[Lefty Noob]

Former Cleveland Browns G Gene Hickerson has been named one of six guys who will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. According to the AP, "Hickerson played 15 seasons for the Browns as the lead blocker for three Hall of Famers -- Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, Bobby Mitchell -- and has been eligible for 29 years." So was he a worthy addition by the veterans committee?

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Former Cleveland Browns G Gene Hickerson has been named one of six guys who will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. According to the AP, "Hickerson played 15 seasons for the Browns as the lead blocker for three Hall of Famers -- Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, Bobby Mitchell -- and has been eligible for 29 years." So was he a worthy addition by the veterans committee?

hmmm... Brown could have run behind a line made up of Grannies...Leroy was good but only for a handful of years...I am not sure about this guy...Should any of the Lions lineman make it cause Barry Sanders ran wild?

[Cleveland Browns News]

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Browns' blocker finally takes his place in Hall
SunHerald.com, MS - 2 hours ago
Gene Hickerson finally has his deserved spot in Canton.

The former Browns guard was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, joining fellow seniors nominee Charlie Sanders and four other modern-era players.

"I am honored to be joining such an elite group of individuals and to be remembered as one of the best linemen of all time," Hickerson said in a statement released by the team. "It was such a relief to finally get the phone call."

Hickerson, a former Ole Miss standout, has waited a long time. He retired in 1973 and was a finalist for the hall three times in the '80s. He made the hall thanks to the Seniors Committee.

"Gene represents the best of the Browns' past and expected present as a tough, hardworking and committed individual," Browns owner Randy Lerner said. "He's stayed loyal to the organization throughout, and we congratulate him with our best wishes."

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 09:03:00 GMT

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Shame on the Hall of Fame: Honor too late
Chronicle-Telegram, OH - 27 minutes ago
Like most people, I’m angry that the electors to the Pro Football Hall of Fame waited until it didn’t matter to vote in Gene Hickerson.
It breaks my heart that Gene won’t enjoy his induction this coming August. His body has been waiting for 20 years, but his mind gave up long ago. His old teammate and friend, Bobby Franklin, now coaching a small college in Mississippi, will stand up for Gene at the induction ceremony.
Evidently, Franklin is among those who has been attentive to Gene in recent years. He flew up to Cleveland on Monday and will accompany him to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. They leave today.
Long ago my old sports editor Hal Lebovitz told me to write about an aging sandlot baseball hero who was in the hospital and failing.
“Let him smell the roses,” said Hal.
When I got to the hospital, I was told, “He just died.”
Ever since I’ve been sensitive about the roses. Hickerson, who turns 72 this week, never got a sniff.
Gene was an All-Pro right guard on one of the great offensive lines of all time. Back in the 1960s, Hickerson, Jim Ray Smith, John Morrow, Dick Schafrath and Mike McCormack led the way for Jim Brown, and then John Wooten, Fred Hoaglin and Monte Clark moved into starting positions on the line to block for Leroy Kelly in the era when the Browns made us proud.
The Browns were so deep on the offensive line that Paul Brown drafted Hickerson after his junior year at Ole Miss, when drafting for the future was legal. The Browns could afford to wait an extra year until Hickerson graduated.

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:45:00 GMT

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