Marino and Young Elected to Hall of Fame

[Don Wassall]

Congratulations to Dan Marino and Steve Young. Dan is yet another great Pittsburgh-bred quarterback and a class act. He was never a "great athlete," all he could do was read defenses quickly, make hair-trigger decisions, and then release the ball faster than any quarterback ever, and usually with pinpoint accuracy.

Steve Young is one of my all-time favorite football players. A great athlete who could kill defenses with his arm and legs, and who was as brainy as they come. There was no quarterback I liked to watch more than Steve.

Enjoy this year's two most deserving picks while you can. It may be the last time the main selections consist only of whites, in fact now that these two great recent quarterbacks are going in, there are very few white players left at all who will be going to the Hall. Troy Aikman soon, then. . . who?

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I am pulling for Charlie Conerly to be inducted into the Hall. He was the 1959 NFL MVP and was the Quarterback who transitioned the position more than anyone else to the modern model. He came into the league being a QB/HB in 1948 and he went out in 1961 being a passer. He was a 2 time pro-bowler who was Rookie of the year in 1948. He also helped the Giants win the NFL championship in 1956 and almost in 1958. I hope that he will get in soon and be recognized for the Pioneer and Champion he was.

 

[white lightning]

I am so happy to see both Marino and Young get into the
NFL Hall of Fame.These guys were class acts and both lit
up the field year after year.Though they had different
styles,I enjoyed watching them both.I only wish Marino
would have played for the Steelers.If my memory is correct,Steve Young was a running back in the cfl for
a short time or it might have been the usfl.Either way,
Young could run like a deer.He was so graceful and man
could he throw the ball with accuracy.Just think,Eric
Crouch might have been similar but we will never know.
Congrats to them both.

 

[sport historian]

I remember (age 11) seeing the NY Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles on TV in late 1961. The Giants had to win totake the Eastern Conference title. Charlie Conerly came off the bench to relieve Y.A. Tittle. Conerly hit a long TD pass to clinch the game. I still remember the announcer saying, "Old pro Charlie Conerly pulled the string," in describing the pass. Conerly retired from football after the 1961 season.


Conerly was a very famous player in those days. He even had a nickname, "Chuckin Charlie Conerly." As far as the HOF, they don't think his stats are as good as modern players, plus some voters think their are too many Giants in the Hall. Still, he was one of the players who made the sport big-time in the late 50's.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Young should have won the Heisman in 1983, instead of Mike (did nothing in the NFL) Rozier. It's great that he's in this quick, as well as Marino. As for Steve being a running back in the CFL, he wasn't. He was drafted 1'st pick in 1984 by Tampa Bay, played through 86 with them, and then with the 49'ers until he retired in 1999. He could definitely run though. I miss watching him. The Eric Crouch comparison is a good one. I hope Eric will be able to play somewhere next year.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Chunkin' Charlie is considered the best player from Mississippi, and has an award named after him that goes to the best college ball player in the state each year. It was created in 1996, the year he died, by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. He is buried about 15 miles from where I currently live.

 

[Bart]

ColReb, Steve Young was a fabulous running quarterback, especially in his earlier days. He had to run for his life in Tampa when they started from scratch. I caught a Bill Walsh radio interview several years ago. Walsh I think had some kind of position with the Buccaneers, perhaps player personel, don't recall. He said Young was flat out the best athlete on the team and could have been a running back or receiver. He was effusive in praise of his athlecticism and intelligence. Bill Walsh knows a thing or two about football.


Steve Young won 6 passing titles and had a higher QB rating than Momtana. His TD to Int. ratio is the best ever for someone who played an appreciable number of years. If he didn't spend time in the USFL and was not Montana's back up for so long, he would have been untouchable.I think he was as good as anyone.

 

[Bart]

I messed up the last post. Walsh was talking with someone from the Tampa Bay Buc's personnel dept. and a radio host at the time of lthe Super Bowl a few years ago.They were both talking about the west coast offence Walsh developed in Frisco andthey began talking about the perfect type of Q B to run it from Montana to Young. They shared stories about Tampa's early days and why Walsh wanted to have Steve in San Fran Cisco.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

No doubt Young could have been a RB or reciever. He was fun to watch. What USFL team did he play for?