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Junior Seau: 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 Linebacker, Junior Seau.

When Seau retired, virtually every football fan and journalist pegged him as a surefire first ballot inductee and why not?  Seau was regarded for many years as the top Linebacker in the National Football League, and has the trophies to prove it. 

The former linebacker was the consensus Defensive MVP in 1992, a twelve time Pro Bowler, a six time First Team All Pro Selection, a member of the 1990’s All Decade Team and the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year in 2003.  Stat wise, he has 56.5 Quarterback Sacks, 18 Interceptions and 1,849 Tackles over a twenty year career.  He has suited in the second most games of any Linebacker.

It can be criticized that Junior Seau never won the Super Bowl, though he has been to two, the first with the San Diego Chargers where he was a major reason they got as far as they did in the first place.  It should also be noted that Seau also won the Walter Payton Man of the Year, an accolade showing his charitable work.

Perhaps that is why his suicide caught all of us by surprise when he committed suicide as we all thought he was such a happy well adjusted man who loved life.  We did not know about the concussion related injuries and depression that he had about no longer being a football player and the other issues he had.

While the Pro Football Hall of Fame has posthumously inducted players in the past, there has never been one before where people have pointed at the injuries suffered at the gridiron as a possible cause to his death. 

This should not keep him out, but it does raise the question of the costs of playing football are, and though Seau should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and should go in immediately, there will be articles written about the cost of playing the game. 

Could that prevent him from getting in?  If it was a player with less accolades that could happen, but this is a player who was one of the best Defensive players ever, so it is not only likely to happen, he will get in on the first ballot.

Anything else is criminal.   








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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