Robert Kraft once again comes up short in Hall of Fame voting
BOSTON -- Robert Kraft's wait to become a Hall of Famer will extend at least one more year.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that Buddy Parker has been named as this year's candidate for enshrinement in the coach/contributor category.
Kraft had been one of 12 semifinalists in the category, and the committee meeting on Tuesday involved "a spirited meeting that lasted more than four hours" before Parker was selected as this year's nominee. Parker now needs 80 percent of the voting at the Hall of Fame meeting during Super Bowl week this upcoming winter to earn enshrinement.
Kraft had been a semifinalist for the second straight year.
Parker coached 15 years in the NFL -- six with the Detroit Lions, eight with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and one with the Chicago Cardinals. He compiled a 104-75-9 record and won back-to-back NFL championships in 1952 and 1953 for Detroit.
In addition to Kraft, other semifinalists who didn't earn the nomination were Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Frank "Bucko" Kilroy, Dan Reeves, Art Rooney Jr., Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Shanahan, Clark Shaughnessy, Lloyd Wells and John Wooten.
The 82-year-old Kraft purchased the Patriots in 1994 and the Patriots own the highest winning percentage (.678), most Super Bowl victories (6), most conference championships (10), most division championships (14), and most postseason victories (33) in the NFL since he took over the franchise. He also financed the construction of Gillette Stadium from 2000-02, he played a pivotal role in growing the league's finances as the chair of the broadcast committee, and he was credited by both sides for helping to end the 2011 NFL lockout. He's also the chairman of the compensation committee while also sitting on the finance committee and management council executive committee. Only the publicly owned Packers (in 104 seasons) and the Rooney family-owned Steelers (in 90 seasons) have more playoff wins than the 33 under Kraft (in just 29 seasons) in New England.
