Versatile running back Roger Craig, former MVP Ken Anderson and key member of the Steel Curtain defense L.C. Greenwood are among the players who advanced to the next stage in the Seniors category for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
The Hall released a list of 60 players Thursday who remained from the original list of 183 nominees made last month by a newly created Seniors Screening Committee.
A nine-person Senior Blue Ribbon Committee will now begin the process of reducing that list to the three finalists to be considered by the full selection committee in early 2025. The three seniors will be grouped with one coach and contributor with at least one and no more than three of those finalists getting in based on voting.
Craig and Anderson are among the 10 players on this year’s list of nominees who made it to the seminal stage of 12 candidates last year when Steve McMichael and Randy Gradishar were voted in as seniors.
The other returning semifinalists are Maxie Baughan, Joe Jacoby, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Art Powell, Sterling Sharpe, Otis Taylor and Al Wistert. Powell made it to the final cut but didn’t get the 80% threshold needed for induction.
Players eligible for the Seniors category must have finished their playing career by the end of the 1999 season.
Craig was a key part of San Francisco’s dynasty in the 1980s with his ability as a physical runner and as a receiver out of the backfield. Craig was the first player ever to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season in 1985, and led the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage in 1988 when he helped the 49ers win the Super Bowl.
Craig was also part of the title-winning teams in San Francisco in the 1984 and 1989 seasons. His 410 yards from scrimmage in those Super Bowl wins are the third-most ever behind only Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Franco Harris.
Anderson was a four-time Pro Bowler for Cincinnati and won the MVP in 1981 when he helped the Bengals reach their first Super Bowl before losing to San Francisco. When Anderson retired after the 1986 season he ranked sixth all time with 32,838 yards passing and 13th with 197 TD passes.
Greenwood is the most prominent member of the Steelers dominant defense that helped the franchise win four Super Bowl titles in a span of six seasons from 1974-79 who is not in the Hall. Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Donnie Shell and Mel Blount have already been inducted.
Greenwood was a member of the all-decade team for the 1970s, was a two-time All-Pro and made six Pro Bowls in a 13-year career. He retired a year before sacks became an official stat but research from Pro Football Reference credits him with 78 over his career as a defensive end on those teams.
Powell was one of the most prolific receivers in the pass-happy AFL. His 81 touchdowns rank second best in AFL history behind Don Maynard, and his 8,015 yards receiving were third behind only Maynard and Hall of Famer Lance Alworth.
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FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2012 file photo, former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood stands on the sidelines during a ceremony honoring the Pittsburgh Steelers 80th anniversary team before an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson attends the Super Bowl LVI Opening Night Fan Rally Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)
FILE - Former San Francisco 49ers running back Roger Craig smiles during an NFL football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
GOMA, Congo (AP) — At least 78 people died when an overcrowded boat with 278 passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo on Thursday, a local governor said.
According to Jean-Jacques Purusi, governor of the South Kivu province, the death toll was provisional and the number of fatalities could rise. He spoke to The Associated Press over the phone hours after the tragedy.
The boat, overloaded with passengers, sank while trying to dock just meters (yards) away from the port of Kituku, according to witnesses. It was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma, in North Kivu province.
Earlier in the day, witnesses said they saw rescue services recover at least 50 bodies from the water. The boat, overloaded with passengers, sank while trying to dock just meters (yards) away from the port of Kituku, they added. It was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma, in North Kivu province.
The witnesses said 10 people survived and were taken to the local hospital. Local officials later reported that as many as 50 were rescued. The search and rescue efforts were continuing.
It was the latest deadly boat accident in the central African country, where overcrowding on vessels is often to blame. Maritime regulations also are often not followed.
Congolese officials have often warned against overloading and vowed to punish those violating safety measures for water transportation. But in remote areas where most passengers come from, many are unable to afford public transport for the few available roads.
In June, an overloaded boat sank near the capital of Kinshasa and 80 passengers lost their lives. In January, 22 people died on Lake Maî-Ndombe and in April 2023, six were killed and 64 went missing on Lake Kivu.
Witnesses of the Thursday tragedy said the boat was visibly overcrowded.
“I was at the port of Kituku when I saw the boat arriving from Minova, full of passengers,” Francine Munyi told the AP. “It started to lose its balance and sank into the lake. Some people threw themselves into the water.”
“Many died, and few were saved," she added. "I couldn’t help them because I don’t know how to swim.”
The victims’ families and Goma residents gathered at the port of Kituku, accusing authorities of negligence in the face of growing insecurity in the region.
Since the fighting between the armed forces and the M23 rebels made the road between the cities of Goma and Minova impassable, forcing the closure of the passage to trucks transporting food, many traders have resorted to maritime transport on Lake Kivu. It's an alternative considered safer than road traffic, which is threatened by insecurity.
But according to Elia Asumani, a shipping agent who works on this line, the situation has become dangerous:
“We are afraid," he told the AP. "This shipwreck was predictable.”
Bienfait Sematumba, 27, said he lost four family members.
“They are all dead. I am alone now,” he said, sobbing. “If the authorities had ended the war, this shipwreck would never have happened.”
The survivors, about 10 of them, were taken to Kyeshero hospital for treatment. One of them, Neema Chimanga, said she was still in shock.
“We saw the boat start to fill with water halfway," she recounted to the AP. “The door of the boat opened, and we tried to close it. But the water was already coming in, and the boat tilted.”
“I threw myself into the water and started swimming,” she said. "I don’t know how I got out of the water.”
Kamale reported from Kinshasa, Congo.
Women grieve at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, killing scores. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
An ambulance carries victims away from the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Onlookers gather at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
An ambulance carries victims away from the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, killing scores. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
An ambulance arrives at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
