FanHouse BobHayes

We tend to forget that there are human beings behind statistics -- the touchdowns, the passes, catches and tackles. The victories, mistakes and losses. Then Steve McNair, once a powerful, influential football player, but also a husband, father of four and a friend, was gunned down.

As the shock of his sudden death staggered friends and fans, the details quickly became muddled and disturbing. Why was McNair shot multiple times, including twice in the head? Who was the 20-year-old woman, found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head, lying near McNair's feet in the former quarterback's rented Nashville condominium?

The Tennessee Titans' signature player and a beloved figure in the Nashville community, gone at age 36.

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On Saturday, the late Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Bob Hayes was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I and dozens of other journalists sat in the room at the Super Bowl Media Center and listened to Lucille Hester, who was introduced as Hayes' sister, read a letter that she said Hayes gave her and wanted her to read in the event that he ever became a Hall of Famer.

It was a touching moment. But some claim it was complete fiction.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The best moment of this Super Bowl week took place this afternoon in a conference room at the Super Bowl media center, when Lucille Hester, the sister of former Cowboys wide receiver Bob Hayes, read a letter that her late brother wrote to her before he died, detailing what he wanted to say if he was ever selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

That selection came today, and the letter that Hester read brought goose bumps and audible gasps to those in the room.

On Tuesday, the NFL announced the finalists for the 2009 Hall of Fame class, a list that contains the NFL's all-time sack leader, a current owner, a former commissioner, and six first-time finalists.

The voters will select a minimum of four and a maximum of seven new members on January 31. The complete list of finalists after the jump.

Bob Hayes was one of the greatest athletes in history, an Olympic gold medalist, the fastest man in the world in the 1960s and a good wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys.

But now that he's a seniors committee nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it must be said: He doesn't merit induction in Canton.

Hayes took the NFL by storm as a rookie in 1965, catching 46 passes for 1,003 yards and leading the league in touchdown catches with 12. In 1966 he was even better, with 64 catches for 1,232 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns.

But then something happened: Opposing coaches realized that they'd never be able to match up a defensive back one-on-one with Hayes, so they started to employ zone defenses. And that pretty much worked. Hayes' receiving yards steadily decreased, and after being a Pro Bowler in each of his first three NFL seasons, he never was again.

Bob Hayes was one of the greatest athletes in history, an Olympic gold medalist, the fastest man in the world in the 1960s and a good wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys.

But now that he's a seniors committee nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it must be said: He doesn't merit induction in Canton.

Hayes took the NFL by storm as a rookie in 1965, catching 46 passes for 1,003 yards and leading the league in touchdown catches with 12. In 1966 he was even better, with 64 catches for 1,232 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns.

But then something happened: Opposing coaches realized that they'd never be able to match up a defensive back one-on-one with Hayes, so they started to employ zone defenses. And that pretty much worked. Hayes' receiving yards steadily decreased, and after being a Pro Bowler in each of his first three NFL seasons, he never was again.