ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It’s not just Randy Gradishar who has been getting bypassed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, outrageous as his snub may be. Just as preposterous is not one member of Denver’s iconic Orange Crush defense is represented in Canton.
The Steel Curtain from the 70s has five defensive players in the Hall of Fame: Mel Blount, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert and Donnie Shell. Granted, the Steelers won four Super Bowls in the 1970s, but they also had five Hall of Fame offensive players in Terry Bradshaw, Mike Webster, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann and Franco Harris.
The other dominant AFC team from the 1970s, the Raiders, have two defenders with Bronze Busts: Willie Brown and Ted Hendricks.
The 1977 Broncos, who beat both the Steelers and the Raiders in the 1977 AFC playoffs, have none.
With apologies to Jack Lambert, Gradishar was the NFL’s best middle linebacker in the seven-year period from 1975-81. Lambert played at 225 pounds, spread over a 6-foot-4 frame. Gradishar was 6-3, 240. Who would rather get hit by?
"As good as there ever was," Tom Jackson, who played on the outside right of Gradishar in the Orange Crush’s four linebacker set, said in the book, "The 50 Greatest Players in Denver Broncos History.’’ “And I don’t say that lightly. His competitive spirit, his ability to tackle – I don’t think there’s anything more important in football. He also collected, out of a ‘’30’’ defense, 20 interceptions. Over 100 tackles every single year of his life."
The Orange Crush wasn’t a defense, it was a movement. It was the beginning of Broncomania. Even new Broncos owner Condoleezza Rice talked about growing up in that special time during the ownership group’s introductory press conference last week.
"I’m a part of the ‘Orange Crush’ generation where you’d go into any grocery store or any restaurant and there were all of those Orange Crush cans piled up with (cutouts of) Rubin Carter or Louis Wright peering over them," Rice said.
Louis Wright is the next Orange Crush defender worthy of the Hall of Fame, followed by Billy Thompson and Tom Jackson. But Gradishar was the leader of the Orange Crush and has always had the first chance from that famed unit to attain football immortality and he will again Tuesday when the seniors committee nominates three players from its 12 finalists for final vote by the general election committee. Gradishar is among the final 12. The three players nominated are expected to receive all but rubber-stamp approval for election.
"I’ve been a finalist a few times and you get excited and hope for the best," Gradishar said. "This is another time for me to get excited."
Gradishar played 10 seasons, all for the Broncos, from 1974 when he was a first-round pick out of Ohio State, through 1983, John Elway’s rookie season. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1978. Besides his 20 interceptions, Gradishar had 19.5 sacks and 13 fumble recoveries.
He has been eligible for Hall of Fame election since 1989 – 33 years ago. He was twice a finalist on the modern-era ballot, and was among the finalists for the 2020 Hall of Fame Centennial Class but was surprisingly not among the 10 seniors elected.
The other 11 senior players who join Gradishar among the finalists for the Hall of Fame class of 2023: Quarterback Ken Anderson, linebacker Maxie Baughan, linebacker Chuck Howley, quarterback Cecil Isbell, defensive lineman Joe Klecko, guard Bob Kuechenberg, cornerback Eddie Meador, linebacker Tommy Nobis, cornerback Ken Riley, receiver Sterling Sharpe (older brother of Broncos’ Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe) and cornerback Everson Walls.
Meanwhile, former Broncos coaches Dan Reeves and Mike Shanahan are among the 12 Hall of Fame coach and contributor finalists, but only be nominated on Aug. 23.
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