Two former superstar quarterbacks - Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers great Steve Young - lead this year's inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Steve Young led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl title in 1995. He was the league's Most Valuable Player in 1992 and 1994. Young said perhaps his mother will be the person to introduce him at the official induction ceremonies in Canton, Ohio, on August 7. "It was my mother who ran out on the field when I was eight-years-old and beat up on the kid who tackled me around the neck. So, it might be appropriate that she puts the cap on it as well," he said.
Marino is the most prolific passer in NFL history, having completed 4,967 passes and 420 touchdowns. He was the NFL's most valuable player in 1984. Not included in those totals were passes completed in exhibition games around the world. "I played in one of the first games overseas in Wembley Stadium [in London]," he said. "And I played pretty much every year there for a while, fortunately, either in Germany or London. We played in Mexico City. So, we appreciate fans overseas."
Two other players from before World War II - Bennie Friedman and Fritz Pollard - were also chosen for the hall.
Pollard was the first black coach in the NFL, leading the Akron Pros to the 1920 championship. He later organized the Chicago Brown Bombers, a team of black players that toured the country from 1927 to 1933.
Friedman played for four teams between 1927 and 1934 and was one of the NFL's first quarterbacks.
