The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio grows by eight members Saturday. The Class of 2022 was inducted during a ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
In all, the class includes five players, one coach and a contributor to the game.
Below is a summary of what the honorees did in high school.
Players
Tony Boselli – Fairview HS, Boulder, Colorado
Boselli’s high school career didn’t start on the offensive line, he was actually a quarterback on the freshman team at Fairview. By his sophomore season, Fairview head coach Sam Pagano moved him to tight end.
According to media reports, the 1990 Fairview grad dabbled at linebacker and as a defensive lineman before settling-in at offensive tackle. As he bulked-up to 265-pounds, Boselli became a highly sought-after college football recruit, who dreamed of playing at Notre Dame, but ended-up at USC in Southern California.
After his high school senior season he was named Colorado All-State and a Super Prep All-American.
In a 1991 Los Angeles Times story when Boselli was a redshirt freshman at USC, Pagano, his high school coach, said, “If we wanted yardage, we’d run behind him, but he wouldn’t dominate the line of scrimmage. But you could see him get better and better his senior year. You knew he was going to be successful.”
In 2001, Boselli was named to the All-Time All-American High School Football Team by Mark Tennis, the then editor of Student Sports.
21 Oct 2001, Sun Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.comBoselli is the third Colorado high school football player to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Jack Christiansen, a Cañon City High School grad, was inducted as part of the Class of 1970. He played his entire NFL career with the Detroit Lions as a defensive back and return specialist.
The other Coloradan in Canton is Earl “Dutch” Clark, who played a Pueblo’s Central High School.
Cliff Branch – Worthing HS, Houston, Texas
Branch, who passed away two days after his 71st birthday, becomes the second member of the HOF who played at Worthing High School in Houston. Linebacker Mike Singletary was a member of the Class of 1998.
The speedy Branch was better known as a track star in high school. Inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 2004, Branch played at Worthing when it was a member of the Prairie View Interscholastic League.
The PVIL played a leading role in developing African-American student-athletes during segregation. At its peak, the PVIL, which began in 1920, included about 500 schools. The University Interscholastic League absorbed the PVIL for the 1971-72 school year.
According to his Texas High School Football Hall of Fame bio, “as a junior he set a PVIL state record with a 9.3 time in the 100-yard dash and helped Worthing tie for the 4A track title. At the state finals as a senior, he won the 220 in 22.1 and finished second in the 100.”
Because newspapers didn’t cover the PVIL on a regular basis, there aren’t many football statistics from Branch’s scholastic career.
In 1992, the Houston Chronicle named Branch to its All-Time PVIL team. he becomes the seventh former PVIL player to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
- Cliff Branch – Worthing HS
- Joe Greene – Temple Dunbar HS
- Ken Houston – Lufkin Dunbar HS
- Dick “Night Train” Lane – Austin Anderson HS
- Charley Taylor – Grand Prairie Dalworth HS
- Emmitt Thomas – Angleton Marshall HS
- Gene Upshaw – Robstown
LeRoy Butler – Robert E. Lee HS, Jacksonville, Florida
Butler played under legendary high school football coach Corky Rogers at Robert E. Lee High School, now know as Riverside High. Butler was a linebacker and defensive back in high school in the mid-80’s.
In high school, Butler also played basketball and ran track. After his senior season, he was named to the All-Southern Team.
12 Feb 1986, Wed The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Florida) Newspapers.comIn 2007, Butler was named to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s 100 Greatest Players on the All-Century Team from 1907 to 2007.
05 Dec 2007, Wed South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Newspapers.comSam Mills – Long Branch HS, Long Branch, New Jersey
Just like his NFL playing days, Mills was undersized at Long Branch High where he also wrestled. Media reports listed him at 5-11 even though he was a shade under 5-10.
Aside from a hard-hitting linebacker, Mills played offensive guard for Long Branch. He was named All-Monmouth County as a guard during his senior season.
26 Nov 1976, Fri The Daily Register (Red Bank, New Jersey) Newspapers.comOn the wrestling mat, Mills was a district champ as a junior and senior. As a junior, he made the All-Monmouth in ’75-’76 County team at 188-pounds with a 24-4-1 record.
He also made the all-county first team as a senior with a 29-2 mark.
Richard Seymour – Lower Richland HS, Hopkins, South Carolina
As a senior at Lower Richland, Seymour was a team captain who went on to be name All-Area and All-Region. In his final year of high school football he had 83 tackles with eight sacks.
In 2018, Seymour was inducted into the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame.
Bryant Young – Bloom HS, Chicago Heights, Illinois
Young’s football career didn’t begin until his freshman year at Bloom.
A three-year starter, he was named to the Chicago Tribune 1989 All-State Team after recording 56 solo tackles and nine sacks. He was also named all-SICA East twice.
27 Nov 1989, Mon Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) Newspapers.comCoach
Dick Vermeil
Began his coaching career in the high school ranks. He was an assistant coach at Del Mar High in 1959 before becoming the head coach at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, California.
Vermeil played quarterback at Calistoga High School in northern California. He also played baseball and basketball. He was also part of the school’s track team where he ran and threw the shot put.
Contributor
Art McNally
The first official to be enshrined in Canton is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native. McNally attended Roman Catholic High School.
While there isn’t a lot that can be found on his high school athletic background, several media reports indicate that he was a coach during his time as a phys-ed teacher at Central High in Philly. Early in his officiating career, he was said to have a high school game on Friday, a college game on Saturday and a pro game on Sunday.
