It's Hall of Fame week in the NFL, which means the Jaguars and Raiders are kicking off the preseason tonight in Canton, Ohio, and eight legends will be enshrined forever in football lore on Saturday afternoon.
To commemorate the occasion, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has released a special edition, 150th episode of The Mission podcast, titled "The Knocks Looks Back."
"The Knocks Looks Back" honors the Hall's newest members: offensive tackle Tony Boselli, wide receiver Cliff Branch, safety LeRoy Butler, linebacker Sam Mills, defensive linemen Richard Seymour and Bryant Young, head coach Dick Vermeil and former supervisor of officials, Art McNally.
It also features a behind-the-scenes look at the Hall of Fame "knocks," in which different past inductees surprise a Class of 2022 member at home to welcome him to the fraternity, plus all-new interviews before and after those interactions.
The podcast's "knock" moments reveal extended material that never made it to social media or national television and show OT Anthony Muñoz giving the news to Boselli, DB Charles Woodson (Butler), former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (McNally), CB Ty Law (Seymour), QB Kurt Warner (Vermeil) and DL Charles Haley (Young).
Other highlights include Law, a Michigan alum, getting revenge on Seymour as payback for his Georgia Bulldogs' rout of the Wolverines in last year's College Football Playoff semifinals, Haley using his hit sticking prowess to toss Young into his own pool and a special interview with Butler's wife, Genesis.
The episode concludes with the emotional Hall of Fame phone calls made to Mills' son, Sam, and Branch's sister, Elaine. Mills died in 2005 at the age of 45. Branch passed away in 2019. He was 71 years old.
"The Knocks Looks Back" is available now on the Pro Football Hall of Fame's YouTube page, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and PodBean.
