Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Sooners’ presence in NFL HOF notable by omission

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 9: The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, home of the Oklahoma Sooners, is ready for a game against the Iowa State Cyclones on November 9, 2019 at in Norman, Oklahoma. OU held on to win 42-41. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 9: The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, home of the Oklahoma Sooners, is ready for a game against the Iowa State Cyclones on November 9, 2019 at in Norman, Oklahoma. OU held on to win 42-41. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 13: From left, John Elway, Gary Zimmerman, Shannon Sharpe, Floyd Lyttle, Patrick Bowlen Jr., John Bowlen, Beth Bowlen, Annabel Bowlen and Brittany Bowlen stand on the field during a halftime ceremony to honor the late owner of the Denver Broncos Pat Bowlen and former cornerback Champ Bailey, both of whom were recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Empower Field at Mile High on October 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 13: From left, John Elway, Gary Zimmerman, Shannon Sharpe, Floyd Lyttle, Patrick Bowlen Jr., John Bowlen, Beth Bowlen, Annabel Bowlen and Brittany Bowlen stand on the field during a halftime ceremony to honor the late owner of the Denver Broncos Pat Bowlen and former cornerback Champ Bailey, both of whom were recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Empower Field at Mile High on October 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

Pat Bowlen and Ron Wolf

Two other Hall of Fame busts belong to former NFL executives with with OU Sooner ties: Pat Bowlen and Ron Wolfe.

Bowlen, longtime owner of the NFL’s Denver Broncos, graduated from Oklahoma with an undergraduate degree in business in 1965 and earned his law degree there in 1968. He played on the Oklahoma freshman football team in 1961. At that point in time, freshman were not allowed to play varsity football. Bowlen was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. He died that same year of a pulmonary embolism.

Wolfe played college baseball at Maryville College in Tennessee, but he also spent some time at the University of Oklahoma. Wolfe served as an NFL team executive for five different organizations, most recently as general manager of the Green Bay Packers (1991-2000). Wolfe was a member of the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Forty-three former Oklahoma players are listed on current NFL rosters. There’s no telling if any of them, or any of the Sooners who went before them, will find themselves in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Home/OU Football