DALLAS (KRLD) - Of the 11 offensive players on the National Football League's All-Decade Team of the 1970s, only one is not enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His name is Drew Pearson.
As the NFL gets ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020, the Hall plans to welcome a special expanded class of inductees.
For Pearson - the Dallas Cowboys' legendary "Original #88" - it could be an opportunity to finally grab the recognition many fans feel he has deserved for so long.
Pro Football Hall President David Baker said as many as 20 players could be enshrined next year, including up to five modern-day players, 10 senior candidates, three contributors and two coaches. The current Hall maximum in a given year is eight inductees.
In mentioning that there are several members of all-decade teams - including Pearson - not in the Hall, Baker said, "It's an opportunity to catch up perhaps on some injustices."
Pearson's career with the Cowboys ran from 1973-83. Added to the club's Ring of Honor in 2011, he caught 489 passes for 7,822 yards and scored 50 touchdowns. Lynn Swann, the other all-decade wide receiver of the '70s, had fewer receptions, fewer yards and a comparable number of touchdowns. The Pro Football Hall inducted Swann in 2001.
Baker said the modern-day candidates inducted in 2020 will be voted on individually and announced on the day before the Super Bowl in February, as usual. The others will be chosen by a special 25-member committee.
The expanded Hall voting could also increase the chances of former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson. Johnson, who led Dallas to a pair of Super Bowl titles, has been a Hall of Fame semifinalist six times.