The National Soccer Hall of Fame has announced the nominees for their next class which consists of 46 Players, 14 Veterans and 8 Builders. To qualify in the Player’s Category a player has to meet the following criteria: Have been retired for at least three years but no more than ten. Have played 20 full International Games and/or played five seasons in a U.S. First Division League and was a champion or a league All Star. The nominated players are: David Beckham:  Easily one of the most popular soccer players of all time, David Beckham came from England to the Los Angeles Galaxy where over six years he helped them win the MLS Cup in 2011 and 2012.  He certainly sold a lot of tickets just by suiting up for the Galaxy.   Gregg Berhalter:  Berhalter played his club career primarily in Europe and he would finish off his pro career with three years in MLS with the L.A. Galaxy.  He would play in 44 Games with the United States which was punctuated by his participation in the 2002 World Cup. Carlos Bocanegra:  Bocanegra played six of his pro seasons in Major League Soccer where he was named the Rookie of the Year and was a two time MLS Defender of the Year where he was also named to MLS Best XI roster.  Internationally he was a fixture for Team U.S.A. with who he played for 110 times and was a member of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup teams.  He was also on the 2007 Concacaf Gold Cup winning team.  Shannon Boxx:  Boxx played in the WUSA, WPSL and the NWSL and played for the United States in four World Cups, including the championship team of 2015.  She also played on the 2004, 2008 and the 2012 Women’s Olympic Team. Leigh Ann Robinson Brown:  Brown won back-to-back championships in the WPSL with Kansas City in 2014 and 2015. She played two games for the Women’s National Team. Edson Buddle:  Buddle played 14 years in MLS where he would help the Galaxy win the Title in 2012.   He played 11 Games for the United States including two games in the 2010 World Cup. Lori Chalupny:  Chalupny dressed for the United States Women’s Team in 106 times and is a World Cup and Olympic Champion.  She also played six seasons of top flight soccer in the U.S.. Steve Cherundolo:  Cherundolo played all of his pro career for Hannover 96 in Germany and he played for the United…

The WWE Hall of Fame has announced that this year’s recipient of the Warrior Award is Sue Aitchison, a thirty plus year employee of the WWE who is currently serving as the Senior Director of Talent Relations. This has received positive reviews from wrestling fans as the Warrior Award was allegedly conceived as a way to honor longtime behind the scenes employees of the WWE of which Aitchison certainly is.   We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Sue Aitchison for earning this honor.

The Country Music Hall of Fame has announced three new members into their establishment with Brooks & Dunn, Ray Stevens and Jerry Stevens being named as the Class of 2019. Formed in 1991, the duo of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn would become of the most successful country music acts of the last 25 years.  They released 11 albums and had 50 songs reach the Billboard Country Chart, with 20 of them going number one.  They enter as the Modern Era Artist category. Ray Stevens is this year’s Veterans Era category inductee.  Stevens has a long history in music with country hits and crossover pop/comedy hits.  Jerry Stevens enters in the non-performer category.  He was a longtime producer of the famed Bradley family.  The Country Music Hall of Fame was established in 1961 and is located in Nashville Tennessee. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Just as we finished writing about the retirement of Max Unger we have another major retirement in the world of Professional Football to discuss.   In an epic Instagram post where he was atop Mount Kilimanjaro Haloti Ngata held up a banner stating “I’m retiring from the NFL on top” thus ending a 13 year career. Ngata was drafted in the 12thOverall in 2006 where the former Oregon Duck proved to be a perfect fit for the Baltimore Ravens Defense.  Ngata would become a starter immediately and from 2009 to 2013 he was a Pro Bowl Selection and in 2010 and 2011 he was a First Team All Pro. Ngata would help the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII where he would record 10 Tackles in the game.  He would be traded to the Detroit Lions where he would play for three years and he finished off with a final season in Philadelphia. Ngata had a very good career and should he be considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he will be eligible in 2024. We here at Notinhalloffame.com wish Haloti Ngata the best in his post playing endeavors.

As we are working on revamping our Pro Football Futures, we have a new retirement to add to the list as New Orleans Saints Center, Max Unger has abruptly retired from the game. Selected by the Seattle Seahawks as a second round pick out of the University of Oregon, Unger was a starter as a rookie and in his fourth season he was named a First Team All Pro and was named to his first of two straight Pro Bowls.  In that second Pro Bowl year, Unger played on Seattle’s Super Bowl XLVIII Championship Team.  He would be traded to the New Orleans Saints after the 2014 season where he was a Pro Bowl Selection in 2018, which is now his final year in Pro Football. We here at Notinhalloffame.com wish Max Unger the best in his post playing endeavors.

It is a very sad day in the world of rock and roll as Dick Dale, “The King of the Surf Guitar” passed away at the age of 81. Born Richard Anthony Monsour, Dale was a very influential figure in music.  He drew from Middle Eastern influences and with those non-Western scales and use of reverberation he created a guitar style that matched his love of surfing. In 1961, he had his first hit with “Let’s Go Trippin”, a song that is credited ushering in the Surf Music craze and shortly after his most signature song, “Misirlou” was released.  Dale was huge in California and would reach a national level and a Dale concert was a must go for a time.  The British Invasion and changing musical trends took him out of the public eye as did a long bout with rectal cancer but he would continue to tour until shortly before his death. We have him ranked at #13 of those to consider for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Dick Dale at this time.

What we here at Notinhalloffame.com consider December to April the “Hall of Fame Season” and part of that are the staggered announcements for the UFC Hall of Fame. The first announcement came last night as Michael Bisping who will enter as the Modern Era inductee and is the first member of the Class of 2019. Making his Mixed Martial Arts debut in 2004, he would win Ultimate Fighter 3 two years later as a Welterweight.  Bisping would eventually move up to Middleweight and would be a top contender for years, though he always seemed to be one fight away from challenging for the UFC Middleweight Title.  High profile losses to Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold were offset by big wins over Jason Miller, Cung Le, Thales Leites and Anderson Silva but the title seemed to elude him until UFC 199.  On that night, he took a fight on short notice against Luke Rockhold to avenge his previous defeat and win the Middleweight Championship.  He followed that up with a successful title defense against Dan Henderson, who beat him at UFC 100.  He would lose the title to the legendary Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217 and retired shortly after one more loss.   Historically speaking, Bisping is the first (and only) British fighter to win a championship in the UFC and he is without question the greatest British fighter ever. His 16 wins as a Middleweight is a UFC record and four times he would win “Fight of the Night”.  Bisping retired with a record of 30 Wins and 9 Losses. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Michael Bisping for earning this honor.

It took them a while but the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the full lineup of inductors for their ceremony on March 29.   The inductors are: Harry Styles will induct Stevie Nicks Brian May will induct Def Leppard Trent Reznor will induct the Cure. Janelle Monae will induct Janet Jackson. David Byrne will induct Radiohead. Susanna Hoffs will induct the Zombies John Taylor and Simon LeBon will induct Roxy Music. The selection of Reznor is curious considering how Reznor recently trashed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Thom Yorke of Radiohead had already previously announced that he won’t be there due to a piano piece he wrote debuting at the Paris Philharmonic the same evening. As of this time the list of performances has not been announced, but we here at Notinhalloffame.com will be paying attention! 

Yes, we know that this is taking a while! As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Arizona Diamondbacks who won the World Series in 2001. As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:  Advanced Statistics. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League. Playoff accomplishments. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet. Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories. This list is updated up until the end of the 2017-18 Season. The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are: Randy Johnson Paul Goldschmidt Brandon Webb Curt Schilling Luis Gonzalez We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  Look for the Top 50 Chicago Blackhawks next. As always we thank you for your support.

