by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
For the first 13 years the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Sports & Entertainment Division has conducted voting for the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame, the criteria for getting on the ballot has been pretty simple, with few restrictions.
The biggest issue each year was: what did the players do to make a name for themselves during the annual game here in Jacksonville.
For example, placing Georgia running back Herschel Walker and Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel on the ballot were no-brainers. Both players made careers during that Florida-Georgia game alone.
As the years passed, however, it became increasingly difficult to find 10 players a year from each team that made major or remarkable contributions in the game. As Mike Bouda, manager of the JEDC Sports & Entertainment Division, explained, it was becoming tough to find Florida players from the 1980s to nominate and equally difficult to find Georgia players from the 1990s.
As a result, the decision was made to expand the criteria to the players’ careers at their respective schools. That helps explain the high-profile list of nominees for this year’s Hall of Fame luncheon. Bouda said about 25 players from each team are nominated each year and those nominations come from Hall of Fame members, local media and suggestions from those with connections to the game.
“There really is no criteria set in stone,” said Bouda. “We take recommendations from people over the course of the year. We tried initially to keep it strictly centered around what the players did in the game. But, it got hard. It has to be a little more than the individual game.”
Two players on this year’s ballot are still active in the NFL. Georgia’s Richard Seymour is with the New England Patriots while Florida’s Rex Grossman is a free agent, but was most recently with the Chicago Bears.
“It’s just one of those years,” said Bouda.
Without any distinct guidelines, it would make sense to see Florida quarterback Tim Tebow’s name on the list next year, right? Maybe not, says Bouda.
“It would be the real easy thing to do, but there are a lot of deserving players and certainly Tim is deserving,” said Bouda, adding 22 ballots were sent out this year. “But, I think he will have to wait a while.”
The annual luncheon is one of the highlights of the long week of parties that culminates with the game. Held in a big tent near the stadium, the luncheon draws a big crowd of boosters, locals and fans from both teams.
Fred Seely, an editorial consultant for Bailey Publishing and free lance writer, has been voting for several years. He said this year’s ballot was the most difficult to fill out. Voters are asked to rank the players 1-10, with 1 being whom they most want to see who gets in.
“My initial thought was that it was just a much better list of people I have heard of,” said Seely. “It was much harder to number them 1-10. I think (Florida tight end) Kirk Kirkpatrick was No. 10 on my list and he was a pretty good tight end. In previous years, he probably would have been No. 5.”
Who’s on the ballot?
Georgia
• Bill Goldberg (1986-89) — Two-time All-SEC defender
• Peter Anderson (1983-85) — Nicknamed the “Bell Cow”
• John Brantley (1984-87) — Recorded 13 tackles in two games against Florida
• Rex Robinson (1977-80) — First team All-American in ‘80
• Knox Culpepper (1981-84) — Two wins over Gators
• Garrison Hearst (1990-92) — 21 touchdowns his junior year
• Richard Seymour (1997-2000) — Two-time All-SEC first team
• Andre Hastings (1990-92) — Fourth in career receptions
• David Pollack (2001-04) — Three national awards in 2004
Florida
• Doug Dickey (1951-53, player; 1970-78, coach) — Played quarterback and safety
• Nat Moore (1972-73) — Led Gators in yards in ‘72
• Rex Grossman (2000-03) — Threw for 898 yards in three games
• Scott Brantley (1976-79) — Leading tackler in UF history
• Fred Weary (1993-97) — Had 14 career interceptions
• Kirk Kirkpatrick (1987-90) — All-American and All-SEC in ‘90
• WIlber Marshall (1980-83) — Two-time All-American and All-SEC
• Jacquez Green (1995-97) — Had 22 career touchdowns
• Jeff Chandler (1998-2001) — Went 4-0 against Georgia
• Lawrence Wright (1993-96) — Also went 4-0 against Georgia
Who’s in?
Georgia
1996
Buck Belue
Vince Dooley
Frank Sinkwich
Herschel Walker
1997
Terry Hoage
Lindsay Scott
1998
Wally Butts
Jake Scott
Bill Stanfill
Tommy Thurson
Charley Trippi
1999
Richard Appleby
Matt Robinson
2000
Mike Cavan
John Rauch
2001
Charley Britt
Robert Edwards
2002
Bob Etter
Ray Goff
2003
Kevin Butler
George Patton
2004
Larry Munson
Erk Russell
2005
Cy Grant
Kevin McLee
2006
Rodney Hampton
Willie McClendon
2007
Dan Magill
Tim Worley
2008
Gene Washington
Eric Zeir
Florida
1996
Kerwin Bell
Ray Graves
Shane Matthews
Steve Spurrier
1997
Jack Youngblood
Danny Wuerffel
1998
Rick Casares
Larry Dupree
Charles Hunsinger
Charles LaPradd
Richard Trapp
1999
Carlos Alvarez
Jimmy Dunn
2000
Howell Boney
Joe Brodsky
2001
Chris Doering
John Reaves
2002
Norm Carlson
Ricky Nattiel
2003
Buford Long
Errict Rhett
2004
Reidel Anthony
Wes Chandler
2005
Jeremy Foley
Don Gaffney
2006
Ike Hilliard
Lee McGriff
2007
Doug Johnson
Galen Hall
2008
Fred Taylor
Willie Jackson Jr.