LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Longtime pro football writer Dan Pompei isn’t a trial lawyer, but he'll probably feel like one Saturday when the Hall of Fame's 44-person Board of Selectors meets in Tampa to elect the Class of 2009.

As the Chicago representative on the Board of Selectors, Pompei is responsible for making the case that former Bears defensive end Richard Dent, who's one of 17 Hall of Fame finalists, deserves to be enshrined in Canton. 

Bears all-time sack leader Richard Dent hopes to become the 27th member of the organization to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Chicago Tribune's pro football writer is well-prepared to deliver his presentation, which is supposed to last no longer than 10 minutes.

“You try to get testimonials and do statistical research, and then you bring it all together,” Pompei said. “You give a short speech. You don’t want to make it too long where you lose people because it’s usually about a seven-hour meeting. You don’t want to go on and on and make people fall asleep. It’s hard to keep everyone’s attention.

“Luckily, this year I get to go third in the presentation order, which is actually a big advantage. Last year I was one of the last guys to go, which to me makes a big difference because by that time everyone’s attention span is shot.”

In preparing for his presentation, Pompei spoke to numerous individuals who played and coached with and against Dent, who is vying to become the fourth member of the famed 1985 Bears to make the Hall of Fame, joining Walter Payton, Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton.

“Dan Hampton has been as supportive of Richard as you could be,” Pompei said. “He’s been proactive. He called me last year and this year asking what he can do. I would say he’s the biggest guy in Richard’s corner.

“But it’s not like there’s been anyone who has said, ‘That guy can’t play.’ I’ve talked to a lot of people who really gave him strong endorsements, from John Madden to Bill Parcells to Mike Ditka to [former Packers offensive lineman] Ken Ruettgers. I could go on and on.”

Dent has been a Hall of Fame finalist five of the last six years. Last year, he survived the cut from 17 to 10 but was eliminated from contention when the list was pared to five.

Dent played 12 of his 15 NFL seasons with the Bears, registering a franchise-record 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 voted to four Pro Bowls.

The 6-5, 265-pounder led the NFC with a team-record 17½ sacks in 1984 before recording 17 sacks in 1985 to help the Bears win their first league title in 22 years.

Dent was a premier defensive end for more than a decade with the Bears. He registered 10 or more sacks in five straight seasons from 1984-88 and in eight of 10 years from 1984-93. The only times he failed to reach double digits in that span was when he had 9 sacks in 1989 and 8½ in 1992.

Pompei became the Chicago representative on the Board of Selectors in 2007 after longtime pro football writer Don Pierson retired from the Chicago Tribune. Pierson, who was a member of the Board of Selectors for a decade and a half, made the case for Dent in 2004 and 2005.

“I presented him as the playmaker on one of the great all-time defenses,” Pierson said. “I just tried to frame it that way and explain why I called a defensive end the playmaker—not only because of the sacks but the batted down passes, the forced fumbles and the interceptions.

“There was nobody else on that team that was doing that sort of thing. You would think it maybe would be a cornerback or a safety or the middle linebacker. But it was Dent who was the playmaker.”

Each year, between four and seven finalists are selected to the Hall of Fame. All must receive at least 80 percent approval from the Board of Selectors at its annual meeting the day before the Super Bowl.

Over the years, Pierson learned that it was much better to just present the facts than to try to push a candidate.

“There’s a fine line that you have to walk between really campaigning for a guy and really just providing information,” Pierson said. “The campaigns often backfired. It doesn’t take that many [voters] to turn down a guy, and if you really campaign for someone, then it’s going to backfire.”

While there have been some heated debates in recent years over candidates such as Paul Tagliabue and Art Modell, that’s the exception rather than the rule.

“In Richard’s case, there was never much debate,” Pierson said. “There was more discussion: Where did he fit among the other guys like Hampton and Singletary? How important was he? How does he compare to the other pass rushers in the class?”

Pierson feels strongly that Dent should join Singletary and Hampton in the Hall of Fame. The former Tribune writer also believes that other players from that dominant defense—Wilber Marshall and perhaps Gary Fencik—would have had a shot had the Bears won more than one Super Bowl. 

Pompei, meanwhile, hopes to do his part to help Dent gain entry into Canton.

“I really feel like my responsibility is just to get the other voters to see the facts because the facts speak for themselves,” Pompei said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Richard is as qualified as almost anyone to be in the Hall of Fame. Hopefully I can present those facts clearly so that they will see it the same way I see it.”