modern-era nominees can be elected in a given year.

The semifinalists, in alphabetical order:

Morten Andersen, PK

Steve Atwater, S

Jerome Bettis, RB

Derrick Brooks, LB

Tim Brown, WR-KR

Don Coryell, Coach

Roger Craig, RB

Terrell Davis, RB

Edward DeBartolo Jr., Owner

Tony Dungy, Coach

Kevin Greene, LB-DE

Charles Haley, DE-LB

Marvin Harrison, WR

Joe Jacoby, OT

Jimmy Johnson, Coach

Walter Jones, OT

John Lynch, S

Karl Mecklenburg, LB

Andre Reed, WR

Will Shields, G

Michael Strahan, DE

Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner

Aeneas Williams, CB-S

Steve Wisniewski, G

George Young, Contributor