On Saturday during halftime of the Archers-Cannons game, the Premier Lacrosse League inducted their inaugural Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame class. The class was limited to three attackmen, three midfielders, three defenseman, one goalie and one faceoff specialist.
To be eligible, the players must:
- Have had a minimum five-year playing career in the PLL and/or MLL
- Have been retired from professional lacrosse for at least three years
- Be nominated by a member of the Hall of Fame Committee and receive a 75 percent majority vote of approval for election
Here is the complete list of inductees:
Attack
Mark Millon
John Grant Jr.
Casey Powell
Midfield
Jay Jalbert
Gary Gait
Matt Streibel
Defense
Pat McCabe
Nicky Polanco
John Gagliardi
Faceoff
Paul Cantabene
Goalie
Brian Dougherty
With this class being the first, there was an extensive amount of options for the Hall of Fame committee to choose from, proving that this class is the best of the best that pro field lacrosse has had to offer since the inception of MLL in 2001.
During the halftime ceremony, PLL President Mike Rabil presented every player with a gold jacket, symbolizing the inductees’ excellence at the highest level of professional field lacrosse.
With the inaugural class now set, sights will be on the 2023 class of the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The league stated that it plans to induct a new class every year, though future inductions may not follow the first-year format of one former goalie and faceoff specialist and three former attackmen, midfielders and defenders.
Let us know your thoughts on this year’s class, as well as which former pro players you hope to see in the class of 2023! For more on some of the 2022 inductees, check out our interviews with Mark Millon, Casey Powell and Paul Cantabene on the Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast!
