It was a good day for ex-Ravens, not so for former 49ers.
Neither longtime owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. nor defensive end Charles Haley was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In fact, the only ex 49er to make the 2013 class was guard Larry Allen, who was on two terrible 49ers squads at the end of his career in 2006-2007. Perhaps Allen's most prominent play in San Francisco was allowing then-Seattle defensive tackle Rocky Bernard to break in untouched and sack Alex Smith, giving the quarterback a Grade 3 shoulder separation.
Allen also played at Sonoma State and played most of his career with the Cowboys.
The other members of the class are receiver Cris Carter, defensive tackle Warren Sapp, offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, Bill Parcells and senior members Dave Robinson and Curly Culp. Ogden, the first draft pick ever by the Ravens, is the first Raven to make the hall of fame.
Ogden admitted stressing out while he awaited the vote. "It's like going to the hospital with your wife when she's having a baby," he said.
The writers who voted on this year's class spent a record eight hours deliberating. One full hour was spent debating Parcells, whose Giants had a long rivalry with DeBartolo's 49ers. The voting for those men is believed to have taken on an east coast-vs.-west coast feel.
Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter, who is based in California, said he voted for both DeBartolo and former Chiefs guard Will Shields, neither of whom made the first round of cuts from 15 to 10. "In my mind, I voted Haley first because he has been waiting so long," he said of the choice between Haley and Michael Strahan, who also did not make the final cut.
Said another voter, the Dallas Morning News' Rick Gosselin: "To see a Charles Haley and a Michael Strahan not make it shows the strength of this class."
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