We consider this one a bit of a surprise. As we inch closer to Wrestlemania it also means that the WWE Hall of Fame is drawing closer.  New inductees were announced today and in what has to be a mild shock, it is former WCW World Tag Team Champions, Harlem Heat. Booker T (Booker Huffman) & Stevie Ray (Lash Huffman) are half-brothers from Houston, Texas and they first gained exposure competing as the “Ebony Experience” in the Global Wrestling Federation where they would win their tag team titles three times. The duo would be brought into WCW at the request of Sid Vicious who they would team up with (along with Vader) at the 1993 Fall Brawl. They would lose the match but a year later (with Sherri Martel as their manager) would win the WCW World Tag Team Championship on WCW Saturday Night in early 1995 by defeating the team of Stars and Stripes (The Patriot & Marcus Alexander Bagwell).  They would lose their belts to the Nasty Boys at Slamboree 1995, though they actually regained it on WCW Worldwide BEFORE they lost it due to the pattern of WCW tapings.  Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck won the belts in July and they would lose them back to Harlem Heat at Fall Brawl.  The reign lasted one day as they were beat by the American Males (Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Stevie Ray) though a week later they won it back.   With all due respect to their opposition in 1995, 1996 would see an uptake in their competition.  On the January 22 Nitro they would lose to Sting and Lex Luger who would hold the belts for six months before losing them back to Harlem Heat in June.  Their fifth reign would last only a month as they were beaten by the returning Steiner Brothers but three days later they won their belts back.  This reign lasted two months until they were beaten by The Public Enemy who held it for one week before dropping it back to Harlem Heat but they would lose to the NOW team of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.   The loss ended their main run as Stevie Ray was injured and Booker T would become a single and would go after and win the Television Title.  When Stevie Ray returned he joined the New World Order and while the brothers were on opposite sides of the wrestling bubble they coexisted. They reunited in 1999…

It is another sad day in the wrestling word as Dick Beyer AKA “The Destroyer” passed away today.  He was 88 years old.  Beyer had been in hospice care for the last few weeks and he was surrounded by his loved ones. Beginning his career in the mid-1950’s Beyer first rose to prominence in Los Angeles where he defeated Freddie Blassie for the WWA Heavyweight Championship but it was shortly after where he wrestled Rikidozan in Japan and would become one of the first non-Japanese stars in the country. While Beyer would become a bona fide legend in Japan he was still an attraction in the United States.  He would wrestle throughout the nation winning multiple championships, most notably the AWA World Heavyweight Title where he performed as Dr. X. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Dick Beyer at this time.  

A significant retirement has taken place in Professional Football as John Kuhn has announced his retirement.   Undrafted in 2005, Kuhn was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers where he was on their practice roster and he was in a reserve role on the Steelers team that would win Super Bowl XL.  The Fullback would then sign with the Green Bay Packers where he would see more playing time and he would go to three Pro Bowls (2011, 2014 & 2015) while being named a First Team All Pro in 2014.  Kuhn would assist the Packers in winning Super Bowl XLV.  He would finish his last two years in football with the New Orleans Saints and signed a one day contract with Green Bay so that he could retire as a Packer. Kuhn is likely not going to receive any serious consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame (he is eligible in 2023) but any player with two Super Bowls and three Pro Bowls clearly had a good career. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish the best for John Kuhn on his post playing career.

The San Francisco 49ers have announced that Terrell Owens will be the 28thmember of their franchise Hall of Fame. Owens was a third round pick in 1996 from Tennessee-Chattanooga and as a rookie he would catch 35 passes for 520 Yards.  Over the next three seasons, T.O. would move up the ranks and would become the primary receiver with seasons of 936, 1,097 and 754 Yards respectively but in 2000 he would prove himself as an elite wideout with a 1,451 Yard campaign that earned him his first Pro Bowl and First Team All Pro Selection.  He would repeat those honors in 2001 and 2002 but would add another accolade he was the NFL leader in Touchdown Receptions. In his final season with the Niners, Owens would again be named a Pro Bowler. While Owens was certainly a great receiver, he was a controversial player.  He was outspoken and could be divisive in locker rooms.  Still, T.O. was a phenomenal player who is second all time in franchise history in Receptions (592), Receiving Yards (8,572) and Receiving Touchdowns (81).  Owens would later play for Philadelphia, Dallas, Buffalo and Cincinnati and he would be chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Terrell Owens for this latest accomplishment!

It has been reported that former WWE Superstar, King Kong Bundy has passed away today at the age of 61.  The cause of death at this time is unknown. Born Christopher Pallies, Bundy got his start as Chris Canyon in 1981 in the Northeast where he did mostly enhancement work but at his size it was only a matter time before he would catch the eye of a major promotion who would look to book him in a greater role.  Pallies went to Dallas where he would take on the name of “Big Daddy Bundy” a happy go lucky babyface but that would be short lived as he would join Gary Hart’s stable and would take on the name of King Kong Bundy and would feud with the Von Erichs. It was during this stint that he developed the black singlet and the shaved head (which was the result of a stipulation when he lost a match) and he was the chosen opponent for Fritz Von Erich’s retirement match.   Bundy would compete in other promotions most notably the AWA, NWA and Mid-South and in early 1985 he would work some shows for New Japan prior to joining the World Wrestling Federation.  With Jimmy Hart as his manager, Bundy would squash S.D. Jones at the inaugural Wrestlemania in 9 seconds (it was actually 24) and shortly after he was traded to Bobby “The Brain” Heenan where he would join Big John Studd and feud with Andre the Giant.   Bundy would be tagged for the Wrestlemania 2 main event and he would set that up by attacking Hulk Hogan after his defense on Saturday Night’s Event against The Magnificent Muraco. In kayfabe, he would break the champions ribs and Bundy would unsuccessfully challenge Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage.   The big man would slide down the card predominantly feuding with the Machines and at Wrestlemania III he was in a throwaway match where he team with two midget wrestlers but he would be disqualified when he body slammed and dropped the elbow on Little Beaver, one of the opposing little persons.  He would remain in the WWF and the Heenan Family for the rest of the year where he would again challenge Hogan on two straight Saturday Night Main Events. For the next six years he was in semi-retirement and he would do the occasional acting and endorsement work, the most notable of…

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced one of their inductors for the upcoming ceremony on March 29 and that will be members of Duran Duran, Simon LeBon and John Taylor who will be enshrining Roxy Music.   Duran Duran always pushed the video medium and the artistic side of music, which was the textbook of Roxy Music.  In countless interviews the members of Duran Duran (especially LeBon and Taylor) have put Roxy Music on a pedestal and we think this is an excellent choice as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductor. We will certainly be watching!

The WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019 continues to take shape with the announcement today that Torrie Wilson will be inducted into this year’s crop. Wilson was a fitness model who was discovered by WCW and in early 1999 she would begin appearing as an on screen character (named Samantha) and would later appear under her own name in an angle with David Flair.  Over the next two years like so many personnel in World Championship Wrestling she would bounce around from alliance to alliance and following the sale of WCW to the WWE (then named the WWF) she was one of the first former WCW talent to appear on WWE television when she appeared on an episode of Smackdown asking Vince McMahon for work. Like all of the former WCW talent she was a heel and along with Stacy Kiebler would feud with Trish Stratus and Lita.  Wilson was much better served as a face and she would align with Tajiri until the Japanese Buzzsaw would grow jealous of the attention she received.  Late 2002 would see her entire her most high profile feud when she was paired against Dawn Marie who married her father who was later killed during rigorous sex (seriously, that was the storyline).  Wilson would defeat Dawn Marie at the 2003 Royal Rumble, which thankfully ended the feud. Wilson would appear in Playboy in May of 2003 and would manage Billy Gunn.  She would appear at Wrestlemania when her and Sable (who she also had a program with) would defeat Miss Jackie and Stacy Keibler in a Playboy Evening Gown Match.  She would later have programs against Hiroko and Melina before being drafted by Monday Night Raw where she would form a short lived heel stable with Candace Michelle and Victoria.  Wilson was never a great heel and she switched back to being a babyface and was paired with Carlito, which would be the last significant program of her career. Wilson would retire in 2008 but would return sporadically at Wrestlemania 25 for the Women’s Battle Royale, the first Women’s Royal Rumble and was also a participant at the Battle Royale at the recent all female WWE Pay Per View, Evolution. While we are not talking about a woman who was necessarily a great wrestler or a former champion, she was a character who was with the WWE for a long period of time and was very well liked by her…

Keith Flint, the frontman of the influential band Prodigy was found dead inside his home in London today.  Police were doing a welfare check on Flint and it is believed at this time that he took his own life.  He was 49 only years old.   Along with Liam Howlett, Maxim, Leeroy Thornhill and Sharky, Flint formed The Prodigy who formed during the rave scene of the 1990’s.  The underground group broke through to the mainstream in the mid-90’s and they were at the forefront of what would be called the Big Beat sound. They would have two number one hits in the United Kingdom with “Breathe” and Firestarter” and they had two albums reach the top, the latter being 1997’s “The Fat of the Land”, which was successful on an international level. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Keith Flint at his time.

