Darrel Baldock earned his elevation to Legend status after being an original inductee in 1996, while champion full-forward Tony Lockett earned his induction to the Hall of Fame after having been out of the game as a player for the mandatory three seasons.
Also inducted into the Hall as soon as eligible were star Carlton midfielder Craig Bradley and West Coast champion Peter Matera.
Other inductees named on Thursday night were former Fitzroy champions John Murphy and Wilfred 'Chicken' Smallhorn, South Fremantle star Steve Marsh, former Carlton premiership player and coach Robert Walls, and former umpire and radio commentator Harry Beitzel.
Baldock now has another major honour to go alongside his selection as captain of both the St Kilda and Tasmanian teams of the century. The 1966 premiership skipper, who played 119 games for the Saints between 1962 and 1968 and 233 games of league football in Tasmania, shook his head with disbelief when told of the honour.
"I suppose excited would be the word," he said. "I get quite funny about these sorts of things, but I was delighted. It's unbelievable. Yes, I'm really excited by it."
Lockett is the game's greatest goalkicker, booting 1360 goals for the Saints and Sydney from 1983 to 2002 (after retiring for two years in 2000 and 2001) and thanked both clubs for the opportunities they gave him.
"The clubs gave me the opportunity to play alongside some of the best footballers who have ever gone around. It's an honour to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and I'm very privileged," he said.
Bradley played 99 games in the SANFL for the powerful Port Adelaide before a distinguished 375-game career for the Blues from 1986 to 2002. He joins 1995 premiership teammates Stephen Kernahan, Stephen Silvagni and Greg Williams as well as coach David Parkin as Hall of Fame inductees.
“They were great teammates and David was such a great coach,” Bradley said. “It’s nice to be in with those guys. We all enjoyed playing with each other so much.”
Matera is the first career Eagle to be inducted. He played 253 games for the club between 1990 and 2002, including the 1992 and 1994 premierships. A regular All Australian and 1992 Norm Smith medal winner, Matera said his latest honour rounded out his career in dream fashion.
"To be inducted in the highest level of football and accolades as in the Hall of Fame is one of those things that just caps off my career," Matera said. "This more or less finishes my career on a high."
Murphy was a star Fitzroy centreman between 1967 and 1977, with stints to follow at South Melbourne and North Melbourne.
"Over the years you watch other people get inducted into these sorts of things and you think, gee that would be fantastic if it happened to me," he said. "I'm lucky enough that's it's happened to me. I'm just rapt that after so many years out of the game, I was remembered by someone."
Smallhorn weighed just 62kg during his 11-year career with Fitzroy between 1930 and 1940 that included the 1933 Brownlow Medal.
Walls played in three Carlton premierships and coached another. He is also considered a great Fitzroy man with eight years as a player and coach, and also coached Brisbane into the finals for the first time. He has spent more than a decade in each capacity as a player, coach and commentator.
"I'm very thrilled and honoured," Walls said after learning of his induction. "It's a really nice feeling to be honoured in this way after a career in lots of different areas of the game."
Marsh was a star at Fremantle during a period of unprecedented success for the club.
The Bulldogs would capture six premierships during the period, 1947-48, 1950-52 -53-54, and Marsh was one of only a trio to play in all of them. He also won a Sandover Medal and was named in the inaugural All Australian team in 1953.
Beitzel followed a pretty good career in umpiring by becoming one of the biggest media names in football through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was a radio star who also had a major presence in print and on TV.
"I think that's a pretty big honour. I never intended to go into the media to be truthful. I intended to continue umpiring in 1961, because I'd come back from an achilles tendon operation and I was very fit for that," Beitzel said.
