Two former Toledo Rockets–a football quarterback and a coach–are among 18 First Team All-American players and three coaches who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during the 64th National Football Foundation annual awards dinner later this year.
On January 10, the NFF and Hall of Fame released the names of the 2022 class, which includes Chuck Ealey, who quarterbacked the Rockets from 1969-71, and Gary Pinkel, who served as the Toledo head coach from 1991 to 2000 with a 63.3 percent record of 191 wins, 110 losses and three ties.
Selection to the Hall of Fame is done through a na-tional ballot of 78 players and seven coaches from the football bowl subdivision, 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks and the NFF veterans committee candidates.
“We are extremely proud to announce the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class,” said Archie Manning, NFF chairman and a 1989 Hall of Famer from Mississippi. “Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments.”
Mr. Ealey was the signal caller for the best run in Toledo football history. During his three years as starting quarterback, they never lost a game. The NFF veterans committee selection becomes the second player in school history to enter the Hall of Fame.
Named a 1971 First Team All-American, Mr. Ealey had a remarkable 35-0 run as starting quarterback. The three-time MAC Back of the Year became the first player in conference history to receive votes for the Heisman Trophy, tallying 168 points for an eighth-place finish in 1971. A three-time First Team All-MAC selection, he led the Rockets to three consecutive conference titles. While guiding the team to three straight Tangerine Bowl victories, he earned MVP honors following standout performances in the 1969 and 1971 editions.
A 1971 team captain, he finished his career as Toledo’s all-time leader with 5,275 passing yards and 45 touchdown passes, both marks that still rank in the top 10. In 1970 and 1971, he received the team’s Jim Nicholson Award. Voted number one on Toledo’s All-Century Football Team, Mr. Ealey is one of four players to have his number retired by the Rockets. The Portsmouth, Ohio native played alongside hall of famer Mel Long during his time in the Glass Bowl.
After going undrafted by the NFL, he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Taking over as the starting quarterback in 1972, he went on to win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie Award and led the Tiger-Cats to a victory in the Grey Cup, where he earned MVP honors. In total, he played seven seasons in the CFL with the Tiger-Cats (1972-74), Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1974- 75) and Toronto Argonauts (1975-78).
Following his football career, Mr. Ealey served as a financial advisor in the Toronto area. He currently is a consultant and public speaker, helping people of all ages discover and embrace their undefeated spirit so they can better themselves and their community.
He founded the Chuck Ealey Foundation, which annually awards academic scholarships to college and high school students. The Chuck Ealey Undefeated Spirit Award provides opportunities to high school students to help build their mentoring skills while guiding underprivileged youth to discover and embrace their sense of self-worth and “undefeated spirit.”
Former UT Coach Pinkel’s record at retirement stood at number 20 for most wins in football bowl subdivision history.
His legacy in school history at Toledo and Missouri makes him one of only three coaches to hold the distinction at two Division I programs. He becomes the first coach from Toledo and the sixth coach from Missouri inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Mr. Pinkel began his head coaching career at Toledo in 1991 and during the next 10 years took the Rockets to new heights, winning 65.9 percent of his games and amassing a 73-37-3 record, the most wins in school history. His nine winning seasons at Toledo included the 1995 MAC championship, with the Rockets going 11-0-1 and finishing at number 24 in the final polls.
He led Toledo to three other MAC West Division titles. In 1997, the Rockets finished 9-3, climbing as high as 18th in the national rankings. They repeated as division champions again in 1998 with a 7-5 record. In his final season with the Rockets in 2000, the team went 10-1, including a 24-6 win at Penn State. They finished the regular season with the MAC West Division title and ranking of 25 in the AP poll. He was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1997.
Mr. Pinkel took over at Missouri in 2001, inheriting a program that had produced just one 10-win season in school history and two winning seasons in the previous 17 years. He transformed the program, leading the Tigers to 10 winning seasons, including five years with 10 wins or more, five conference division titles, 10 bowl appearances and six bowl victories. He had an overall record of 118-73 and the distinction of being the school’s all-time winningest coach.
After his final game in 2015, Mr. Pinkel retired due to a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He is one of three coaches in history to achieve a high winning percentage in two college football programs, joining previous inductees Bear Bryant (Kentucky, Alabama) and Steve Spurrier (Florida, South Carolina). Mr. Pinkel coached 10 First Team All-Americans, three Academic All-Americans, three NFF National Scholar-Athletes and 79 first team allconference players.
Prior to becoming a head coach, Mr. Pinkel was an allconference and Honorable Mention All-American tight end at Kent State. He worked as an assistant at Washington for 12 years, including the Huskies’ 1991 national championship team. He also served as an assistant at Kent State and Bowling Green State University.
Other players selected to the 2022 Hall of Fame were–LaVar Arrington, linebacker, Penn State (1997-99); Champ Bailey, defensive back, Georgia (1996-98); Michael Crabtree, wide receiver, Texas Tech (2007-08); Sylvester Croom, center, Alabama (1972-74); Mike Doss, safety, Ohio State (1999- 2002); Kevin Faulk, all purpose/runningback, LSU (1995-98); Moe Gardner, defensive tackle, Illinois (1987- 90); Boomer Grigsby, linebacker, Illinois State (2001-04); Mike Hass, wide receiver, Oregon State (2002- 05); Marvin Jones, linebacker, Florida State (1990-92); Andrew Luck, quarterback, Stanford (2009- 11); Mark Messner, defensive tackle, Michigan (1985-88); Terry Miller, runningback, Oklahoma State (1974-77); Rashaan Salaam, runningback, Colorado (1992-94); Dennis Thomas, center, Alcorn State (1971-73); Zach Wiegert, offensive tackle, Nebraska (1991-94); Roy Williams, defensive back, Oklahoma (1999-2001).
In addition to Mr. Pinkel, John Luckhardt, 225-70-2, 76.1 percent, and Billy Jack Murphy, 91-44-1, 67.3 percent, will be inducted.
Each will be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions this fall, and will receive a custom-designed Hall of Fame ring. Their entry later this year will bring the total number of inductees to 1,056 players and 226 coaches.
Founded in 1947, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame inducted its first class of 32 players and 22 coaches in 1951, which included Illinois’ Red Grange, Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Jim Thorpe of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
