The Pro Football Hall of Fame opened on Sept. 7, 1963, inducting 17 members as its first inductees, with seven more being immortalized in Canton the following year.
The seven legends of professional football, who are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, include players and coaches. Jimmy Conzelman Tackle Ed Healy Fullback/Linebacker Clark Hinkle Tackle Roy “Link” Lyman guard Mike Michalski Founder/Owner Art Rooney Sr. and Center George Trafton.
A major contributor to professional football, Conzelman served as a player and/or coach for 16 seasons, including leading the 1919 Rose Bowl victory with Hall of Famers at Naval Training Center, Great Lakes. George Halasz Halas recruited Conzelman to play for the Decatur Staleys of the American Professional Football Association (later known as the National Football League).
Conzelman played for the next ten years, helping the Providence Steam Rollers win an NFL championship as both player and coach in 1928. After a brief hiatus from football, he returned to coach the Chicago Cardinals full-time in 1940, leading the team to an NFL championship in 1947 and a Division II championship the following year.
Known as one of the most versatile tackles in NFL history, Healy played eight seasons in the NFL. In 1920, upon hearing that a new professional league was being formed, Healy took an overnight train to Rock Island, Illinois, to play for an independent team. Two years later, Halas convinced Healy to join the Chicago Bears for $100. Healy's time in Chicago was marked by two key plays: a tackle that intercepted a teammate running the wrong way just short of the goal line, and a tackle from behind that prevented a touchdown in front of 60,000 fans during a road trip in Chicago. Healy's speed and impressive play earned him All-NFL selection five times.
Hinkle was considered one of the toughest and most dedicated players of the Iron Man era. He played 10 seasons with the Green Bay Packers as a quarterback, linebacker, punter, placekicker and, most famously, fullback. As a runner, Hinkle was known for his collisions, including one with a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Bronko Nagurski As a result, the Bears left the game with a broken nose and broken ribs. Hinkle's versatility and toughness led the Packers to NFL championships in 1936 and 1939, and he was selected to the NFL All-Decade Team of the 1930s. He retired as the NFL's leading rusher with 379 points and 3,860 yards, records that would stand for eight years.
A pioneer of the style of play that involved shifting and sliding defensive lines to confuse opponents before the snap, Lyman played 11 seasons in the NFL. Guy Chamberlain, Future Pro Football Hall of Famer and fellow University of Nebraska alumnus Lyman made his pro football debut with the Canton Bulldogs in 1922. He and Chamberlain won three NFL titles with the Canton and Cleveland Bulldogs. After the 1925 season, he joined the Bears on the road and won his fourth title with them in 1933. From high school to the pros, Lyman's teams only had one losing season.
Michalski played 11 seasons in professional football and was one of the leading guards of his era. Nicknamed “Iron Mike,” he played 60 minutes every game, a remarkable feat for a position that was considered one of the toughest in football in the 1920s and 1930s. Michalski began his professional football career in 1926 with the First American Football League. When the league folded the following year, Michalski joined the New York Yankees of the NFL for the next two seasons. With the Yankees, Michalski was selected All-League for two seasons before the team folded. In 1929, Michalski signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers, where he played his final eight years, winning NFL titles in 1929, 1930, and 1931.
Rooney founded the then Pittsburgh Pirates in 1933. The team is the seventh oldest franchise in the NFL. His desire to make Pittsburgh a legitimate franchise began in 1938 when he drafted Colorado star Byron “Whizzer” White with the fourth overall pick. Becoming the Steelers in 1940, the team enjoyed its first winning season two years later. Rooney led the team through World War II when it merged with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Cardinals, but the team's first real on-field success came in 1947, when he led the Eagles to a tie for the division title. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1964, Rooney's tenacity paid off as the Pittsburgh Steelers' four decades of struggle turned into dominance in the 1970s. The team won four Super Bowls in a six-year span from 1974 to 1979.
Unlike most players of his time, Trafton played for the same team throughout his career, the Decatur Staleys/Chicago Bears. A pioneering pro football player and Hall of Famer, Red Grunge Known as “the meanest, toughest player,” Trafton came to Canton because he possessed both offensive and defensive skills. His career as a center marked many firsts for the position. On the offensive side, he was the first center to snap the ball with one hand, and on the other side of the ball, he was one of the first centers to move around defensively. Trafton was selected to various all-league teams six times during his 12-year career and was named to the NFL's 1920s All-Decade Team.
Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024
