PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : Gibbs, Four Players Make Hall of Fame - Los Angeles Times
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PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : Gibbs, Four Players Make Hall of Fame

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Joe Gibbs, who coached the Washington Redskins to victory in three Super Bowls, was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday along with four former players: Charlie Joiner, Mel Renfro, Dan Dierdorf and Lou Creekmur.

Among those voted down were all three of the Los Angeles-area players who were in the running when the day’s balloting began: former Raider Mike Haynes and former Rams Tom Mack and Jack Youngblood.

Haynes, a cornerback for New England and Los Angeles, lasted until the final round of six players.

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His seven-year Raider career had begun during the 1983 season, when he played a leading role as Al Davis’ team routed the Redskins, 38-9, for the AFC’s only Super Bowl success of the last 15 years.

It was also the only Super Bowl championship won by a Los Angeles team.

Moreover, it was Gibbs’ only Super Bowl defeat in four tries.

Mack and Youngblood, respectively a guard and defensive end, both played All-Pro football for the Rams in the 1970s. But after reaching the semifinal round of 10 on Saturday, when both continued to hold the support of an overwhelming majority of selection committee members, the players were thumbed down by eight of the 36 voters.

Under Hall of Fame rules, any eight-man minority rules. The committee members are media representatives from all NFL cities.

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Joiner was an 18-year NFL wide receiver who ended his San Diego Charger career in 1986. Renfro was a defensive back from 1964-77 for the Dallas Cowboys. Dierdorf, the AFC broadcaster who was chosen over Mack and Miami Dolphin center Dwight Stephenson, was an offensive lineman for 13 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Creekmur, the old-timers’ candidate, played nine seasons during the 1950s on the Detroit Lions’ offensive line.

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