Three Former Rams Make Hall Of Fame Finals List

Aug 3, 2013; Canton, OH, USA; Genreal view of the enshrinees busts at the 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Fawcett Stadium. From left: Larry Allen and Cris Carter and Dave Robinson and Jonathan Ogden and Bill Parcells and Curley Culp and Warren Sapp (all not pictured). Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday night the NFL announced the finalist for the Pro Football Hall Of Fame class of 2014. On that list were three former Rams, defensive back Aeneas Williams, linebacker Kevin Greene, and running back Jerome Bettis.

With all three making the finalist list, all Rams players that were on the semi-finalist list also made the finals, and with all three making the list of 15, there is a good chance a Ram could be going into Canton this year.

Greene played seven season in Los Angeles and was named all pro in 1989 with the Rams. Greene recorded 72.5 sacks and went to the pro bowl once.

Greene finished his career with 160 sacks playing for the Steelers, Panthers, and 49ers. Greene now coaches for the Packers. Greened retired as the NFL’s third all-time sack leader and the NFL’s all-time leader in sacks by a linebacker.

Williams started his career in Phoenix where he played for the Cardinals for the first nine years of his career. There Williams was recognized as one of the best cornerbacks in the league and was one of the best defenders and players in Cardinals history, as well as one of the greatest shutdown corners of all time.

Williams then went on to St. Louis where he played a major part in their run to the Super Bowl in 2001 intercepting Brett Favre twice and recovering a fumble in the divisional playoff round then intercepting McNabb to seal the Rams’ birth to go to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years.

The only Ram that was on the semi-finals list, but not the finals list was running back Jerome Bettis. Bettis rushed for 1,025 yards in his second season, but only rushed for just over 600 yards in his third season which lead to the Rams trading Bettis to Pittsburgh with a 3rd round pick in the 1996 NFL Draft in exchange for a second round selection in the same draft and a fourth round selection in the 1997 draft.

Bettis also known as “The Bus” went on to rush for 10,571 yards with the Steelers and won Super Bowl XL in 2005. Looks like “the bus” will have another shot of making its final stop in Canton this year.

The official announcement for the Hall of Fame class of 2014 will be Saturday, Feb. 1, the day before the Superbowl, as part of the “3rd Annual NFL Honors” special at Radio City Music Hall in New York that will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.

Other finalist included:

Morten Andersen
Jerome Bettis
Derrick Brooks
Tim Brown
Edward DeBartolo
Tony Dungy
Kevin Greene
Charles Haley
Marvin Harrison
Walter Jones
John Lynch
Andre Reed
Will Shields
Michael Strahan
Aeneas Williams