Former Alabama high school stars Maxie Baughan and Lee Roy Jordan are not among the nine senior semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the nine candidates who advanced from the list of 34 senior nominees still under consideration, and neither Baughan nor Jordan made the cut, even though Baughan was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.
The process to choose the three senior finalists for the Class of 2026 started with 162 nominees. The Seniors Screening Committee narrowed those nominees to 52 (the top 50 plus ties) for further evaluation. Former Ensley High School and Alabama linebacker Cornelius Bennett was eliminated from consideration for the Class of 2026 at this stage.
The Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee then narrowed the 52 to 34 (the top 25 plus ties), which included Baughan and Jordan. The nine-person committee has now reduced those candidates to nine semifinalists, a list that will produce the three senior finalists for the Class of 2026.
The senior semifinalists for the Class of 2026 include quarterback Ken Anderson, running back Roger Craig, wide receiver Henry Ellard, defensive end L.C. Greenwood, offensive tackle Joe Jacoby, cornerback Eddie Meador, wide receiver Stanley Morgan, special-teamer Steve Tasker and wide receiver Otis Taylor.
Baughan, Sterling Sharpe and Jim Tyrer were the senior finalists for last year’s class. Sharpe joined modern-era nominees Jared Allen, Eric Allen and Antonio Gates as the members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.
The seniors category is for players whose final NFL action came at least 25 full seasons ago. For the Class of 2026, the final-season cutoff is 2000.
Baughan, from Bessemer, and Jordan, from Excel, already are members of the College Football Hall of Fame – Baughan for his play at Georgia Tech and Jordan for his career at Alabama.
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The 20th pick in the 1960 NFL Draft, Baughan played his first six seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, spent the next five with the Los Angeles Rams and, after serving as the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech, came back to play in two games as a player-coach for the Washington Redskins in 1974.
The Eagles won the NFL championship in Baughan’s first pro season in 1960, when he was chosen for the Pro Bowl.
Baughan earned a Pro Bowl invitation in nine of his first 10 NFL campaigns. He received first-team recognition at linebacker in The Associated Press’ All-Pro selections in 1964 and 1969 and was an AP second-team choice six other times.
The sixth pick in the 1963 NFL Draft, Jordan spent his entire 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Jordan earned Pro Bowl recognition in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973 and 1974 as the middle linebacker for the Doomsday Defense.
When Jordan retired after the 1976 season, only one player in NFL history had appeared in more playoff games than he had. His 19 were exceeded only by the 20 of quarterback/kicker George Blanda, who played for 26 seasons.
Jordan’s 19 playoff games included the fifth, sixth and 10th Super Bowls, and he also played in two NFL championship games before the league’s Super Bowl era. The Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3 in Super Bowl VI on Jan. 16, 1972, with Jordan at middle linebacker for Dallas’ first NFL championship.
Baughan died at age 85 on Aug. 19, 2023, and Jordan died at age 84 on Aug. 30, 2025.
Sixteen men who played at Alabama high schools and colleges are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The state’s Hall of Famers are Greene, Robert Brazile (Vigor), Buck Buchanan (Parker High School in Birmingham), Frank Gatski (Auburn), John Hannah (Albertville High School, Alabama), Don Hutson (Alabama), Walter Jones (Aliceville High School), Joe Namath (Alabama), Ozzie Newsome (Colbert County High School, Alabama), Terrell Owens (Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City), Ken Stabler (Foley High School, Alabama), John Stallworth (Tuscaloosa, Alabama A&M), Bart Starr (Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama), Dwight Stephenson (Alabama), Derrick Thomas (Alabama) and DeMarcus Ware (Auburn High, Troy).
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