As the passing game opened up, many Quarterbacks received their due as national stars.  Jim Hart was one of the new breed of pivots, though he did not generate the same buzz as some of his peers.

It wasn't that the Cardinals didn't have any good seasons while Hart played there, as in the mid-70s, they rifled off three consecutive ten-win seasons.  This period coincided with Hart's four straight Pro Bowl appearances.  Jim Hart became one of the most durable and respected Quarterbacks in the NFL, and due to that durability, he was able to accumulate a very impressive career in terms of statistics.

Unfortunately, as the leader of bad teams for the majority of his career, Hart was considered a good player, who wasn’t good enough to take his team to the next level.  This may explain why he never received any real look from football historians, though it should be acknowledged that UPI named Hart their MVP in 1974.

With the Cardinals, Hart amassed 34,639 Yards and an even 200 Touchdown Passes, and he was selected to join the Cardinals Ring of Honor in 2017.

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.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Atlanta Hawks.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Atlanta continued their middle-of-the-road performance, neither dazzling nor toiling in the basement.  There were no new entrants but there were three elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:

1. Bob Pettit

2. Dominique Wilkins

3. Cliff Hagan

4. John Drew

5. Mookie Blaylock

You can find the entire list here.

Two-Time All-Star, Trae Young, advanced to #15 from #21.

Power Forward, John Collins, who is now with Utah, climbed one spot to #24.

Rebounding machine, Clint Capela, advanced from #41 to #30.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Is there a cooler-sounding name than Dick "Night Train” Lane?

Maybe, but it is not by much.

Nicknamed after the early R&B Instrumental of the same name, Lane was a rarity because he walked on to a professional team (Los Angeles Rams) years after playing in college.  Lane asked for (and received) a tryout and subsequently made the team and became a starter as a rookie, where he led the NFL in Interceptions (14).  Two years later, he was dealt to the Chicago Cardinals as part of a three-team trade, and the Night Train would be a Cardinal for the next six seasons.

Lane was a dominant Defensive Back for Chicago, collecting four Pro Bowls (1954, 1955, 1956 & 1958) with a First Team All-Pro Selection in 1956.  The eventual All-Decade player secured his second Interception Title in '54, and 30 of his 68 picks were as a Cardinal.

The Cardinals might have thought he was done, and they traded him to Detroit before the 1960 Season, where he played six more years.

Lane received the Pro Football Hall of Fame call in 1974 and was named to the NFL 50^th, 75^th, and 100^th Anniversary Teams.  In 2006, the Cardinals enshrined Lane in their first Ring of Honor Class.

Ernie Nevers was one of the best professional players in Football in 1926 and 1927, starring for the Duluth Eskimos, but it was a different time, and he left the pro ranks to coach at Stanford for a year.  Despite saying that he would not return to the gridiron, the lure of the game proved too great, and Nevers joined the Chicago Cardinals in 1929 and had what was the most remarkable offensive season to date.

While official stats on Yardage, Rushing, Passing, and many others are unavailable, we know he was a bona fide touchdown creator.  He set the since-tied record of six Rushing Touchdowns in a Game and scored all 40 Points in that contest.  Named a Consensus First Team All-Pro, he would be so again over the next two years, though this time, he also served as Chicago's Head Coach.

Nevers retired after the 1931 Season, this time for good, and it kept his health in check as the pounding he took from being the game's top Fullback for three years took its toll.

Despite only playing two years in the 1930s, Nevers was named to the All-Decade Team and was named to the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame Class in 1963.  Decades later, he was also part of the initial Cardinals Ring of Honor.