Former Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little (1967-75) was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010, it was announced on Saturday at the Broward County Convention Center.

Little will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 7, in a ceremony at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. He joins tackle Gary Zimmerman (1993-97, Class of 2008) and quarterback John Elway (1983-98, Class of 2004) as Pro Football Hall of Famers who spent a primary portion of their career with the Broncos.

"This is a great day for Floyd Little individually as well as for the Denver Broncos' entire organization and our fans," Broncos President and CEO Pat Bowlen said. "Floyd has made immeasurable contributions to this franchise and the NFL, and he deservedly will take his place among the greatest to play this game in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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The wait for the Franchise is over.  Floyd Little is a Pro Football Hall of Famer, joining six other men in the Class of 2010.  Little, along with his Sr. Committee counterpart Dick LeBeau, are part of a seven member class.  Little becomes just the 3rd Denver Broncos player to make the Hall of Fame - John Elway and Gary Zimmerman are the others.

Tony Grossi, a HOF voter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, provided some insight to the process -

After nine different ballots, the 2010 Hall of Fame class chosen was: Detroit cornerback Dick LeBeau, Denver running back Floyd Little, Washington guard Russ Grimm, New Orleans linebacker Rickey Jackson, Minnesota defensive tackle John Randle, Rice and Smith.

LeBeau and Little were senior nominees and were voted on first after surprisingly spirited discussion. Senior nominees are advanced in August by the senior committee, so their formal induction sometimes becomes a rubber stamp by the full committee. Not this time.

The debate on LeBeau lasted 26 minutes and the one on Little took 34. LeBeau's coaching career -- he's currently the defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- could not be entered into the discussion. LeBeau made it on the merits of his playing career.

Little had to overcome questions about his lack of 1,000-yard rushing seasons (one) and his 3.9-yard career average.

While we cannot know for sure if the MHR Hall of Fame Committee had anything to do with it, it sure feels damn good to take action for a common goal for a year, then see the fruits of that labor produce the results we were all hoping for.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010

Floyd Little
Dick LeBeau
Russ Grimm
Rickey Jackson
John Randle
Jerry Rice
Emmitt Smith

The Franchise.  Floyd Little.  One of the Greatest Tight Ends to ever play the game.  Shannon Sharpe.  The time has come to find out of the Broncos will get one, or two, or once again be shut out by the Hallowed Halls of Canton, Ohio.

Don't have NFL Network?  You can stream it live over at NFL.com

UPDATE - According to NFL.com, the list of finalists was pared to 5, plus the two senior committee members.  The final 5 were Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, Jerry Rice, and Emmitt Smith.  That means the Shannon Sharpe DID NOT make it in 2010.

Feel free to talk about it as we wait until 5:30PM et to find out who will be the Class of 2010.

EDITOR'S NOTE - This post is 100% written by studbucket.  I copied it into a front page post to get it the publicity it deserves.  A huge MHR Salute to studbucket and the other members of the committee for doing everything they could to get the word out.  You have done Broncos Country proud!  -J. Bena

Early last year the 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was announced, and once again there were no Broncos inducted.  There was anger and outrage, it was called a travesty, then it was called a travesty again.  It was out of those posts a committee was born.  No more weeping and gnashing of teeth, we're taking action.  With John (Guru) advising and great help from Tim (Zappa), a committee consisting of Jezru, studbucket, and firstfan was formed with the purpose gathering data and opinions to create an organized campaign to get more Broncos in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  To see the first post in this series, go here.  The second post can be found here.  The third and most recent post from November, can be found here.

To date, all of the MHR HoF Committee posts have been written using "we", as they reflected the opinions and actions of the entire committee.  However, this post will be written primarily from my perspective.  There's a good chance that John, Tim, Jess, and Don will agree with much of what I say here, but I don't want to put words in their mouths, so I will let them do the talking.

After the jump, I will try to step back, take off my orange-colored glasses (if possible) and look at what the chances are for both Floyd Little and Shannon Sharpe.  I've spent much of the last 9 months corresponding with HoF voters, and I've tried to soak up as much information over the last month about the opinions on and merits of the 17 players up for induction.  In addition to my feelings on Floyd & Shannon, I will also give you my thoughts on this class as a whole, and the chances that each of the other individuals have.  We've done all we can, so now all we can do is hope, pray, and speculate.

On a related note: The Committee will begin meeting this Saturday at 9AM est, with the announcement to be broadcast on NFL Network at 5:00PM est.  Have your browser locked to MileHighReport all day for up to the second coverage.  Be sure to follow MHR on Twitter as well - @MileHighReport

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The Coolest Cat in the Joint: Pat Bowlen.

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I'm going to be honest with you.

I haven't a clue who the Broncos are going to draft right now.

I don't know Tim Tebow's 40-yard dash time.  I'm sketchy on how many times Taylor Mays is going to bench press 225 pounds.  And Mike Iupati's biceps?  I'm guessing they are pretty large.

But a draft expert I am not.  Coincidentally, the real draft experts like Mel Kiper, Jr. aren't either, so I guess I'm in decent company.  At least I saved on the hair spray.

So if you wanna get mocked, I apologize in advance.

I am simply here to provide a mid-week respite from your hurricane of draft coverage.  This week I'd like to celebrate one of the greatest (if not the greatest) owners in sports--Patrick Dennis Bowlen.  This March will mark Bowlen's 27th season as owner. As I've said on numerous occasions, this cat has a penchant for three things in life: winning, fur coats, and winning.   Luckily, numbers one and three never go out of style.

So if you're feeling fashion forward, follow me after the jump and we'll give Bowlen our own Mile High Salute with the Top 5 greatest plays of the Bowlen era--with a twist.  We're looking at these plays through the lens of points value.  

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Gary Zimmerman, Kellen Winslow and John Elway at the Fans Choice event in Denver, November 22, 2009.(John Bena, 2009)

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While the focal point of my visit to Denver last Sunday was the game, I also wanted to take in the Van Heusen Fans Choice event that took place prior to the game.  The event was the fourth stop of the Van Heusen Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan's Choice tour and featured Pro Football Hall of Famers John Elway (Class of 2004), Gary Zimmerman (2008) and Kellen Winslow (1995). Elway addressed the sea of Broncos fans and encouraged them to voice their choice for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010.

According to Elway, "We are all in this together - players, coaches, owners, referees - and especially you the fans."

Hundreds of eager fans came out to hear the Hall of Famers recount memories from their playing days, share what it means to be in the Hall of Fame and discuss who should be inducted into the Class of 2010. According to Elway, "induction into the Hall of Fame is the greatest compliment we could have as football players." Zimmerman weighed in and said, "I never expected to be in the Hall of Fame, but it has validated all the days I didn't want to go and work out and all the injuries I played through. Onsite fans were able to cast their ballot for who they believe should be inducted into the next Hall of Fame Class.

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With the recent addition of Shannon Sharpe to the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame and the debate of whether or not he will someday be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I wanted to let you know about the Van Heusen Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan's Choice campaign. For the first time, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is asking fans who they think should be inducted into the Class of 2010. Sharpe is currently ranked 4^th and trails former Viking Cris Carter by 443 votes.  In just over a week 83,000 votes have already been cast at FansChoice!

Is this the year Sharpe gets the nod from the Hall of Fame?  Does Sharpe deserve the coveted honor?  It's time for Broncos fans to speak up, be heard and let the Hall know what they're thinking by casting their ballot.

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