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Ex-Bucs Nickerson, Williams Don't Make Hall Cut

Tribune file photo by CLIFF McBRIDE (2000)

Nickerson, above, was a key factor in leading the Bucs' defensive resurgence during his seven years as a starter.

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By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 25, 2008

Doug Williams and Hardy Nickerson, a pair of Buccaneer icons, both came up short Tuesday.

Williams, a Bucs personnel executive who made Super Bowl history as a quarterback with the Redskins a generation ago, and Nickerson, a dynamic linebacker who arrived from Pittsburgh in 1993 and helped turn around a moribund franchise in Tampa, were among 133 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2009.

Neither advanced Tuesday when that list was whittled down to 25 semi-finalists.

Another cutdown to the final 15 modern-era candidates will take place in early January, leading up to the Jan. 31 selection of the Class of 2009. That announcement will take place in Tampa the day before the Super Bowl.

Williams was the first black quarterback to start a Super Bowl, earning MVP honors as he led the 1987 Redskins past Denver 42-10 by throwing for 340 yards and four touchdowns. He was a first-round draft pick of the Bucs in 1978 and guided Tampa Bay to three playoff berths within a four-year span, beginning in 1979.

Other Class of 2009 candidates with Buc ties included Nickerson, a seven-year starter in the 1990s, G Randall McDaniel (2000-01), T Lomas Brown, who played 11 games for the 2002 championship team, and P Reggie Roby (1995).

Of the group, only McDaniel survived Tuesday's cutdown.
Only modern-era candidates who advance to the list of 15 finalists are discussed in the room and voted on by the 44-member Hall of Fame panel on the day before the Super Bowl. A maximum of five modern-era players can be enshrined in any given year, along with up to two senior nominees.

Four first-time modern-era nominees advanced Tuesday—DE Bruce Smith, DT John Randle, DB Rod Woodson and TE Shannon Sharpe.

Among the other semi-finalists are QB Ken Stabler, P Ray Guy, WRs Cris Carter and Andre Reed, LB Derrick Thomas, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Bills owner Ralph Wilson and former NFL owner Art Modell.

The two senior candidates are WR Bob Hayes and DE Claude Humphrey.

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