Many Hall of Fame candidates watch their push for the Hall build and build.  This doesn’t seem to be the case for Lester Hayes who was a finalist in his first four years of eligibility but has only been a semi-finalist the last six years.

Lester Hayes is best known for two things.  The first was in 1980 where he had 13 picks and won the Defensive Player of the Year award. The year after the “Lester Hayes” rules were put into effect banning players from the use of “stickum”, an adhesive that Hayes was using to get a better grip on the ball.

A lot of people talk about “Playstation” numbers whereby offensive stars put up offensive numbers that don’t seem realistic.  John Hadl was putting up those types of numbers when Quarterbacks generally were more conservative and decades before the Madden craze took over.

On three separate occasions, John Hadl eclipsed 3,000 yards passing.  This is expected out of many Quarterbacks now, but it was very impressive considering the era he played in.  He was one of the game's early gunslingers and as such posted very impressive Touchdowns Pass numbers.  Subsequently, this led to a copious amount of interceptions and he did finish his career with more picks than TD passes.

If you have an eleven-year professional football career and you make the Pro Bowl for nine of them, it can be widely assumed that you had a very productive career.  Maxie Baughan did just that, but because he spread those accomplishments across three teams, he is not specifically associated with any franchise, which may have hampered his recognition factor.

Baughan first cut his teeth with the Eagles and was a big part of their championship run in 1960.  He was easily the best defender on the Eagles, but as that team’s fortunes waned, he looked to be traded to a contender.  He took his skills to the Rams and later Washington, where at both stops he remained a perennial Pro Bowler.

Usually, Punters don’t have much of a Hall of Fame shot.  It is a good thing for Deron Cherry that he focused on being a Safety.  It is a better thing for the Kansas City Chiefs as Cherry became one of the best at that position.

Using his athletic gifts, Deron Cherry emerged as a top defensive star in the NFL.  Once he became a star, he was among the league's most consistent players.  Although he never led the league in interceptions, Cherry was a very good open-field tackler and was rarely beat one on one.  For his efforts, Cherry was a six-time Pro Bowl Selection and was named to the NFL All-Decade Team for the 1980s.