This is a very sad day in the world of sports as it was announced today that Hockey Hall of Famer, Ted Lindsay passed away today at the age of 93. Breaking in with the Detroit Red Wings as a teenager in the 1944-45 season, Lindsay would prove himself as one of the best players in the 1950’s.  From the 1947/48 season to the 1956/57 season he would be chosen for eight First Team All Star and one Second Team All Star accolades and was the Art Ross Trophy winner in 1949/50.  On a line with another legend, Gordie Howe, Lindsay helped the Detroit Red Wings four times (1950, 1952, 1954 & 1955). While Lindsay was an incredible hockey player, his greatest contribution to the game was spearheading the formation of the Players’ Association.  He would become their President in 1966.  He was considered so important that the Player’s Association renamed their version of the Most Valuable Player Award to the Ted Lindsay Award. He would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, the year after he retired as the institution waived the mandatory three year period for eligibility.   We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Ted Lindsay at this time.

The Blues Hall of Fame has announced the Class of 2019 and this is a very powerful group.  The new inductees are: Aretha Franklin:  “The Queen of Soul” was one of the most successful musicians ever and she had 77 songs enter the Billboard Hot 100 with 100 songs reach the R&B Top 100.  Franklin was chosen for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 where she was the first female act inducted. Booker T. and the M.G.’s:  An instrumental group from Memphis, Tennessee, Booker T. and the M.G.’s were one of the first integrated groups in rock and roll history.  This hybrid group of Funk, R&B and Soul and they had a number one hit with “Green Onions” in 1962.  They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Count Basie:  William James “Count” Basie was an accomplished jazz pianist who put together his own orchestra in 1935 and was a leader in the Big Band sound that followed. His hits included “Oh, Lady Be Good”, “One O’Clock Jump”, “Swinging the Blues”, “Lester Leaps In”, “April In Paris” and “Lil’ Darlin’”.   Ida Cox:  Billed as the “Uncrowned Queen of Blues”, Ida Cox was successful in both the vaudeville and blues style of music in the 1920’s. She is best known for her song “Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues”. Moe Asch:  Asch enters in the non-performer category as a recording engine and record executive. Pee Wee Crayton:  A guitarist and singer from Texas, Pee Wee Crayton was successful in the R&B genre in the late 40’s and 1950’s.  He would have a #1 R&B hit in 1948 with “Blues After Hours”. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the latest members of the Blues Hall of Fame.

This one is really interesting to us! In an interview with the New York Post, former Outfielder Kenny Lofton was very blunt about his feelings about why he is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He had this the following to say: “I was expecting to do better. But I’m a realist. I look back at the situation, and at that time, I think what happened for me was I came out on the ballot in the wrong year. There was so many people on the ballot, and so many people who had a potential situation with the performance-enhancing drugs. I felt a lot of voters wanted to keep those guys on the ballot, and that was votes taken away from me…   …I just don’t like it. It pisses me off when they still talk about the guys who did PEDs still have the opportunity to get in. You cheated the game. Look at somebody like Pete Rose not in the Hall of Fame. I’m not saying what Pete Rose did was right, but his numbers that he put up were real numbers. If it’s all about numbers, guys who cheated the game shouldn’t be in. PED guys piss me off. I just get irked every time I hear people talk about it.   You’ve got Fox having a guy who got caught with PEDs doing the World Series. I can’t even watch the World Series now.  That’s sad, you have a game that I love, I played 17 years in it, and you have Major League Baseball allowing a guy that knowingly cheated the game twice, and he’s the face of baseball, doing the World Series. That is not cool. To see somebody who cheated the game blatantly is doing the World Series? Come on, people. You’re basically telling kids nowadays that it’s OK to cheat the game of baseball.” When you take a deep dive into the 2013 ballot, Lofton isn’t wrong.  First off, Lofton entered the ballot the same year as Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.  All three of those players have been accused of PED use and it is widely believed that they did partake in those and substances.  With Clemens and Bonds you have in terms of individual awards and statistics these this is the best pitcher and hitter respectively in their day. Sammy Sosa at one time was also considered a lock.  Clemens would receive 37.6% of the…

One of the current projects that we are working on is updating our Football Futures, which are the former players who are not yet eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One of the people we were going to input was former Dallas Cowboys’ Tight End, Jason Witten.  With today’s news, we are not going to do that anymore.  Witten was on Monday Night Football last year and at the time of his retirement he had been chosen for 11 Pro Bowls and collected 1,152 Receptions with 12,448 Yards.  Witten was also a First Team All Pro twice. He is 37 and is already the all-time leader in Cowboys franchise history in Receptions and Receiving Yards.  In the season he retired (2017) he was named to the Pro Bowl so there is reason to think that he can still produce. Many (including us) consider Jason Witten to be a future Hall of Fame inductee.  The clock just got set back a little.å

Dwight Howard’s career has not been stellar the last few years and as of this writing he is out with an injury after playing only nine games this year.  The big man’s career is clearly on the downswing so talk about whether he is a Hall of Famer or not are not premature.  One person who definitely thinks that Howard should be chosen is his former coach in Orlando, Stan Van Gundy. In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, SVG had this to say: “Absolutely!  It’s not even close.  It would be a travesty and absolutely ridiculous if he didn’t get in.  He was a First Team All-NBA for five years and Defensive Player three years in a row.  Then compare him to guys like Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo.  Come on, Dwight had a lot better career than a lot of centers who are in the Hall of Fame. Dwight has had injury problems since 2012 when he hurt his back here in Orlando, and everybody is looking at him since then but are forgetting what he was up until them, which is the most dominant big men in the NBA for quite some time.  How many guys do you know who made the All-Star team for eight straight years and are not in the Hall of Fame?  We forget who this guy was.” The comparison to Mourning and Mutombo are valid and both of them were Hall of Fame locks. Howard is also a five time rebounding champion an eight time All Star and his career is not over.  While he has suffered damage to his on court reputation after clashes with Kobe Bryant and James Harden and an inability to help Atlanta and Charlotte, Van Gundy’s claim that Howard was at one time the best Center in the National Basketball Association for an extended period of time is accurate.    The story of Dwight Howard isn’t over yet, but it is a Hall of Fame one already.

They have not been very fast in their announcements but we final have a second inductee for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame Class. Wayne Ferris, known professionally as The Honky Tonk Man has been announced for this year’s class. In previous shoot interviews, Ferris stated that he had been asked before to be inducted and if that is true this induction is certainly long overdue.   Beginning his career in 1977, Ferris achieved success as one half of the Blonde Bombers with Larry Latham in Tennessee and the pair would have a still famous match, “The Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl” against Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee.  Ferris would wrestle throughout the South, Puerto Rico and Calgary before the World Wrestling Federation came calling in late 1986. Now known as the Honky Tonk Man, the belief was that Ferris was going to be a big babyface but the Elvis impersonator failed to get over with the crowd and he turned heel following a “vote of confidence” where fans stated that they were not fans of his. Now paired with Jimmy Hart, Honky began a feud with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and would defeat him at Wrestlemania III.  A couple of months later he would shockingly defeat Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat for the Intercontinental Title and he would hold that for fourteen months and to this date is the longest reigning IC Champion in company history.  The Honky Tonk Man would defend his title primarily against former champion Randy “Macho Man” Savage and he would hold the belt until he lost at the inaugural Summer Slam to The Ultimate Warrior in less than a minute. Honky would drop down the card feuding and he would later team up with Greg “The Hammer” Valentine to form Rhythm and Blues.  They would often challenge The Hart Foundation for the WWF World Tag Team Titles but would fall short of winning the belts.  He would leave the company in January of 1991. After this incredible run in the WWF, The Honky Tonk Man would toil in the independents with a brief run in WCW in 1994.  He would sporadic returns to the WWF afterwards and was the inductor for Koko B. Ware when he was chosen for the Hall of Fame in 2009.  We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate The Honky Tonk Man for earning this honor.

