The term “Mountain of a Man” is often misused, but for the 375-pound Ted Washington, that was accurate.

“Mount Washington” was San Francisco’s late First Round Pick in 1991, and became their starting Nose Tackle in his second season.  Traded to the Denver Broncos in 1994, Washington signed with the Buffalo Bills in 1995 where he had the best run of his career.  With Buffalo, Washington went to three of his four Pro Bowls and became known as one of the best rush defenders in football.  With his immense size, it was an arduous task, and once he got a hand on you, chances were that you were going to hit the dirt.

Washington’s best season was in 2001, his first of two seasons with Chicago where he was a First Team All-Pro and finished in the top ten in Approximate Value.  He later was with New England, where he won a Super Bowl (XXXVIII) and closed out his career with two seasons each in Oakland and Cleveland.  Considering his immense stature, the durability to last until 38 is a testament to Washington’s physical presence. 

Vin Baker was a three-time First Team All-MEAC and 1993 MEAC Player of the Year at Hartford and was the eighth Overall Pick in 1993 with Milwaukee as his landing place.  Baker saw a lot of minutes early as a rookie (31.2), and he broke out in his second campaign where he went to his first All-Star Game, averaged a double-double (17.7 Points and 10.3 Rebounds) and led the NBA in Minutes per Game (41.0). 

Baker continued to grow his game and the master of low post scoring put up his best numbers over the next two seasons (21.1 PTS/9.9 RB & 21.0 PTS/10.3 RB) where he again was an All-Star, but also added a Third Team All-NBA Selection in 1996-97.  Baker proved he was an excellent basketball player, but he had little help on the Bucks and never saw any playoff action in Milwaukee.

The struggling Bucks traded him to Seattle, where he had his most complete season in the sport.  An All-Star for the fourth straight year, Baker was also a Second Team All-Star and was eighth in MVP voting.  Baker also had career-highs in PER (20.4) and Win Shares (10.4), and this should have vaulted the Power Forward to the next level, but, alas, there were issues behind the scenes that hindered his growth.

Baker was dealing with alcohol issues that progressively got worse.  He was still a potent player, but at a time when he should have been in his prime, Baker’s stats were declining.  The Sonics traded him to Boston in 2002, but his play got much worse, averaging only 5.2 Points in 2002-03.  He was better the year after, but showed up to practice drunk.  Baker was suspended and then released, but the New York Knicks picked him up, but was largely ineffective in a reserve role.  He played 11 more NBA Games, three with Houston and seven with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Baker became more of a cautionary tale than a superstar.

Professional Football lost another great one.

Hall of Fame Guard Larry Allen passed away today at 52.  He was vacationing with his family in Mexico at the time.

Drafted in the second round in 1994, Allen earned a starting job on the Dallas offensive line and helped them win Super Bowl XXX, and would later become their best lineman, earning six consecutive First Team All-Pros (1996-2001) and 10 Pro Bowls as a Cowboy.  He added an eleventh in 2006, in his first of two years with San Francisco.

Allen entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013 in his first year of eligibility. 

We at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to Larry Allen's fans, family, and friends.

Undrafted from Colgate, Eugene Robinson had one of the longest careers of any Defensive Back.

Signing with the Seattle Seahawks, Robinson made the squad as a rookie and would become a starter at Free Safety, a position he held until the millennium.  Robinson was a dominant ballhawk, recording 57 Interceptions, including a league-leading nine in 1993.  He was also one of the better tacklers of his time, recording 1,413 in total with four seasons exceeding 100.

Robinson made his first Pro Bowl in 1992, his second in 1993, and there were other years when he could have easily been considered. After 11 years with the Seahawks, Robinson signed with the contending Green Bay Packers and helped them win Super Bowl XXXI. He intercepted John Elway in Green Bay’s Super Bowl XXXII loss to Denver. 

The Safety then signed with Atlanta, where his veteran leadership and outstanding defence helped the Falcons make the Super Bowl, meaning that Robinson went to three straight and the second time facing Denver.  It was a horrible performance by Robinson, who allowed an 80-yard Touchdown by Rod Smith, and missed a tackle to Terrell Davis that led to a long gain.  Robinson was arrested the night before for solicitation, which was especially ironic as he won the Bart Starr Award for outstanding character and leadership.

Robinson played another year in Atlanta but was never forgiven by a large segment of the Falcons fanbase. He had one final year in Carolina before hanging it up, and we wish he was more known for his great games and not Super Bowl XXXIII.