A week after the Baseball had their Hall of Fame Weekend and inducted no live bodies, Canton added to their legacy by putting in a solid group of (and alive) inductees into the Football Hall of Fame. Relatively speaking, this Hall has been controversy free and has been a model of how Halls should induct players and contributors. We also love the way how the Hall of Fame induction ceremony kicks off the Pre-Season and gets us excited about the upcoming season. We thought we would take one final look at the Class of 2013.
Larry Allen was a mountain of a man, and considered by many to be the strongest player in the NFL. He used that physical skill to dominate the Cowboys Offensive Line and was named to both 1990’s and 2000’s All Decade Team. This 11 Time Pro Bowl selection also won the Super Bowl twice with the Cowboys. This was a no brainer.
Cris Carter took a while to get enshrined into the Hall of Fame. The logjam at Wide Receiver likely delayed the former Minnesota Viking star, though we were always fascinated by an attribute that some found one-dimensional: that all “he ever did was catch touchdowns”. Funny, we thought that was the idea of the game. We always felt he should have gotten in earlier.
Curley Culp was a Senior nominee selection. Culp had a great run with the Kansas City Chiefs, helping them win their lone Super Bowl in 1970. Culp was a five time Pro Bowl selection who was a dominating interior lineman in his day. Culp was not initially on our top 100 list, but through another retrospective on his career, we may have erred in that assessment.
Jonathan Ogden could have been the easiest no-brainer for induction this year. Ray Lewis may have gotten all the press on the Defensive side for the Baltimore Ravens, but Ogden was the Offensive Lineman who protected a lot of “average at best” Quarterbacks ensuring that they would do just enough to win. It may be arguable that Ogden is the best Left Tackle of all time, but he is the one whose worth was showcased first on a financial statement. When people describe Left Tackle as the second most important position in Football, much of that is because of Jonathan Ogden.
How did Bill Parcells not get in last year? We don’t rank non-players on our list, but if we did, he would have been a lock for the top five. The two-time Super Bowl winner was not just a great coach, but a great motivator and a man known for taking mediocre teams and turning them around rapidly. In our eyes, Parcells is the headliner of this Class.
Dave Robinson was another Green Bay Packers great who was the second of two Senior nominees inducted. The Linebacker had 27 career Interceptions and excelled at tackling opposing receivers and rushers for no gain. Robinson’s induction was a little overshadowed by the constant plight of his long time teammate, Jerry Kramer, who we (and virtually everyone else) has championed for the Football Hall of Fame.
The final inductee for this year’s class is Warren Sapp, a great Defensive End who was known equally for his Defensive prowess as his swagger. Sapp was our lowest ranked player to get in from last year’s list, but statistically has every right to be enshrined. Much has been made (though we are not sure why) about his bust being the first one with braids; which may make Sapp stand out a little more in this year’s class; which we are sure he enjoys.
We congratulate this year’s inductees, but mostly the Pro Football Hall of Fame; which is becoming the class of the Sporting Halls.
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