It was announced today that Peter Tork, former member of the Monkees passed away today at the age of 77. Tork auditioned for and got the role as one of the musicians for the Don Kischner network program, The Monkees in 1966.  While Tork and the other members of the group (Davy Jones, Micheael Nesmith and Mickey Dolenz) were musicians in their first two albums they did not write or play any of the music, which at the time made them a very polarizing band as in terms of pop songs of the era few had any better, however they were also not viewed as legitimate by others. The group would eventually tour and prove their musical acumen and Tork was able to show off that ability with his ability to play multiple instruments and he would later write songs and produce.  Sadly for Tork and the rest of the Monkees when their show ended their fame soon followed and no member of the band would be able to shed their musical past, at least when they tried to perform anyway.   The group (sans Nesmith) would reunite and their legacy of being a fun band reemerged and many of their hits are still well known today.   We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Peter Tork.

The Hall of Fame season continues as the WWE Hall of Fame has announced that the collective group of D-Generation X will be inducted at this year’s ceremony.  This includes Shawn Michaels, Triple H, X-Pac, The Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and Chyna. For Shawn Michaels, this is his second induction joining “Nature Boy” Ric Flair as the WWE Hall of Fame.  Shortly after DX was formed Michaels formed the group with Triple H and Chyna and he would win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at the controversial 1997 Survivor Series.  Michaels and Triple H reformed DX in the late 2000’s. The formation of DX vaulted Triple H to the main event and following Michaels’ sabbatical for four years due to injury he would take over the group.  Currently the COO, it is likely that Triple H might feel a little uncomfortable going in as a solo act but he is multi-time WWE Champion and Wrestlemania main eventer and he certainly belongs regardless of his position in the WWE.  He was ranked #4 on our latest list. The New Age Outlaws formed in 1997 and would join D-Generation X after Wrestlemania XIV and would be multi-time tag team champions.  They provided necessary depth to the group and were the most over tag team in the late 1990’s. Currently, The Road Dogg works as a producer for the WWE and Gunn is with AEW as an agent.  We had them ranked as a pair at #48.   X-Pac also joined DX the night after Wrestlemania XIV.  Previously wrestling in the WWF as the 123 Kid, Sean Waltman competed as Syxx in WCW but was fired from the company primarily due to injuries.  It would prove to be a bad move by WCW as X-Pac would have the best run of his career as a member of DX.  He was ranked #75 on our latest list. Garnering most of the attention of this announcement is the induction of Chyna. It was well known that she was pining for an induction before her death and in previous interviews Triple H stated that she was not inducted due to her history in porn.  By putting her in with the group it does take a little of the luster off if it but this is a deserving candidate regardless of how you look at it.  She was ranked #64 on our list. This group will remove five people off our Notinhalloffame.com list, which will be updated after Wrestlemania. We here…

As is tradition every NBA All Star Weekend, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces the Finalists for their impending Hall of Fame Class. The Finalists are: Hugh Evans (Referee):  Evans officiated nearly 2,000 regular season games and 170 playoff games in the NBA from 1972 to 2001. Bill Fitch (Coach):  Fitch coached in the NBA for 25 seasons and he was named the Coach of the Year in 1976 and 1980.  In 1981, he would take the Boston Celtics to the NBA Championship.   Marques Johnson (Player):  A five time All Star and First Team All NBA Selection in 1979, Marques Johnson was a champion at UCLA in 1975 and was named the National College Player of the Year in 1977.  He is ranked #29on Notinhalloffame.com. Bobby Jones (Player):  Jones was named an All Defensive First Team player eight times (1977 to 1984) and was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers 1983 Championship Team.  Collegiately, Jones took the University of North Carolina to a Final Four in 1972.  He is ranked #14on Notinhalloffame.com.  Sidney Moncrief (Player):A five time All Star (1982 to 1986), Sidney Moncrief was a two time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1983 & 1984) was also an All-American at the University of Arkansas.  He is ranked #2 on Notinhalloffame.com. Jack Sikma (Player):Sikma was chosen for seven straight All Star Games (1979 to 1985) and would help the Seattle SuperSonics win the NBA Championship in 1979.  He is ranked #3on Notinhalloffame.com.  Eddie Sutton (Coach):Sutton is a four time National Coach of the Year (1977, 1978, 1986 & 1995) and he made history as the first coach to take four different schools to the National Tournament.  At present he is seventh all time in wins in the NCAA. Ben Wallace (Player):  Wallace is a four time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2002, 2003, 2005 & 2006) and a four time All Star (2003-06) would help the Detroit Pistons shock the world when they won the NBA Championship in 2004.  He is ranked #4on Notinhalloffame.com Chris Webber (Player):  The leader of Michigan’s “Fab Five” would become a five time All Star (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 & 2003) and a two time First Team All-NBA Selection.  He is ranked #1 on Notinhalloffame.com. Paul Westphal (Player):  Westphal would help the Boston Celtics win the NBA Championship in 1974 and would later be chosen for five NBA All Star Games (1977-81) and earned three First Team All NBA Selections (1977, 1979 & 1980).  He is ranked #15 on Notinhalloffame.com. The Women’s Committee Finalists are: Leta Andrews (Coach):  Andrews coached…

Sad news emerged from the world of Pro Wrestling as former Heavyweight Champion, Pedro Morales passed away today at the age of 76. From Puerto Rico, Morales began wrestling in 1959 at the age of 17 and went right to work performing on the midcard all across the country.  He would first emerge on the main event scene in Los Angeles for the WWA where he would win the promotion’s Heavyweight Championship by defeating The Destroyer in 1965.  L.A. would be his main base of operations for the next few years where he would be a multi-time tag team champion and would also venture north to San Francisco where he and Pepper Gomez would be the tag team champions there.  After California, Morales ventured further west to Hawaii where he would stay for two years winning their Heavyweight Championship twice while also winning the tag titles on multiple occasions, but it was his next move, which would be where he would become most famous. Morales joined the WWWF in 1970 and early in 1971 he would defeat Freddie Blassie in a tournament final to win their version of the United States Title.  The reigning World Heavyweight Champion, Bruno Sammartino was getting tired and he needed a break and requested time off and he would lose the championship to Ivan Koloff, who was meant to be an interim champion as McMahon saw money in Morales who drew the fervent Puerto Rican fanbase of New York City and he would defeat Koloff to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion that year.   While Morales title reign did not eclipse Bruno’s both in popularity and tenure, the 1,027 days at the top of the WWWF cemented him as a huge name not just among the Latino community but the wrestling one at large.  Morales would top the title to Stan Stasiak in 1973 so that Bruno could reclaim it nine days later and the Puerto Rican would stay in the WWWF for a couple more years before departing. In the next five years Morales would travel across the country starring in San Francisco, the AWA, Championship Wrestling from Florida and in New Japan.  He would win titles everywhere where he was often at the top of the card but in 1980 he would return the WWF where he was positioned as the number two face in the company.  He would team with Bob Backlund at the Shea Stadium Show…

