Former Buffalo Bills defensive end Bruce Smith, defensive back Rod Woodson and tight end Shannon Sharpe are among first-year candidates for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The list includes 110 players, seven coaches and 16 contributors, including former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Bills owner Ralph Wilson and longtime team owners Bud Adams, Jerry Jones and Art Modell.
Former Bills wide receiver Andre Reed, who made the final 17 last year, is also on the list. Others with Buffalo Bills ties being considered are center Kent Hull, special teams ace Steve Tasker, defensive linemen Fred Smerlas and Art Still, linebackers Cornelius Bennett, Chris Spielman and Darryl Talley, fullback Larry Centers and coaches Chuck Knox and Tom Flores.
Hall of Fame selectors will choose 25 candidates who will be announced later this month as semifinalists. The field will then be narrowed to 15 by a mail ballot. The inductees will be selected from those 15 and the two senior nominees, Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey. They were selected in August by a senior selection committee.
The class of inductees will be chosen at the selection committee's annual meeting on Jan. 31 in Tampa, Fla., the day before the 2009 Super Bowl. As few as four and as many as seven can be selected.
To be considered for Hall of Fame election, a nominated player or coach must be retired for at least five years.
A contributor, who has made outstanding career contributions to pro football in capacities other than playing or coaching, may still be active in his pro football career.
