After spending all day debating and voting, the 44-member Selection Committee has confirmed former Redskins linebacker Chris Hanburger for the NFL Hall of Fame. He'll be joined in the 2011 class by Richard Dent, Marshall Faulk, Ed Sabol, Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, and Les Richter.
Hanburger becomes the fourth Redskin in three years to be joining the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Russ Grimm entered the Hall in 2010 and Darrell Green and Art Monk were both inducted in 2009.
Hanburger was drafted by the Redskins in the 18th round of the 1965 NFL Draft and spent his entire career with the team. He went to the Pro Bowl nine times, which is more than any other Redskins player in history. He was named an All-Pro four times, and was the NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1972.
Faulk and Sanders were the only players confirmed to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin, and Willie Roaf did not receive the minimum 80% necessary to enter the Hall of Fame this year, and will have to try again in the future.
Redskins fans will of course also remember that Sanders spent one year in Washington (2000), but played his best seasons with the Cowboys and Falcons.