We have a major update on Notinhalloffame.com as our annual list of those to consider for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The first thing we did was remove the artists who were chosen for the Hall in the latest class. That group consisted of Radiohead (#1), Roxy Music (#5), The Cure (#11), Janet Jackson (#18), Def Leppard (#41), The Zombies (#85) and Stevie Nicks (#122). The second thing we did is input the new artists who are eligible.  As they were already listed on our site on the Future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame eligible section, we took your existing votes and comments into consideration. That segues perfectly into the third thing that we did, which was to look at the votes and comments that you made on the existing entrants on the list.  This matters to us and we adjusted accordingly. As such, we are proud to present our new Top 10: For the fourth time Kraftwerk returns to the #1 spot.  They have been nominated five times including last year.  They were ranked #2 last year and have never been lower than #3 since we started this website. Oasis makes their debut at #2 making them the highest new artist on our list.  The British group are certainly Hall of Fame worthy however it is unlikely that the Gallagher brothers will show up should they be chosen. Jethro Tull returns at #3.  To date, they have yet to be nominated for the Rock Hall despite being eligible since 1993. The Smiths also hold steady at their same position at #4.  The Smiths have been nominated in 2015 and 2016 and have been eligible since 2008. MC5 moved up one spot from #6 to #5.  The proto-punk group have been eligible since 1991 and have been nominated four times and the last three years. The highest hip-hop act is now the Notorious B.I.G. who debuts at #6.  Like Oasis, there is an excellent chance that he could enter on his first year of eligibility. Gram Parsons hold his position at #7.  Parsons has been eligible since 1992 and he has been nominated three times the last occurring in 2005. Willie Nelson also remains with the same rank at #8.  Nelson has been eligible since 1986 and has never been nominated. Judas Priest climbed one rung from #10 to #9.  The Heavy Metal outfit from the United Kingdom have been eligible since 1999 and were nominated once in 2018. New…

It is another big day for us at Notinhalloffame.com! Regular visitors know that we also operate the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame and the Fictitious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the latter of which has been overhauled.  That necessitated a delay in announcing the newest members of the Fictitious Rock and Roll Hall, which we are proud to announce are Alvin & the Chipmunks and the Wonders.   This group joins previous inductees Wyld Stallyns, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, Gorillaz, Tenacious D, Spinal Tap, The Blues Brothers and The Monkees. Like in previous years, the opening round began with over 500 Fictional Musicians which was reduced to 15 Finalists and then the two new inductees.  All voting is done online by the public. The brainchild of Ross Bagdasarain Sr, Alvin & The Chipmunks was created in the late 1950’s who simply created the high pitched rodents by speeding the playback of his own voice. He gave his creation the name of Alvin & the Chipmunks, which would net him Grammy Awards for Engineering and two number one songs. Bagdasarian Sr. adopted the more Caucasian sounding name of David Seville, who on the albums would use his own voice and would become the de facto caretaker of the Chipmunks who were now named Alvin, Simon and Theodore.  Incidentally, their first hit, “The Witch Doctor” did not actually feature the Chipmunks, rather the main voice was that of Seville and the sped up part was the catchy “Oo-ee, oo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla-walla, bing bang” that would later be adopted by the Chipmunks. You would think that this would be a one-hit wonder but it wasn’t.  Seville created a while album around the Chipmunks and he would give them personas of the precocious Alvin, bespectacled intellect Simon and the cheery and rotund Theodore were alive and well in anthropomorphic form. The album gave the world one of the most successful Christmas songs ever (aptly named, the Christmas Song). Tom This threesome would star in television shows and later films and without question this is the most successful fictional acts in history Alvin & Chipmunks are joined by the Wonders from the 1996 Tom Hanks film, That Thing You Do! Set in the early 60’s, The Wonders would become a one hit wonder (with the song title of the film’s name) and we would see their rise and fall over an innocent and fun flick.  The Wonders were comprised of drummer…

It is a tragic day in the world of Major League Baseball as Hall of Fame legend Frank Robinson passed away today at the age of 83. Robinson would debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1956 where he was named the National League Rookie of the Year and was the league leader in Runs Scored.  Robinson could do it all, hit for average, power and was good with his glove.  In his ten seasons with the Reds, Robinson would lead the NL in Slugging three times, was a six time All Star and was the 1961 National League MVP. He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles where in his first season there (1966) he would blast a career high 49 Home Runs and would sweep the Slash Line and win the American League MVP making him the first player to win the MVP in both the NL and AL. He would also take the Orioles to their first World Series win since the relocation from St. Louis.  Robinson would again take the Orioles to a World Series win in 1970.  He would finish his playing career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels and Cleveland Indians.  He would finish with 2,943 Hits and 586 Home Runs. In 1975, while he was still playing for the Indians, he would become the first African-American Manager.  Robinson would later manage the San Francisco Giants (1981-84), Baltimore Orioles (1988-89) and Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (2002-06).    He would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 on his first year of eligibility.  The Indians, Reds and Orioles have all retired his #20 and all three franchises have a bronze statue erected in his honor at their respective stadiums. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Frank Robinson.

The Hall of Fame season continues with today’s announcement by the International Hockey Hall of Fame of its new eight member class. The new members are: Boris Alexandrov, The Soviet Union & Kazakhstan:  Alexandrov was a Gold Medalist for the U.S.S.R. in 1974 in the World Juniors and again in the 1976 Olympics.  He would come out of retirement and represent Kazakhstan in the 1995 World Championship Division II.   Jim Johannson, U.S.A.:  Johannson won the Lester Patrick Award for his contributions to hockey in the U.S. in 2018 and he began his tenure with U.S. Hockey in 2000.  Sadly he passed away last year. Jorgen Jonsson, Sweden:  Jonsson played the majority of his professional career in his native Sweden and he has a plethora of medals for his international accomplishments.  With Sweden, Jonsson won two Gold Medals in the Olympics (1994 & 2006) and two World Hockey Championship Gold Medals (1998 & 2006).  He also won three Silvers and (1997, 2003 & 2004) and four Bronze Medals at the Worlds (1994, 1999, 2001 & 2002). Konstantin Mikhaylov, Bulgaria:  Mikhaylov played in net for the Bulgarian National Team in 28 World Hockey Championships. Mike Modano, U.S.A.:  Modano entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014 and would score 1,374 Points over his NHL career.  Representing the United States, Modano was a three time Olympian (winning a Silver Medal in 2002) and a two time World Cup participant where he would take the Americans to a win in the 1996 Tournament.  He is also a Silver Medalist at the 1991 Canada Cup and he would be in the World Hockey Championship three times.  He had 41 Points over 57 Games played for Team U.S.A. on the Senior Level. Zigmund Palffy, Czechoslovakia & Slovakia:  Palffy won a Bronze Medal at the World Junior Championships in 1991 for Czechoslovakia and would also represent them in that year’s Canada Cup.  Later representing Slovakia he would represent the new country in three Olympics (1994, 2002 & 2010), the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and was a 2002 World Hockey Champion for his country. Miroslav Satan, Slovakia:  As a Senior, Satan suited up for the Slovakian National Team 110 times recording 86 Points.  Satan represented Slovakia in four Olympic Games, the World Cup of Hockey twice but his best work was in the World Hockey Championship where he began in Pool C in 1994 and took them as their Team Captain in 2000 to a Silver Medal.  Satan would later win a Gold (2002),…

It certainly is Hall of Fame season isn’t it? The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2019 which consists of two former players (Jason Bay and Ryan Dempster), a coach (Rob Thomson) and an Executive (Gord Ash). From Trail, British Columbia, Jason Bay was the 2004 National League Rookie of the Year as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Bay would be an All Star the next two seasons and would go his third one as a member of the Boston Red Sox.  Over an 11 year career in Major League Baseball, he would hit 222 Home Runs with 1,200 Hits and he would win the Tip O’Neill Award three times as Canada’s top player. Ryan Dempster is also from B.C., specifically from the town of Sechelt.  Dempster pitched in 579 Games where he went 132-133 with 2,075 Strikeouts and 87 Saves. Dempster was an All Star twice (2000 with the Florida Marlins and 2008 with the Chicago Cubs) and he would help the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 2013. Rob Thomson never made it to the Majors as a player but he worked his way through the New York Yankees system as a coach and in 2006 he would become New York’s First Base Coach. He is currently the Bench Coach for the Philadelphia Phillies. Gord Ash was the Assistant General Manager for the Toronto Blue Jays back-to-back World Series wins in 1992 & 1993 and would later be the team’s General Manager for seven years. The ceremony will take place on June 15. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. 

