Players who are in the Pro Football HOF but SHOULDN'T be
shagrotn77
Posts: 5,615 ✭✭✭✭
I thought this would be a fun thread to start given how much action the HOF snubs thread has seen. I personally feel there are more undeserving players in the HOF than there are players on the outside looking in. Here are a few of the head scratchers that immediately come to mind:
Hornung
Swann
Namath
F. Little
Hornung must have made a deal with the devil. The man has a Heisman Trophy and a HOF ring and deserves neither. Swann may have made some great catches in the Super Bowl, but he never topped 880 yards receiving in a season. Yuck. Then we have Namath and his 173-220 career TD-to-INT ratio. And lastly Floyd Little and his ONE 1,000-yard rushing season (yes, ONE). I know the stats never tell the whole story, but they should at least account for a big part of it.
Hornung
Swann
Namath
F. Little
Hornung must have made a deal with the devil. The man has a Heisman Trophy and a HOF ring and deserves neither. Swann may have made some great catches in the Super Bowl, but he never topped 880 yards receiving in a season. Yuck. Then we have Namath and his 173-220 career TD-to-INT ratio. And lastly Floyd Little and his ONE 1,000-yard rushing season (yes, ONE). I know the stats never tell the whole story, but they should at least account for a big part of it.
"My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. Our childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When we were insolent we were placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds - pretty standard really."
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Wayne Millner, six years at end, 76 games 12 TD's, two second team all-nfl selections. Nothing HOF worthy here. Took 23 years to get elected after his retirement.
Tom Fears, had three great years. ONE all-nfl first team selection. He was no better than Billy Wilson of the 49'ers who played in the same era and who is more deserving of a HOF bust in Canton.
Emmitt Thomas, pretty good DB, but not any better than his DB teammate Johnny Robinson who is still not in Canton.
There's many others........
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I think Leroy Kelly is a deserving HOF'er. Six pro bowls, three time All-NFL first team selections, one MVP, two time Rushing leader, Played on great teams nearly every year in the NFL. For his era, he definitely was one of the very best.
I too approve that Leroy Kelly was a Hof back. Being the guy that replaced Jim Brown is not an easy task.
WHAT!!? Bob Hayes not a HOFer? I think he was shafted for many years not being inducted earlier.
The Dallas Cowboys drafted Hayes in the seventh round of the 1964 NFL Draft, taking a chance on an Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a wide receiver. The bet paid off, due to his amazing feats in cleats. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a zone defense and the bump and run to attempt to contain him.
Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns. In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the New York Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Later, in the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until Miles Austin broke it with a 250 yard-performance on October 11, 2009 against the Kansas City Chiefs). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas taking advantage of the diminished coverage of the line of scrimmage.
Multiple Offensive Threat:
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first ever Super Bowl victory in 1972, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring.
Cowboy Records:
Hayes was the second player in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to surpass 1000 yards receiving in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (both career touchdowns and yards per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns. His 7,295 receiving yards are the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys history.
To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and twenty-two overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.
Easily the best Defensive lineman of his day, not to mention
All-Time!
I watched him game in, game out get blocked by 2,3,4 players every down
and still impact the play. He played on some of the God awful teams ever
and was the only thing on the field worth watching. A true "Man among boys"
when he played.
<< <i>I thought this would be a fun thread to start given how much action the HOF snubs thread has seen. I personally feel there are more undeserving players in the HOF than there are players on the outside looking in. Here are a few of the head scratchers that immediately come to mind:
Hornung
Swann
Namath
F. Little
Hornung must have made a deal with the devil. The man has a Heisman Trophy and a HOF ring and deserves neither. Swann may have made some great catches in the Super Bowl, but he never topped 880 yards receiving in a season. Yuck. Then we have Namath and his 173-220 career TD-to-INT ratio. And lastly Floyd Little and his ONE 1,000-yard rushing season (yes, ONE). I know the stats never tell the whole story, but they should at least account for a big part of it. >>
I think it's dangerous to compare stats from that era. You almost have had to seen them play to get the whole picture. Stats were an afterthought with many not even tracked back then. I think Namath is a HOFer just based on his 1969 superbowl win which changed the NFL forever. The more challenging call will be with modern day players where many put up monster stats but were mediocre. All the WRs that put up a bunch of 1000 yard, 70+ catch seasons which maybe isn't even top 5 in the conference let alone league. Yet those stats look very impressive when compared to the Paul Warfields and Lynn Swanns of yesteryear when the game was very different.
i'm sure intelligent people understant what FAME really means.
