Marino, Young Lead NFL Hall Candidate List

Steve Young and Dan Marino set dozens of NFL passing records in the 1980s and ‘90s, some of which Peyton Manning is erasing now. Young and Marino soon may have something else in common: membership in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The two retired quarterbacks are among 15 finalists for the Hall announced Tuesday. The class of 2005, which will have from three to six members, will be announced Feb. 5, the day before the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.

“It’s an honor to get to this stage of the selection process and to be considered along with 14 other deserving candidates,” Marino said in a statement released by CBS, where he is a commentator on its NFL pregame show.

“I’ve always said that election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame was the greatest individual achievement in the game and it would be one of the highlights of my career to join the sport’s greatest players in Canton.”

Marino, who holds many of the NFL’s career passing records, and Young, who led San Francisco to the Super Bowl title in the 1994 season, are among four finalists who made the list in their first year of eligibility.

The others are Michael Irvin, a member of the Dallas teams that won three Super Bowls from 1992 to ‘95, and Derrick Thomas, the Kansas City linebacker who died in 2000 after a car accident.

Marino completed 4,967 of 8,358 passes for 61,343 yards and 420 touchdowns from 1983 to ’99 with the Miami Dolphins. He passed for 3,000 yards in a season 13 times, including six seasons in which he reached 4,000. The native of Pittsburgh, who played for the University of Pittsburgh, passed for 300 yards in a game 63 times and 400 yards 13 times.

He held the record of 48 touchdown passes in a season until Manning threw 49 this season for Indianapolis.

Young, one of the top-rated passers in history, was the Super Bowl most valuable player after throwing six touchdown passes in the 49ers’ 49-26 win over San Diego.

“It’s a huge honor to be considered with the names on this list, some of the all-time greats,” Young said in a statement issued through ESPN, where he is an NFL analyst.

The left-handed Young threw for at least 3,000 yards in a season six times and had 20 or more touchdown passes in a season five times. His league record for passer rating in a season -- 112.8 in 1994 -- was also broken this season by Manning, who finished at 121.1.

Two of the finalists had already been determined: senior nominees Fritz Pollard and Benny Friedman.

Pollard, who played in the 1920s, was the first black coach of an NFL team. Friedman played for several teams from 1927 to ’34.

The other nominees are linebacker Harry Carson, who played for the New York Giants in the 1970s and 1980s; defensive end Richard Dent, MVP for the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl in the 1985 season; defensive end L.C. Greenwood, a member of Pittsburgh’s “Steel Curtain” teams of the 1970s; guard Russ Grimm, a member of Washington’s famed “Hogs”; defensive end Claude Humphrey, who played for Atlanta and Philadelphia from 1968 to ‘81; guard Bob Kuechenberg, who played on Miami’s 1972 undefeated Super Bowl champions; receiver Art Monk, a member of three Super Bowl winners with Washington; Roger Wehrli, a cornerback for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1969 to ‘82; and the late George Young, who built two Super Bowl winners as general manager of the Giants.

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Hall Candidates

Quarterbacks Dan Marino and Steve Young, both on the ballot for the first time, head the list of finalists for the 2005 Pro Football Hall of Fame class:

PLAYER: HARRY CARSON

POSITION: Linebacker

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1976-1988 New York Giants

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PLAYER: RICHARD DENT

POSITION: Defensive end

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1983-1993, 1995, Chicago Bears; 1994 San Francisco 49ers; 1996 Indianapolis Colts; 1997 Philadelphia Eagles

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PLAYER: BENNY FRIEDMAN-(y)

POSITION: Quarterback

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1927 Cleveland Bulldogs; 1928 Detroit Wolverines; 1929-1931 New York Giants; 1932-1934 Brooklyn Dodgers

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PLAYER: L.C. GREENWOOD

POSITION: Defensive end

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1969-1981 Pittsburgh Steelers

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PLAYER: RUSS GRIMM

POSITION: Guard

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1981-1991 Washington Redskins

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PLAYER: CLAUDE HUMPHREY

POSITION: Defensive end

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1968-1978 Atlanta Falcons; 1979-1981 Philadelphia Eagles

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PLAYER: MICHAEL IRVIN-(x)

POSITION: Wide receiver

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1988-1999 Dallas Cowboys

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PLAYER: BOB KUECHENBERG

POSITION: Guard

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1970-1984 Miami Dolphins

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PLAYER: DAN MARINO-(x)

POSITION: Quarterback

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1983-1999 Miami Dolphins

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PLAYER: ART MONK

POSITION: Wide receiver

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1980-1993 Washington Redskins; 1994 New York Jets; 1995 Philadelphia Eagles

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PLAYER: FRITZ POLLARD-(y)

POSITION: Back/coach

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1919-1921, 1925-1926 Akron Pros/Indians; 1922 Milwaukee Badgers; 1923-1924 Gilberton Catamounts (independent); 1923, 1925 Hammond Pros; 1925 Providence Steam Rollers

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PLAYER: DERRICK THOMAS-(x)

POSITION: Linebacker

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1989-1999 Kansas City Chiefs

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PLAYER: ROGER WEHRLI

POSITION: Cornerback

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1969-1982 St. Louis Cardinals

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PLAYER: GEORGE YOUNG

POSITION: Contributor

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts; 1975-1978 Miami Dolphins; 1979-1997 New York Giants; 1998-2001 NFL

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PLAYER: STEVE YOUNG-(x)

POSITION: Quarterback

SEASONS WITH TEAM(S): 1985-1986 Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 1987-1999 San Francisco 49ers

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x-first-year eligible y-senior candidates