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the members of their latest class, which consists of four former players and three contributors. Beth Bass:  Bass was the CEO of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association from 2001 to 2014. Carolyn Bush Roddy:  A two time AAU Champion with the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens in 1974 and 1975, Carolyn Bush Roddy was the leading scorer and rebounder for that team in both of those years.   Joan Cronan:  Cronan was the woman’s athletic director at the University of Tennessee for 29 years and during that time the Lady Vols became powerhouses in college basketball. Nora Lynn Finch:  Finch was a former coach who would serve on multiple committees in women’s basketball.   Ticha Penicheiro:  From Portugal, Ticha Penicheiro took Old Dominion to the 1997 NCAA Finals and professionally she would become the WNBA Rookie of the Year.  The Point Guard would spend 12 of her 15 years in the WNBA with the Sacramento Monarchs where she was a seven time Assists leader and would take the team to the WNBA Finals in 2005 where she would help them win the title.  Individually she was chosen for four WNBA All Star Teams and two First Team All-WNBA squads.  When she wasn’t playing in the WNBA she played in multiple European Leagues where she was a multi-time champion including the Polish National League (Lotos Gdynia 2001), Italian Cup (Basket Parma 2002), French National League (Valenciennes 2005), Russian National League (Spartak Moscow 2007), Latvian National League (TTT Riga 2008), Czech National League (USK Praha 2011) and the Turkish Cup (Galatasaray 2012).  Sounds like a winner to us!   Ruth Riley:  In 2001 Riley had an incredible college year where she took Notre Dame to the NCAA Championship while also winning the Naismith Player of the Year and Final Four MOP. She would play professionally in the WNBA where she led the Detroit Shock to two WNBA Championships in 2003 and 2006, the former of which saw her win the WNBA Finals MVP.   Valerie Still:  Still played for the Kentucky Wildcats and she is still the all-time leader in Points and Rebounds.  She would win two championships in the ABL with the Columbus Quest. The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame opened in 1999 and is in Knoxville, Tennessee.   We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate this year’s class.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the Miami Heat have announced that they are retiring the number 1 of Chris Bosh on March 26 when they host the Orlando Magic. Bosh joined the Miami Heat after the 2009-10 season where he joined Dwayne Wade and fellow Free Agent, LeBron James to make a superteam. Bosh was named an All Star and helped the Heat reach the NBA Finals where they would go down to defeat against the Dallas Mavericks.  He would however help the Heat reach the Finals the next season and this time they would win by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The Heat would win again in 2013 with a win over the San Antonio Spurs though they would lose to San Antonio the following year in the Finals.  James would rejoin Cleveland, but Bosh remained at an All Star level and he was named one in all six of his seasons with Miami.  He played for them last in the 2015-16 where his year was shortened when he suffered blood clot issues where and he would never play again. Overall as a member of the Miami Heat, Bosh played 384 Regular Season Games with an 18.0 Points per Game Average.  Bosh becomes the fourth person to have his number retired following Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Chris Bosh for earning this honor.

This has always been one of our favorite days at Notinhalloffame.com as while we prepare for the Super Bowl the Pro Football Hall of Fame also decides the next Hall of Fame Class.  It is a class dedicated to the defensive side of the ball, mostly the secondary, which has traditionally been overlooked by Canton. The Class of 2019 is: Champ Bailey:  Bailey gets in on his first year of eligibility and was a twelve time Pro Bowl Selection.  Bailey played for the Washington Redskins from 1999 to 2003 and was with the Denver Broncos from 2004 to 2013.  The three time Frist Team All Pro would lead the NFL in Interceptions in 2006 and he would tally 52 in total. Pat Bowlen:  Bowlen purchased the Denver Broncos in 1984 and he would serve as the team’s CEO until 2014 when he stepped down due to the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease. Under Bowlen’s leadership, the Broncos became a power in the American Football Conference winning the AFC Championship seven times and the Super Bowl three times. Gil Brandt:  Brandt is credited with revolutionizing scouting and he served as an Executive for the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, the latter of which he helped to create an empire. Ed Reed:  Reed enters on his first ballot and he joins fellow Ravens teammates, Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  A nine time Pro Bowler, Reed was a former Defensive Player of the Year. Tony Gonzalez:  Easily the most productive Tight End of all-time, Tony Gonzalez enjoyed a 17 year career where his 1,325 Receptions and 15,127 Receiving Yards are by far the most of any NFL player at his position.  Now a successful broadcaster, Gonzalez was a 14 time Pro Bowl and 6 time First Team All Pro. Ty Law:  A vital part of the New England Patriots’ success, Ty Law was a two time Interception leader, three time Super Bowl Champion and five time Pro Bowl Selection. Kevin Mawae:  An Offensive Lineman for the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, Mawae went to eight Pro Bowls and was chosen for seven First Team All Pro honors. Johnny Robinson:  Robinson was this year’s Senior Candidate and he brought a resume where he was a three time AFL Champion with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs and was a First Team All AFL Selection five times and First Team All Pro once.  Robinson recorded 57 Interceptions…

As we eagerly await tomorrow’s announcement of who will be chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame we have a possible first ballot Hall of Famer in Julius Peppers, Defensive End from Carolina who announced his retirement today. A star at the University of North Carolina, Peppers was a unanimous All-American and was the Chuck Bednarik and Lombardi Award winner in 2001. Drafted second overall by the Panthers in 2002, Peppers wasted no time establishing himself as one of the premier stars of the game.  He would win the Defensive Rookie of the Year with a 12 Sack season and in 2004 he would go to his first of what would be nine Pro Bowl selections, and in that year, he was also named a First Team All Pro.  Peppers remained a sacking machine where he would be named a First Team All Pro again in 2006 and in his first eight seasons in Carolina he had double digit sack tallies in six of those campaigns, Peppers would sign with the Chicago Bears where he would play for four seasons.  The Defensive End was named a First Team All Pro in his first year there (2010) with three of his seasons earning him Pro Bowl accolades.  He would play his final five seasons in Green Bay and a final run back home with the Carolina Panthers. Julius Peppers retires with 266 Games Played and 159.5 Quarterback Sacks.  He will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2024. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank Julius Peppers for is wonderful career and we wish him the best in his post-playing endeavors.

The St. Louis Cardinals have announced that their franchise Hall of Fame will have six nominees that can be voted on by the public beginning on March 1, which will commence on April 12.  You can vote for those candidates here and they are: Keith Hernandez 1974-83:  The co-MVP in 1979, Keith Hernandez would win the National League Batting Title that year and was the top finished in On Base Percentage the season after.  Hernandez was a six time Gold Glove winner with St. Louis and he batted .299 with 1,217 Hits and 81 Home Runs for the team.  He would help them win the World Series in 1982. Jason Isringhausen 2002-08:  Isringhausen is the all-time franchise leader (217) in Saves for the St. Louis Cardinals and he was the league leader in that category in 2004.  He would represent St. Louis in the 2005 All Star Game. Matt Morris 1997-2005:  Morris would lead the NL in Wins with 22 in 2001where he was an All Star and second runner-up for the Cy Young.  He would be named an All Star again in 2002 and he had a record of 101-62 for the Cards. Edgar Renteria 1999-2004:  A three time All Star with the Cardinals, Edgar Renteria also was chosen for three Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers while he played there.  He would bat .290 with 973 Hits with 71 Home Runs and 148 Stolen Bases. Scott Rolen 2002-07:  Rolen would help the Redbirds win the 2006 World Series and he was a four time All Star and three time Gold Glove winner for the team.  Rolen finished fourth in National League MVP voting in 2004 and he collected 678 Hits with 111 Home Runs and a .286 Batting Average. John Tudor 1985-88:  Tudor had a stellar 62-26 record with the Cardinals with a 2.52 ERA and 1.080 WHIP. In 1985, his first season with St. Louis he was the runner-up for the Cy Young and would lead the NL in WHIP. The announcement of the two winners will be made on April 26 and they will be joined from a player chosen from the Veterans Committee.  The induction of the new class will take place on August 24.