<< <i>I think it's dangerous to compare stats from that era. You almost have had to seen them play to get the whole picture. Stats were an afterthought with many not even tracked back then. I think Namath is a HOFer just based on his 1969 superbowl win which changed the NFL forever. The more challenging call will be with modern day players where many put up monster stats but were mediocre. All the WRs that put up a bunch of 1000 yard, 70+ catch seasons which maybe isn't even top 5 in the conference let alone league. Yet those stats look very impressive when compared to the Paul Warfields and Lynn Swanns of yesteryear when the game was very different. >>
This is a fair criticism. However, in the case of some players, like Joe Namath, it simply doesn't hold water. Joe's stats were terrible even by the standards of his era. He's in the HOF because of the one Super Bowl and that's it. If you think that's enough, fine. Personally, I don't.
Tabe
One thing the stat junkies never seem to understand about Joe Namath is that he changed the game in ways that noone will ever be able to do again.
While his stats may not bear it out, Joe Namath(and other AFL QB's) were the fisrt to strech the field with the long passing game. Naturally accounting for a lower passing % and more ints. And NO ONE was more equiped than Namath with that rifle arm to usher in the long passing game. Man he threw a pretty ball.
In addition to giving the AFL clout and making it obvious the the NFL had to make a merge with the AFL, Namath was also one one the First big contract signs.
He was the first to and Only to throw for 4,000 yds (until the rule changes allow, I think Dan Fouts to do it?)
Joe Namath had a special charisma that made him the first big Media Superstar who also ushered in the TV era of Football.
Joe Namath was one of the first, if not the first to have TV ad deals(thus paving the way for the now gigantic shoe deals and such players now enjoy.
Joe Namath was more than a football player, He was the first truely famous player to transend the game to become a cultural icon.
Joe Namath paved the way for may things todays modern players enjoy and there is NO Hall of Fame without Joe Namath.
I forgive him as he was in dipers when Namaths carear was ending. Forced to look at just his stats.
If you do that then the odvious conclusion is he's not a hofer.
I have seen maybe 3 QB's since Namath that had his arm. 60 yard line drives. Brett Favre would be jealous.
Joe and Mr. Corncobb are spot on. I was very young but remember seeing Namath play.
Living in New York the Jets were on every week. So I watched many a game. Clearly he was a hofer.
We all collect cards and most of the time card values are tied to hof status or scarcity.
The 1965 Namath is not scarce (yes 1965 FB is scarcer than other years friom the 1950's and 1960's). 67 psa 8's.
Thats a decent pop # and its about $6000. Other than Bronk and a few 48 leafs what else commands such a price?
Nobody. It's the Namath allure and sensation. All his cards bring top $. Why? Because Namath transcends football.
Who else could be seen in pantyhose and get away with it.
I agree with many of the players mentioned. A few get in that are head scratchers. Same with baseball.
Bob Hayes is another that stats just don't measure his true impact.
If Golden Boy is in the HOF then it should have been after Kramer. He cleared the way for him in the power sweep and the championships...
so he should have followed him to Canton as he was a big part of his success.
1948-76 Topps FB Sets
FB & BB HOF Player sets
1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
<< <i>While his stats may not bear it out, Joe Namath(and other AFL QB's) were the fisrt to strech the field with the long passing game. Naturally accounting for a lower passing % and more ints. And NO ONE was more equiped than Namath with that rifle arm to usher in the long passing game. Man he threw a pretty ball. >>
Other guys stretched the field as much, or more than, Namath. But it was Namath leading the league in INTs 4 times not those other guys. Sonny Jurgensen, for example, put up huge numbers but only led in INTs twice (his first two years as a starter). It's also worth noting that, for all his acclimation as a "winner", Joe had a losing record in the NFL.
<< <i>He was the first to and Only to throw for 4,000 yds (until the rule changes allow, I think Dan Fouts to do it?) >>
A truly remarkable accomplishment and worthy of much praise.
<< <i>Joe Namath had a special charisma that made him the first big Media Superstar who also ushered in the TV era of Football. >>
This has zero to do with his qualifications for the HOF.
<< <i>Joe Namath was one of the first, if not the first to have TV ad deals(thus paving the way for the now gigantic shoe deals and such players now enjoy. >>
This has zero to do with his HOF qualifications. And the baseball guys broke this ground first.
<< <i>Joe Namath was more than a football player, He was the first truely famous player to transcend the game to become a cultural icon. >>
This has to do with his HOF qualifications.
<< <i>Joe Namath paved the way for may things todays modern players enjoy and there is NO Hall of Fame without Joe Namath. >>
That's just laughable. Namath is an important figure in the history of pro football but it's not like the whole world falls apart if he suddenly didn't exist. Someone else would have filled the void and the era of the downfield attack would have happened either way. If there really would be "NO Hall of Fame without Joe Namath", why did it take him 3 tries to get in?
Tabe
Erik