HOF

[Bart]

Eventually every Negro football player will be in the Hall of fame.Our white sportscasters, analysts, and writers will make sure it is a fait accompli.

 

[Don Wassall]

Five out of six black this year, that will be the norm now for the indefinite future. Only the occasional white QB, o-lineman and very occasional defensive player will interrupt the annual parade of Caste System stars.

 

[sport historian]

Several times I have referred to an article by Larry Felser I read in a pre-season football publication some 30 years ago. In it, Felser wrote that the Pro Football HOF was the toughest of the sports HOF's to get into.

Well, that obviously is no longer the case. Emmitt Thomas was considered no more than a good DB. Felser even wrote that "defensive backs don't excite the selectors." They do nowadays, apparently.

 

[white is right]

Five out of six black this year, that will be the norm now for the indefinite future. Only the occasional white QB, o-lineman and very occasional defensive player will interrupt the annual parade of Caste System stars.

This will probably be true, also they let in some marginal hall members this year. Tippet and Dean while very good players weren't the elite of elite in my book. Where is Dave Butz if these guys are in? Also I would love to see a running fullback like Casares or Ameche get a seniors nomination(Throw in Bill Brown too).

 

[reclaimsocal]

The only thing that pleased me was seeing Gary Zimmerman get the nod over Randall McDaniel. I thought there was no shot that the Vikings would get 2 O-Linemen in the same class, and I figured McDaniel with his perennial Black Pro-Bowl pass would get first dibs. I think McDaniel is probably deserving, but Zimmerman was clearly the better player when they lined up on the same line.


I was also somewhat surprised that Cris Carter was bypassed for Art Monk. I can't figure out how that was possible as Carter was the second most dominant WR (behind Rice) of the 90's. Monk was never in that class, as he was good but not a game changer.


I second the hope that some of the great White Running FB's get a look. Unfortunately, the senior selectors seem to be more hellbent on revising history then honoring those who were legitimately overlooked. (Like Mick Tinghlehoff who is in my opinion the best current player not in the HOF that is no longer eligible through the normal process).

 

[Don Wassall]

Carter will be a slam dunk next year. The Art Monk boosters had been getting louder every year. Monk's 940 receptions are 7th highest ever, but the rest of his career is borderline HOF qualifications at best, e.g. just three Pro Bowls andonly 68 touchdowns during a 16 year career. He played a long time and was on Super Bowl winners with the Redskins, so he probably deserved to get in if players like Dean and Tippett did. Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[foreverfree]

Five out of six black this year, that will be the norm now for the indefinite future.  Only the occasional white QB, o-lineman and very occasional defensive player will interrupt the annual parade of Caste System stars.

As if to underscore this trend, I noticed the HOF director is black (I watched the announcement on NFL Network).

Getting back to Monk... even before my awakening, I called Mr. Monk "Art the Monkey".

In my mind only, of course.

John

 

[bigunreal]

Fred Dean? That is almost as bad as the Charlie Sanders selection last year, which imho is the worst selection to any Hall of Fame ever. Andre Tippet is clearly not a HOFer either. Emmitt Thomas was a good DB, but Dick LeBeau, who isn't in the HOF and is never mentioned now (even though he's been an NFL coach for years) was a great one during the same time period. Until LeBeau is enshrined, no other DB should be. I second the comments about Mick Tingelhoff- how can this guy not be in there? He was the dominant center of his era. Finally, my pet peeve- where is the name of Jerry Smith in these discussions? Smith's career stats are better than any of the old TEs in the HOF- John Mackey and Charlie Sanders, in particular, put up numbers that are embarrassing when compared to Smith's.

I guess nothing should surprise me after Charlie Sanders and then Michael Irvin were voted in....

 

[Matt_Bowen_Fan]

Monk deserved it. He was the leader in most receiving categories when he retired, after all. Darrell Green was a lock, which made me happy. Sadly, Grimm, Jacoby, Butz, won't be around to join them.

 

[bigunreal]

Good point about Grimm and Jacoby, MBF. The Redskins' teams from that decade were built around the "Hogs," and Grimm and Jacoby were both great. In any just HOF process, those guys would have been the first inductees from those teams.

Btw, another neglected old Redskin who should be in the Hall instead of the myriad of black affletes who have been inducted, is linebacker Chris Hanburger.