Leading up to Saturday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame vote, we have some developments that we think are very interesting and definitely noteworthy. Both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have penned letters to the Selection Committee extolling the virtues of Ty Law and Richard Seymour, both former New England Patriots who are among the Finalists this year. Brady’s letter regarding Ty Law can be found here. Belichick’s letter regarding Richard Seymour can be found here. In an ESPN article, Hall of Fame Running Back Curtis Martin endorses former New York Jet teammate, Kevin Mawae for a spot in Canton. Ed Reed stated in an interview with Bleacher Report that he would rather see the other Safety on the ballot, Steve Atwater get in than himself We are only 48 hours from finding out who will comprise the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019 and we can’t wait to find out!

As most of the regular visitors to Notinhalloffame.com are aware we are (very) slowly putting together our top 50 players of every franchise in the “Big 4” of North American sports.  After that is completed we will take a look at how each organization honors their past players and executives.   As such, it is very newsworthy to us that the Houston Astros have announced during their FanFest that their physical Hall of Fame will open in Home Run Alley at the start of the 2019 season.  The Astros, who have been around for 57 seasons and won their first World Series in 2017.  The first Hall of Fame Class will comprise of 16 members and they will be officially inducted on the weekend of Aug 2-4.  All of the members of the new class will be introduced in a pregame ceremony on August 3, prior to their home game against the Seattle Mariners. The inaugural Houston Astros Hall of Fame Class consists of: Bob Aspromonte (1962-67):  Known affectionately in Houston as “Aspro”, Aspromante was taken third overall in the Expansion Draft and was an original Colt 45. With the distinction of being the first ever batter in franchise history, he would also record the first Hit and Stolen Base for the team.  A member of the Colt .45’s/Astros for seven seasons, Aspromante was the team’s starting Third Baseman and recorded 925 Hits and would twice lead all National League Third Basemen in Fielding Percentage.   Jeff Bagwell (1991-2005):  The Rookie of the Year in 1991, Jeff Bagwell played his entire career with Houston where he would be named to four All Star Games and was named the National League MVP in 1994.  A three time Silver Slugger, the First Baseman crushed 449 Home Runs with 1,401 RBIs and a Slash Line of .297/.408/.540. Bagwell entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017 and became the second person to enter as an Astro. Craig Biggio (1988-2007):  Craig Biggio made history in many ways for the Houston Astros as he was the first (and only) player to collect 3,000 Hits for the team and in 2015 was the first man to wear a Astros cap in the Hall of Fame. An All Star seven times, Biggio had power (291 Home Runs), speed (414 Stolen Bases) and excellent defensive versatility as he played Catcher, Second Base and Outfield for the team.  He was also a four time Gold Glove recipient.   Jose Cruz (1975-87):  Cruz played 13 seasons for…

It looks like Roy Halladay’s plaque won’t be the only one created this year that won’t have a logo on it as the Baseball Hall of Fame has announced that after discussions with Mike Mussina that he too will go with a blank cap. Mussina was asked this question three days ago when he was elected and he announced that he had not yet decided.  In 10 seasons as a Baltimore Oriole, Mussina went 147-81 with 1,535 Strikeouts and a bWAR of 47.8.  He was almost as good as a New York Yankee where in 8 seasons went 123-72 with 1,278 Strikeouts with a 35.2 bWAR. Regardless of what hat he has on his plaque we are happy that Mike Mussina is in!

It was announced today that the ballcap on the plaque of Roy Halladay will not emblazon either that of the Toronto Blue Jays or Philadelphia Phillies.  Halladay’s widow Brandy had this to say about the decision: "We decided. We talked about it.  There's no way to decide between the two teams, and I know we've spent the majority of our time in Toronto. Toronto gave us that chance, that base at the start, but Philly also gave us a chance to win and the passion that we wanted, and there's no way to choose and so we decided that he'll go in with no team." This decision is not without precedence as Catfish Hunter and Greg Maddux also entered the Hall with a logo.  Other news from the press conference is Mike Mussina has not decided whether to go in as a New York Yankee or Baltimore Oriole.

The day after the Baseball Hall of Fame, or really any Hall for that matter the natural conversation comes to those who will be eligible soon.  Alex Rodriquez will be eligible for Cooperstown in 2022 and he was asked by ESPN’s First Take about Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who both saw their tally creep towards 60% on their seventh year of eligibility. A-Rod had this to say: "Look, I pray every day I get a chance to get in. The Hall of Fame is the ultimate place. If you think about Roger and Barry specifically ... if you stopped their career at the age of 33 or 34, they were both first ballot and then the noise [about PEDs] started. For me, it's just a shame. I am certainly cheering for both of them. I like them both very much. They're both friends, and I'm in their corner. I've taken the approach that I think talking about it is best…I've made my mistakes, I've paid huge penalties. I would love to get in [to the Hall of Fame], but I understand that I made my own bed. So if I don't make it to the Hall of Fame, I can live with that. I will be bummed, it would suck and I can't believe that I put myself in this situation. But if that happens, I have no one to blame but myself.” Rodriguez certainly has the Hall of Fame numbers.  This is a 3 time MVP, 10 time Silver Slugger 14 time All Star who gas 2,1155 career Hits with 696 Home Runs.  Where we disagree with Rodriguez however is his perceived association with Clemens and Bonds. Those two were linked with PEDs before Major League Baseball and the Players Union had agreed on how to handle that issue.  Bonds and Clemens were ever suspended.  Rodriguez was. In our eyes, A-Rod is in the same category as Manny Ramirez who was popped for PEDs after the agreement was made, though one major difference is that Rodriguez is back in Baseball as part of Fox Sports and Ramirez does not enjoy the same level of post playing exposure. As always we here at Notinhalloffame.com will be paying attention.

We love this day! Regular visitors to Notinhalloffame.com know how much we consider the announcement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class to be our Christmas.  If that is the case, then the announcement of the Baseball Hall of Fame Class is like our Birthday. Let’s get right into the votes! As expected, Mariano Rivera enters the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility.  Rivera is without question the greatest Relief Pitcher in the history of Baseball and he retired with 652 Saves, the all-time record.  A thirteen time All Star who spent his entire career with the New York Yankees, Rivera had a career ERA of 2.21 and WHIP of 1.000, which is outstanding but his post season numbers were even better with an ERA of 0.70 and WHIP of 0.759 over 96 Games including five World Series Rings and a World Series MVP.  Even more impressive is that Rivera made history as the first man to receive a unanimous vote, a great sign that the voters are no longer sending in blank votes in protests. Roy Halladay also enters the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility with 85.4%.  Halladay is one of the few Pitchers to win a Cy Young in both leagues (2003 with Toronto and 2010 with Philadelphia) and he was the runner-up for the award twice. He retired with a record of 203 and 105 with 2,117 Strikeouts.  Sadly, this induction will be posthumous as he died when he crashed his plane in the Gulf of Mexico in 2017. Edgar Martinez gets in on his 10thand final try after receiving 85.4% up from 70.4%.  The career Seattle Mariner is considered to be the first Designated Hitter voted in (unless you count Frank Thomas and remember Harold Baines was not voted in by the writers). Martinez retired with a .312 Batting Average with 309 Home Runs.  Mike Mussina.  Mike Mussina makes in on his 6thtry finishing with 76.7% up from 63.5% from last year.  Mussina had a record of 270 and 153 with five All Star Game appearances.  We have been open in our belief that Mussina’s induction is long overdue. Curt Schilling is also on his seventh year of eligibility.  Unlike Bonds and Clemens, his obstacle to the Hall has been his himself as he has been openly critical of writers and media alike.  On the field, Schilling does have a Hall of Fame resume, which showcases 216 Wins and three World Series Rings where…

