Tag: albert lewis

These four Chiefs legends moved one step closer to Hall of Fame election on Thursday

Four #Chiefs legends — Albert Lewis, Otis Taylor, Lloyd Wells, and Marty Schottenheimer — advanced closer to Hall of Fame election.

Four of the Kansas City Chiefs’ most legendary players and administrators — Albert Lewis, Otis Taylor, Lloyd Wells, and Marty Schottenheimer — advanced their bids for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

News of their achievement broke on Thursday afternoon following the Hall of Fame’s announcement of semifinalists.

Each of these outstanding Chiefs left an indelible mark on Kansas City’s beloved football franchise, and their accomplishments merit further consideration by the organization’s selection committee.

Take a look at the case for each of these legends as they advance within the selection’s semi-finals:

Raiders greats Art Powell, Albert Lewis among Senior semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Legendary Raiders receiver Art Powell is among Hall of Fame senior semifinalists.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced their semifinalists for the class of 2024 Thursday. Among them are Raiders greats WR Art Powell and DB Albert Lewis.

To be eligible for the senior committee, a player must have played their last game in 1998 or earlier. That was Lewis’s final season in the NFL, which was his fifth as a member of the Raiders.

Lewis played 16 years in the NFL, his first 11 with the Chiefs. He collected 42 interceptions, heading to four Pro Bowls and once an All Pro. He also appeared in six playoff games, all with the Chiefs.

Powell is one of the greatest receivers in Raiders history. He spent just four seasons with the Raiders, but made the Pro Bowl in every season and was an All AFL performer in 1963 when he caught 73 passes for a league-leading 1304 yards and 16 touchdowns.

His 16 receiving touchdowns in a season is still the most in Raiders franchise history — and he did in in 14 games.

Powell played a total ten NFL seasons with the Eagles, New York Titans, Raiders, Bills, and Vikings.

Roger Craig is also among the semifinalists. He played one season with the Raiders in 1991 as his career was winding down.

The rest of the semifinalists are Ken Anderson, Maxie Baughan, Randy Gradisher, Joe Jacoby, Steve McMichael, Eddie Meador, Sterling Sharpe, Otis Taylor, and Al Wistert.

Former Raiders head coach Mike Shanahan was among the coaches/contributor semifinalists.

Shanahan coached the Raiders for just 20 games before butting heads with Al Davis and being fired. He then went on to have a very successful career as the head coach of the Denver Broncos, including winning two Super Bowls.

Other coach/contributor semifinalists are Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Art Rooney Jr, Marty Schottenheimer, Clark Shaughnessy, Lloyd Wells, and John Wooten.

Former Raiders CB Albert Lewis finalist for Hall of Fame class of 2023

Albert Lewis finalist for Hall of Fame class of 2023, Eric Allen cut from semi-finalists.

Tonight the Pro Football Hall of Fame trimmed the nominees for the class of 2023 to 15 finalists. Among them is former Raiders and Chiefs cornerback Albert Lewis.

After 11 seasons in Kansas City, Lewis joined the Raiders at the age of 34 and played five more seasons.

Lewis had 42 interceptions in his 16 NFL seasons, the final four of those interceptions coming in a Raiders uniform from 1994-98.

He made four Pro Bowls and was twice named All Pro, all of which happened with the Chiefs from 1987-90.

Cut from the list of semi-finalists was Lewis’s Raiders teammate in 1998 Eric Allen. Lewis moved to safety that season while Allen and a rookie named Charles Woodson started at the two cornerback spots. That’s a hell of a secondary.

Like Lewis, Allen spent most of his career elsewhere before joining the Raiders at the age of 33. Allen had some of his best seasons in his final four with the Raiders, picking off 15 passes, giving him 54 over his 14-year career.

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3 former Chiefs players named finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023

Three former #Chiefs players are among the 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced modern-era finalists for the Class of 2023. A total of three former Kansas City Chiefs players are among those 15 finalists selected.

The next step in the selection process is for the committee to elect up to five modern-era players from this group of 15 finalists. Finalists will need 80% of the vote from the selection committee in order to be chosen for the 2023 class. Remember, at one point the modern-era player pool was comprised of 129 players. The 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class will be decided and announced during the week leading up to Super Bowl LVII.

Below you can find a quick look at each of the three former Chiefs who were selected as finalists:

Former Chiefs CB Albert Lewis selected for Black College Football Hall of Fame 2023 class

Former #Chiefs CB Albert Lewis will be inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame as a part of its 2023 class.

