LAKE FOREST, Ill. – For the fifth time in the last six years, all-time Bears sack leader Richard Dent on Tuesday was named as one of 17 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009.

Dent played 12 of his 15 NFL seasons with the Bears, registering a franchise-high 124½ sacks. He was named Super Bowl XX MVP, was an integral part of a championship defense that is considered one of the best in NFL history, and was selected to four Pro Bowls.

Richard Dent hopes to join 26 other Bears in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

The 6-5, 265-pound defensive end led the NFC with a team-record 17½ sacks in 1984 before recording 17 sacks in 1985 while helping the Bears win their first league title in 22 years.

The Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors will meet in Tampa on Jan. 31, the day before Super Bowl XLIII, and choose 4-7 inductees.

The other 16 finalists announced Tuesday included four first-year eligible players (John Randle, Shannon Sharpe, Bruce Smith and Rod Woodson); eight other modern era players (Cris Carter, Dermontti Dawson, Russ Grimm, Cortez Kennedy, Bob Kuechenberg, Randall McDaniel, Andre Reed and Derrick Thomas); two contributors (former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Buffalo Bills founder/owner Ralph Wilson Jr.); and two players nominated earlier by the Hall’s Senior Committee (Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey).

The enshrinement of the Class of 2009 will take place at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, Aug. 8. The ceremony will be televised by both ESPN and NFL Network.

A year ago, Dent survived the cut from 17 finalists to 10, but he was eliminated when the list was pared to five.

The Class of 2008 included defensive end Fred Dean, cornerbacks Darrell Green and Emmitt Thomas, wide receiver Art Monk, linebacker Andre Tippett and tackle Gary Zimmerman.

The Bears have an NFL-high 26 players in the Hall of Fame, including three of Dent’s former teammates: Running back Walter Payton, middle linebacker Mike Singletary and defensive lineman Dan Hampton.