The Canadian Music Hall of Fame has announced that Corey Hart will become the 52ndmember into their Hall of Fame. The Montreal born singer burst onto the scene with his hit “Sunglasses at Night” in 1984, which was a hit in both Canada and the United States.  While today that song might be the most enduring song of Hart’s career it was not actually his biggest in terms of chart success.  In 1985, he would release his sophomore album, “Boy in the Box”, which yielded his first #1 hit in Canada, “Never Surrender”, which peaked at #3 in the United States and would be his biggest hit there. Hart would have two more #1 songs in Canada “Everything in My Heart” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”.  Overall he had six more top ten hits in Canada and was a Juno Award winner for the Best Single in 1985 with “Never Surrender”.   Hart will be officially inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame on March 17 at the Juno Awards in London, Ontario. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Corey Hart for earning this prestigious honor.

Yes, this is taking a while! As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Philadelphia Phillies, two time World Series Champions (1980 & 2008). As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:  Advanced Statistics. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League. Playoff accomplishments. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet. Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories. This list is updated up until the end of the 2016-17 Season. The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are: Mike Schmidt Robin Roberts Steve Carlton Pete Alexander Ed Delahanty We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists. As always we thank you for your support.

As we are deep into the NFL Playoffs a member of the most successful post season team of all time died today as former Miami Dolphin, Bob Kuechenberg passed away today at age 71.   A Dolphin for all fourteen of his NFL seasons, Kuechenberg played 196 Games, starting 176 of them predominantly at Left Guard.  Kuechenberg was a member of the Dolphin’s perfect 1972 14-0 Super Bowl VII team and he would help them repeat as champions in Super Bowl VIII.  He would be chosen for six Pro Bowls and two First Team All Pros.   He is ranked #43 on our Notinhalloffame.com Football List as those worthy of consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Bob Kuechenberg at this time. 

The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2019 today and let’s get right into the new members: Dallas Austin.  Austin has written many major hits for acts like Boyz II Men (Motownphilly), TLC (Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg) and Madonna (Secret).   Missy Elliott.  Elliott makes history as the first female rapper to enter the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She has five top ten hits. Tom T. Hall.  Hall wrote twelve country music number ones and one crossover number one with “Harper Valley P.T.A.” John Prine.  Prine was a surprise nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this past year and has been active as a performer since the early 1970’s.  Prine’s hybrid of folk and country has been widely acclaimed and he is considered among the best songwriters amongst his peers. Cat Stevens.  Now known as Yusuf Islam, Stevens was a very successful singer/songwriter in the 1970’s. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Jack Tempchin.  Tempchin wrote songs for the Eagles and later Glenn Frey during his solo career. This group of inductees will be officially inducted on June 13 at the Marquis Hotel in New York City. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the new members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

We have a sudden retirement to talk about as Rick Nash has retired from professional hockey. In a statement from his agent the retirement stemmed from “unresolved issues from the concussion sustained last March”.  That was one of many concussions that Nash sustained over his career. A six time All Star, Nash was the first overall pick in 2002 by the Columbus Blue Jackets and in his second season he would win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Award as the leading goal scorer in the National Hockey League.  Nash played for Columbus for nine seasons and after his rookie season he never had less than 54 Points in a season and he was a 30 Goal scorer seven times.   He would be traded to the New York Rangers but he was not as consistent a player but he did have a 69 Point season in 2014-15.  He would finish his professional career last season with Boston.  Nash would score 805 Points over his career and Internationally he was a two time Olympic Gold Medalist for Canada (2010 & 2014) and a World Hockey Championship Gold Medalist once in 2007.   Nash will be eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2021 but is likely a fringe candidate. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Rick Nash on having a wonderful career and we wish him the best in his post playing career.

Last year we speculated that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame did not induct Radiohead on their first year of eligibility due to the band stating that they would not attend due the ceremony (if chosen) due to having a prior commitment (a concert in South America).  The band had been quiet leading up to the announcement of the Class of 2019 in regards to whether they would attend if inducted this year, but we now know that at least one member will not be attending. In an interview with Variety, Radiohead frontman said that he personally would not be at the ceremony due to a scheduling conflict: “I know I can’t, because of these piano pieces that I’ve written”  That may seem like a lame excuse but Yorke wrote a piano piece of Katia and Marielle Lebeque of the Paris Philharmonic.  The premier is the same day of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony.  Yorke continued on in regards to his opinion of the Rock and Roll Hall itself. “We’ve always been very blasé about that stuff. We just think that we just don’t quite understand it. We’ve had it explained to us, so it’s cool.  But we don’t really understand it as English people. I think our problem is essentially that every awards ceremony in the U.K. stinks. We grew up with the Brits, which is like this sort of drunken car crash that you don’t want to get involved with. So, yeah, we don’t really know what to make of it.” This does not mean that other members of Radiohead won’t be in attendance although previous comments from the band indicate that they likely won’t attend. Notably, Yorke did say that he would attend the Oscars if nominated.  His song, “Suspirium” from the film “Suspiria” has been shortlisted for the Best Original Song category. Ah, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame controversy…please never change!

It is another big day in the Hall of Fame word as the College Football Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2019. The Class of 2019 are: Terrell Buckley: Florida State (1989-91) Linebacker: Buckley left the Seminoles as their all-time leader in Interceptions (21) and Interception Return Yards (501), the latter of which is the best all-time in the NCAA.  Buckley would also win the Jim Thorpe Award in his final year at Florida State. Rickey Dixon: Oklahoma (1984-87) Defensive Back:  Dixon played in four straight Orange Bowls (1985-88) and was a member of the Sooners’ National Championship Team of 1985.  He won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1987 and he had 17 Interceptions over his career at Oklahoma. Dennis Erickson: Idaho (1982-85 & 2006), Wyoming (1986), Washington State (1987-88), Miami (1989-94), Oregon State (1999-2002), Arizona State (2007-11) Head Coach: Erickson has a career record of 179-96-1 and he would win two National Championships with the Miami Hurricanes (1989 & 1991).  He was also a three time Pac-10 and three time Big East Coach of the Year.  London Fletcher:  John Carroll (1995-97) Defensive Back:  Fletcher would be named the Division III Linebacker of the Year in 1997. Jacob Green: Texas A&M (1977-79) Defensive Lineman:  In his final season with the Aggies, Green was an All-American that recorded 134 Tackles and 20 Sacks.  He would net 37 Sacks overall at Texas A&M. Raghib “Rocket” Ismail: Notre Dame (1988-1990) Wide Receiver:  The Rocket did it all on offense in his three seasons at Notre Dame as a Running Back, Wide Receiver and Returner.  An All-American in 1990 and National Champion in 1988 the “Rocket” had 4,187 All-Purpose Yards and was the runner up for the Heisman in 1990. Torry Holt: North Carolina State (1995-98) Wide Receiver:  Holt would have 3,379 Receiving Yards with 31 Touchdowns and was a former ACC Offensive Player of the Year. Darren McFadden: Arkansas (2005-07) Running Back:  McFadden rushed for 4,590 Yards and 41 Touchdowns over his career as a Razorback.  He would win two Doak Walker Awards, the Jim Brown Trophy and the Walter Camp Award. Jake Plummer: Arizona State (1993-96) Quarterback:  Plummer was third in Heisman Trophy voting as a Senior and almost took the Sun Devils to a National Championship falling just short in a Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State.  Plummer threw for 8,626 Yards and 34 Touchdowns. Troy Polamalu: USC (1999-2002) Defensive Back:  Over his three year career with the Trojans, Polamalu would record 278 Tackles and…