In 19th season of eligibility, Redskins Joe Jacoby again misses out on Pro Football Hall of Fame

HOUSTON — Washington Redskins great Joe Jacoby, the hulking anchor of the storied Hogs offensive line that helped the team to three Super Bowl championships under legendary coach Joe Gibbs, was passed over in the final stage of voting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for a second consecutive year.
In closed-door voting Saturday in Houston, site of Super Bowl LI, Jacoby’s name wasn’t among the handful to make the cut from 15 modern-era finalists.
In his 19th year of eligibility for the honor, Jacoby was among 15 finalists representing modern era players or coaches. They were joined by two in the “contributor” category, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones; and former Seattle safety Kenny Easley, the nominee in the category for players whose careers ended more than 25 years ago.
Advertisement
Gibbs called it “a bitter disappointment.”
“Joe is a class act and was one of the top performers in the NFL over the course of his career,” Gibbs said through a spokesman Saturday night. “He should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and it’s frustrating that it won’t happen again this year. Hopefully we can get this right next year and give Joe the honor he so clearly deserves.”
This year marked the sixth time Jacoby was in the running for the game’s greatest honor. A semifinalist four times, he reached the finalists’ stage in 2016 as well but fell just short of the votes needed for induction. To be chosen, a finalist must get an affirmative vote from 80 percent of the selection panel. Votes were cast by a 48-member panel that includes media representatives of each of the NFL’s 32 teams, select national NFL journalists and, for the first time, two Hall of Fame members, Dan Fouts and James Lofton.
Advertisement
During a 13-year career that was spent entirely with the Redskins, the undrafted Jacoby played every position along the line except center. But he made his mark at tackle, frequently facing off against future Hall of Famers Lawrence Taylor and Charles Haley. Teamed with left guard Russ Grimm, the surprisingly fleet-footed Jacoby was integral to Gibbs’s signature counter trey, a misdirection blocking scheme that sprang running back John Riggins for big gains time and again. Grimm remains the lone Hog enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Jacoby was massive for his era — 6 feet 7 and 295 pounds, so big that teammates boasted “he could block out the sun.” As NFL stars go, Jacoby was hardly glamorous. He was more a slab of granite — a player who didn’t seek the spotlight and wasn’t embraced by it. But his hulking presence on the line made him a feared fixture of the Redskins’ most glorious era.
Jacoby was durable as granite, too, starting 148 of his 170 regular season games. He also appeared in 21 playoff games, more than any other Hog, and started five NFC championship games and four Super Bowls. He earned Pro Bowl honors for four consecutive years, from 1983 to 1986. A two-time first-team all-pro, Jacoby also has been named one of the 80 greatest Redskins.
Advertisement
Jacoby was one of two offensive tackles to reach the finalists stage this year; five-time Pro Bowl honoree Tony Boselli (Jacksonville, Houston) was the other.
More from The Post:
Ryan wins MVP award | Tomlinson, Warner into HOF
Cousins shoves an official at celebrity flag football game
Redskins hire Torrian Gray to coach defensive backs
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLumw9JonainpJeurbiMoqWsoZSav3DDz2hpaWlnZH1ze49tZqKmXWaGtbSMrJyaq5%2BjerCyjJ6jop%2BZl7attdOyZKudlKi4qrrSZqGonV2frqS7wbJkmp%2BRnrtuucisqp6rXaTCtXnOp2SnnpxitaK4y2amn2WWlrqmew%3D%3D