After being named a finalist last month, former Kansas City Chiefs CB Albert Lewis is now one of eight inductees selected for enshrinement into the Black College Football Hall of Fame’s 2023 Class.

“This Class is another representation of the immense football talent that has played at historically black colleges and universities,” said BCFHOF Co-Founder and 2011 Inductee Doug Williams, via press release. “Several of these players were college All-Americans, high NFL draft picks and Pro Bowlers.”

A third-round pick out of Grambling State University by the Chiefs in the 1983 NFL draft, Lewis earned four Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro honors in Kansas City. In his 11 seasons with the Chiefs, Lewis appeared in 150 regular season games notching 555 total tackles and 38 interceptions. He’d spend the final five years of his NFL career with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders.

Lewis was inducted into the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame back in 2007. He’s been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in each of the last three seasons. This was his fourth year selected as a finalist for the BCFHOF.

The 14th Annual Black College Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is presented by the Atlanta Falcons. It will take place on June 10, 2023, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. Players will also be recognized at halftime during the HBCU Legacy Bowl on February 25, 2023, at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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3 former Chiefs players named modern-era semifinalists for 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame

A trio of former #Chiefs players has been selected as modern-era semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced 28 modern-era semifinalists for their 2023 class.

A total of three former Kansas City Chiefs players have been selected as semifinalists. This group was reduced from an initial group of 129 nominees, which included 10 total former Chiefs players. This is the largest number of semifinalists since they adopted the process of reducing the list of nominees back in 2004.

This group will again be reduced to 15 finalists in the coming months. Then, the 49-person selection committee will select up to five modern-era members of the Pro Football Hall Class of 2023 in advance of Super Bowl LVII, with the final reveal coming during the NFL Honors ceremony on Feb. 9.

Here’s a quick look at the three Chiefs players selected as semifinalists:

Former Chiefs CB Albert Lewis finalist for Black College Football Hall of Fame 2023 class

For the fourth consecutive year, former #Chiefs CB Albert Lewis has been named a finalist for the Black College Football Hall of Fame.

A former member of the Kansas City Chiefs has once again been selected as a finalist for the Black College Football Hall of Fame, this time for the class of 2023.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame, celebrating players and coaches attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), announced 25 finalists (21 players and 4 coaches) for the class of 2023 on Tuesday.

“A big thank you to the selection committee for their dedication and hard work in selecting this year’s finalists. The one common thread the committee found among this year’s finalists is football reveals character and the character of this year’s finalists is at the top of the list,” said Committee Chairman Charlie Neal in the BCHOF press release.

Albert Lewis is among the 21 former players announced as a finalist for the upcoming class. This is the fourth consecutive year that Lewis has been selected as a finalist for the Black College Football Hall of Fame.

The Chiefs drafted Lewis in the third round of the 1983 NFL draft out of Grambling State University. In the NFL, Lewis earned four Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro honors. He played in six playoff games during his career and made it to the AFC championship game in his final season in Kansas City.

In his 11 seasons with the Chiefs, Lewis appeared in a total of 150 regular season games notching 555 total tackles and 38 interceptions. 20 of those interceptions came in his first four seasons in the league. He also had 10 blocked punts in his career, showcasing versatility to play both defense and special teams.

Lewis was inducted into the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame in 2007. He has also been selected as one of the modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in each of the last three seasons.

The announcement for the 2023 inductees for the Black College Football Hall of Fame will come on December 8, 2022. You can find the full list of finalists for the 2023 Black College Football Hall of Fame here.

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5 former Chiefs ranked among greatest HBCU players in NFL history

Celebrating some of the greatest #Chiefs players of all time who played college football at HBCUs.

This Saturday will mark the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl — an all-star game compiled of the most talented draft-eligible college football players who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is involved through his foundation, pledging a multi-year commitment to help these players showcase themselves in front of NFL evaluators.

In recent years, it has become a rarity when a player from an HBCU is selected in the NFL draft. The 2021 NFL draft, for instance, had no players selected from HBCUs. In fact, only 18 players from HBCUs made initial 53-man rosters in the 2021 NFL season — the most notable being Indianapolis Colts LB Darius Leonard.

When the AFL was formed in 1960, HBCU talent helped to populate the fledgling league. The Chiefs were one of the teams to help break down remaining racial barriers by selecting Buck Buchanan at No. 1 overall in the 1963 AFL draft. As things currently stand, almost a tenth of NFL Hall of Famers played college football at an HBCU.

