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Jerome Bettis: 2015 HOF Finalist



Having a lot of fun doing our Baseball debates with two of my bloggers, DDT and the Phillies Archivist, I wanted to repeat the same idea with this year’s Football Finalists, but due to time constraints I will take a deeper look at each candidate myself and offer a few thoughts as to their Hall of Fame candidacy

Next, I take a look at former Running Back, Jerome Bettis.

This is “The Bus’s” fifth consecutive year as a Hall of Finalist, but this year seems different, as there are not as many obstacles in his way.  There had been higher profile Running Backs ahead of him in the past, and while Terrell Davis is also a Finalist, based on previous voting patterns, it stands to reason that he is behind him in line.  Bettis also made it to the final ten last year showing that he is very close to the door.

He should be.  Amassing 13,662 Rushing Yards and 91 Touchdowns over his career, the popular Running Back is considered one of the best “big” backs ever and statistically he is among the elite.  Bettis has six Pro Bowls and two First Team All Pro selections to his credit, and in 1996 he won the NFL Alumni Running Back of the Year, indicating that there was a sizable segment that considered him the best at one point in his career.

Character (good or bad) should not really be a factor in getting into the Hall of Fame, but who are we kidding?  Where it hurts Charles Haley, it helps Jerome Bettis, a former Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (2001), and was also named the PFWA Good Guy Award in 2005.   Through broadcasting, Bettis remains in the public eye and still has a high level of respect within the community.

Bettis would win a Super Bowl Ring in his final season in the NFL, but he was largely ineffective and almost cost the team the game, so that is not exactly a selling point.

Personally, I have always viewed Jerome Bettis as a marginal Hall of Fame talent, but one if he got in would not bother me, and if he never got in would be fine also.  Saying that, this is his year, and all signs are for the bus to make a final stop in Northern Ohio.










Last modified on Thursday, 19 March 2015 18:48
Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .
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