Today the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008 gets enshrined in Canton, OH with 6 former NFL stars joining football immortality. And while I have no problem (or at least little problem) with those who will be inducted, I'm completely confused with the process in place that got them there. Now I now I have complained about both the basketball and baseball Hall of Fames for various reasons in recent months, so I promise this will be my last HOF rant for a while. But for the life of me I can't understand how the greatest individual honor in football is decided by such a poor system. There are only 44 voters on the "Selection Committee" to decide the inductees, and the "Senior Committee" (who decide the 2 finalist who retired over 25 years ago, with at least one needing to be elected) is made up of only 9 people. How is such a great honor put in the hands of so few? And to make matters worse the vote is 100% secret...so nobody has to answer to their questionable calls. Although Darrell Green is going in on his first try this year, it would be nice to find out how this panel justified leaving out the other 4 non-veteran inductees for so long. Two-time all-decade selection Gary Zimmerman is going in on try #6. Art Monk, who retired as the all-time leading receiver in virtually every category and should have been a first-ballot no-brainer, has to wait 8 years for induction and yet nobody has to answer as to why he wasn't. Our own Andre Tippett waited a full decade, getting inducted in try #10. And Fred Dean had to wait 16 years to have his day in Ohio. In order to make the selection process more understandable to the average fan there needs to be more voters and less secrecy in the selection process. At least then when a guy retires as the all-time leading receiver we may have a better idea as to why he needs to wait 8 years to get into the Hall. And when "senior" candidates are chosen there will be no hints of cronyism that a 9-member panel is bound to leave.
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...and apparently the 44 voters are there until they either die, retire or resign. Weird.
The voting should be done by all living members of the Hall (that want to vote) not just small selection commitee. They should be given a ballot with everyone that is eligible. I can see still having a seperate ballot for the guys who have retired over 25 years ago. But the voting should still take place the same by all living members of the Hall.
I can see why Green was a 1st ballot. The guy ran a 4.2 40 at age 40. He did something that no player will probably ever do again 19 straight years w/ at least 1 int. No question in my mind that Monk should have been a 1st ballot guy. Zimmerman had the problem of being an o-lineman. I honestly dont know that much about Dean.
Now that Tippett is in the NFL Hall of Fame mae we try to move him up the ladder.
100 sacks, 19 fumble recoveries, 2 td, 5x pro bowl, 5x all pro, 80's all decade team, 1999 Patriots HOF inductee, 2008 NFL HOF inductee. Also by a panel of players and coaches he was voted to the Pro Football Weekly all time 3-4 defensive team.
Just watched the last half of a great show in the NFL Network.
"Top 10 Players NOT in the Hall of Fame"
Here they are:
10. Ken Anderson
Four Pro Bowls, the 1981 MVP award and the first Super Bowl appearance in team history were not enough to get this Bengals legend into the Hall.
9. Steve Tasker
Marv Levy once called Tasker -- arguably the greatest special teams player of all time -- the most important man on the Bills' roster.
8. Alex Karras
Before he punched a horse on Blazing Saddles, Karras -- nicknamed the "Mad Duck" -- was one of the most dominant defensive players of his era.
7. Ricky Watters
Watters put up better numbers than many backs already in the Hall, but many recall his flamboyant personality more than his accomplishments.
6. Ken Stabler
With "The Snake" behind center, the Raiders were perennial contenders, playing in five straight AFC title games and winning a Super Bowl.
5. Bob Hayes
The fastest man alive may not have had the greatest hands, but "Bullet" Bob Hayes still managed to help revolutionize the game with his speed.
4. Jim Marshall
The "Ironman" of his era, Marshall played in 282 consecutive games, but this defensive end may own the most famous football blooper of all time.
3. Cris Carter
Many said all Cris Carter did was "catch touchdowns," but the Vikings great ended his career second all-time in receptions, and, of course, TDs.
2. Derrick Thomas
Derrick Thomas finished his career with 126.5 sacks and still holds the record for most sacks in a game with seven, which he set in 1990.
1. Jerry Kramer
Kramer helped pave the way for the famous "Packers sweep," as well as five NFL championships in the 1960s for Titletown USA.
Solid list Joe. I think Carter is definitely in next year, they just couldn't let him in before Monk. And D-Thomas has a good shot too now that other pass rushers (Tippett, Dean) wont be competing with him. Either him or Richard Dent (who I notice isn't even on this list) will be in next year.
First ballot guys next year are Bruce Smith, Shannon Sharpe, Rod Woodson, John Randle and Darren Woodson. The first 3 should all get in, along with Carter and one of the pass rushers. That would be 5 + the senior committe choice (or choices).
I think Carter and Thomas will be in soon, but the others will be interesting to watch.
Somebody mentioned Watters as a HOF candidate to me a few years ago and I thought they were crazy until I looked at his stats. WOW! Pretty impressive.
Tasker is really interesting going in as a special teams player. I would love to see it.
I was never a Ken Anderson admirer, thought he was really good, but not HOF material. I have always hated Stabler and hope he doesn't get in.
If being bad actor will get you in the HOF, then a giant yes on Alex Karras
Bob Hayes has more career TD's than fellow Cowboy Michael Irvin but not in....he did spend some time in jail.
Jim Marshall played 20 years at DL without ever missing a game, pretty incredible. Have you ever seen the NFL blooper of a DL in the 70's running in a fumble 60 yards the wrong way into his own end zone and firing the ball underhanded into the stands? That's him.
How do you judge an OL for being a Hall of Famer? I don't really know what to make of Jerry Kramer.
The show did interview a few voters. There was some discussion on whether a guy was a "first ballot" HOFer. If he wasn't considered a first timer, then sometimes he would be overlooked following years. Some of the voters seemed clearly annoyed by their fellow voters on this issue.
If a guy is worthy for the hall, put him in. Why make him wait a year or two or 16? Is the player going to do something different between years 5 and 6 of being retired to get him enshrined?
I agree with the theory that they are either good enough to go in right away or not good enough to go in at all. Making people wait for whatever reasons seems ridiculous. The only justification would be that there is a limited amount of people who can go in so in the case of a tie the person waiting longer gets in.
I do find it somewhat disturbing that more people vote on the RBSF HOF than the Pro Football HOF though...
...and I should note that Trey Wingo is the one who brought this issue to my attention, so he does deserve credit for this week's grudge.
Only 1 player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame didn't play in the NFL. This is possibly why Gino Cappelletti continuously gets no mention, even by the "Senior Committee"...which once again is made up of only 9 people.
A quick look at Cappelletti:
Played for the Boston Patriots from 1960 through 1970 and was the Patriots' all-time leading scorer with 1,130 points (42 TDs, 176 FGs and 342 PATs), until December 5, 2005, when Adam Vinatieri kicked his second field goal of the game against the New York Jets.
Cappelletti led the American Football League in scoring five times and led or tied the NFL in scoring 5 times as well. He had two of the top five scoring seasons in pro football history – 155 points in 1964 and 147 points in 1961 (14-game seasons). Nicknamed the "Duke", he is the all-time leading scorer in the American Football League. Cappelletti is among the AFL's all-time top ten receivers, in yards and in receptions. He is the Patriots' third all-time leading receiver with 292 catches for 4,589 yards, and has attempted more field
He was the 1964 AFL MVP and a 5x AFL All Star.
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