With the HBCU Legacy Bowl on our doorstep, our friends over at Touchdown Wire recently revisited their list of the 51 greatest HBCU players in NFL history. A total of five Chiefs players made their list, including one player ranked in the top 10. Here’s a quick look at those players and what was said about them:

Raiders well represented in list of NFL 51 greatest HBCU players

Five Raiders make the list of NFL 51 greatest HBCU players

This Saturday the nation’s top players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) will take the field for the HBCU Legacy Bowl.

In the spirit of Black History Month, Doug Farrar of USA Today’s Touchdown Wire put together his list of the 51 greatest HBCU players to play in the NFL. And as you might expect, there was a strong Raiders representation in there.

In particular, there were five players featured on the list who once donned Silver & Black. Two of whom were original Raiders.

The first player on the list is the GOAT himself, Jerry Rice. He came out of Mississippi Valley State in 1985 and played four seasons with the Raiders from 2001-04.

The highest-ranking original Raider is Art Shell who came out of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 1968 and spent his entire Hall of Fame career in Silver & Black. He came in at No. 3 on the list.

“Shell is on a very short list of the best offensive tackles in pro football history, and he also holds the distinction of being the second Black head coach in NFL annals — and the first in the modern era. (Fritz Pollard coached the Akron Pros in 1921 and 1925).

From 1971 through 1973, Shell was part of a Raiders offensive line that included four future Hall of Famers — Shell at left tackle, Gene Upshaw at left guard, Jim Otto at center and Bob Brown at right tackle. But it was Shell, among the ultimate combinations of technician and mauler, who set the tone.”

Coming in just outside the top ten at No. 11 is Grambling State’s own Willie Brown. Though Brown’s NFL career began with the Broncos, his Hall of Fame legacy came with the Raiders and after his career was over became a fixture in Silver & Black for the rest of his life.

“But it was the trade to the Oakland Raiders before the 1967 season that formed a perfect marriage between player and scheme. Brown was one of the best bump-and-run cornerbacks in AFL or NFL history, and the Raiders of the time were as aggressive with that particular technique as any team you’ll see in any era of pro football.

Over 12 years with the Raiders, he grabbed 39 regular-season interceptions for 277 return yards and two touchdowns, adding seven more interceptions for 96 return yards and three more touchdowns in 17 postseason games. Brown’s best-known play came in the Raiders’ win in Super Bowl XI — a 75-yard pick-six of Fran Tarkenton that iced Oakland’s 32-14 win.”

Flip that and you have Rich ‘Tombstone” Jackson, who began his career with the Raiders but played the best years of his career with the Broncos. The Southern University alum came in at No. 39 on the list.

Just making the list at No. 50 was Albert Lewis out of Willie Brown’s alma mater, Grambling State. Lewis played most of his career in Kansas City, signing with the Raiders in 1994 and spending the final five seasons of his career in Silver & Black.

The whole list is worth a look. If for no other reason than to serve as a reminder of just how much greatness has come from HBCU’s over the years.

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Former Chiefs CB Albert Lewis finalist for Black College Football Hall of Fame 2021 class

A Kansas City Chiefs great is a finalist for enshrinement into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.

A former member of the Kansas City Chiefs has been selected as a finalist for the Black College Football Hall of Fame class of 2021.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame, celebrating players and coaches attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), announced 25 finalists for the class of 2021 on Thursday.

“As chairman of the Selection Committee, I’m extremely proud of the work and effort the Committee has put in to come up with the finalists that are being considered for induction. It’s not an easy task, because every name on the list is deserving to be in the Black College Football Hall of Fame,” said Committee Chairman Charlie Neal in the BCHOF press release.

Albert Lewis, who spent 11 seasons in Kansas City, was among the players announced as a finalist for the upcoming class. He was drafted in the third round of the 1983 NFL draft out of Grambling State University. Lewis earned four Pro Bowls nods and two first-team All-Pro selections during his time with the Chiefs. In his 11 seasons in Kansas City, Lewis appeared in 150 games notching 555 total tackles and 38 interceptions. 20 of those interceptions came in his first four seasons in the league.

Lewis was inducted into the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame in 2007. He was also selected as one of the 130 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2021.

The announcement for the 2021 inductees will come on November 19, 2020. You can find the full list of finalists for the 2021 Black College Football Hall of Fame here.

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