At long last, it appears Randy Gradishar is Hall of Fame bound

Randy Gradishar’s wait is likely almost over.

Wednesday morning, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that Gradishar would be among the finalists for the 2024 class. As a Seniors Committee nominee, Gradishar will be subject to an up-or-down vote in January that will determine whether he makes it.

It would be a long-deserved honor for not only Gradishar, but the 1977 Broncos. That team — the first Denver club to win an AFC title — is the only Super Bowl team of the big game’s first 37 editions without representation in the Hall of Fame.

Gradishar has long been on the Hall’s radar. In 2008, he was a finalist from the primary pool. His name regularly arose in consideration from the Seniors Committee over the years that followed. But the Hall left him out of the seniors-intensive Centennial Class of 2020, to celebrate the NFL’s 100th birthday.

A LONG TIME COMING

Last year, Gradishar felt his time might finally come.

“This is the first year in a long time that I’ve felt there’s a real possibility of getting into the Hall of Fame,” he said during training camp last year

A year ago, the other 11 Seniors semifinalists were Ken Anderson, Maxie Baughan, Chuck Howley, Cecil Isbell, Joe Klecko, Bob Kuechenberg, Eddie Meador, Tommy Nobis, Ken Riley, Sterling Sharpe and Everson Walls.

Howley, Klecko and Riley made the cut. They passed through the voting process for the larger Selection committee and took their places in the Hall earlier this month.

Of the nine who didn’t pass muster last year, just five returned to the dozen-player list of semifinalists: Anderson, Baughan, Gradishar, Meador and Sharpe.

Over the years, Gradishar became philosophical about his status.

“I believe it’s all in God’s timing,” he said in 2022. “Whether I get in or don’t get in is not going to change my life. Those honors come as an honor. So, I just kind of keep waiting and depend on people to see what my statistics are for when I played. I’ve heard what I call a lot of excuses over the years. That’s my own personal feeling about that.

“When I look at my statistics compared to the statistics of guys that are already in there, mine are little bit better.”

Indeed, Gradishar is one of 10 linebackers in NFL history with at least 20 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries and seven Pro Bowl appearances.

The others are Chuck Bednarik, Dick Butkus, Jack Ham, Ted Hendricks, Jack Lambert, Willie Lanier, Ray Lewis, Joe Schmidt and Brian Urlacher. All are Hall of Famers. None of them had to wait more than nine years after retirement for induction.

Gradishar’s wait will celebrate its 40th birthday on Christmas Eve.

Fortunately, it appears likely to be the last.

“We are thrilled for Randy Gradishar to take this significant step closer to his long-awaited place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Broncos owner Greg Penner said in a news release on Wednesday. “The heart and soul of the iconic Orange Crush defense, Randy is now on the doorstep of earning the game’s highest honor. The Broncos congratulate Randy on becoming a Senior Finalist for the Class of 2024 and look forward to the full Selection Committee vote early next year.”

And now the Orange Crush — and the 1977 Broncos — are poised to finally have representation in the Hall of Fame. Gradishar now has only the final step ahead of him, and it is usually a rubber stamp.

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