Before there was Ernie Banks, there was Phil Cavarretta, who many in Chicago referred to as "Mr. Cub," before that was universally bestowed upon Banks.

Cavarretta was exceptionally popular in Chicago, and how could he not be?   He was from Chicago, and he was the type of player who gave everything he had on every play.  

He first saw Major League action at 17 with the Cubs in 1935.  The following season, he was their starting First Baseman, and he batted over .270 the next two years.  Cavarretta suffered a plethora of injuries over the next five years, and he was not playing full-time, but he was healthy by 1942, and he was one of the few stars to stay stateside as his hearing problem kept him from being drafted to serve in the American military in World War II.  

From 1944 to 1947, Cavarretta was an All-Star, winning the National League MVP in 1945.  In that season, he won the Batting Title (.355), the OBP Title (.449), and he had a .500 Slugging Percentage.  He had helped the Cubs reach the World Series that year, where he batted .423, similar to the .462 he batted in the 1938 World Series.  The Cubs did not win either of them, but he proved he was a clutch player, which only added to his legacy. 

Cavarretta suffered more injuries from 1948 on, and he played less and less.  He became the Cubs Player/Manager in 1951, but he was fired before the 1954 season began.  The crosstown White Sox signed him, and he played two final years there before retiring.  

While Cavarretta was not statistically at the level of others on this list, his desire to play and effort on the field had few equals.  That latter fact is why he once had 35.6% of the Hall of Fame ballot.

Sam McDowell had one of the most unimposing yet correct nicknames.  When you hear the name "Sudden" Sam, you aren't sure what to think, but what does a "sudden" Pitcher mean?  For McDowell, it is in reference to his rapid delivery and the strong odds that he would strike you out. 

McDowell broke in with the Cleveland Indians as a teenager in 1961, and he was a fixture in the starting rotation in 1964.  While Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson would have more Strikeouts than McDowell in the 1960s, McDowell had the most in the American League.  The southpaw led the AL in Ks five times as an Indian, with two years eclipsing the 300 mark.  Six times an All-Star, McDowell won the ERA Title in 1965, and he was twice the league-leader in bWAR for Pitchers.  McDowell was able to hold opponents to a lack of Hits, but he was wild, and he walked far too many batters, as he gave free passes the most in the AL in five different seasons. 

He would finish his career with runs in San Francisco, New York (AL), and Pittsburgh.

While McDowell’s overall record of 141-134 was not great, he is 25th all-time in SO/9 and 10^th all-time in H/9.  Those ranks place him around a plethora of Hall of Famers.

As for the Hall, McDowell was eligible in 1981, but he never received a vote, making him one of the best flamethrowers with that dubious distinction.

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 pre-2021 revision of our top 50 Washington Football Team of all-time.

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

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NFL. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

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

This is our first revision after our inaugural unveiling, only one new entry.

As always, we present our top five here.

1. Sammy Baugh

2. Darrell Green

3. Chris Hanburger

4. Charley Taylor

5. Art Monk

You can find the entire list here.

Right Guard, Brandon Scherff, is the lone debut, coming in at #48.

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

From Russia, Dmitri Kalinin was a First Round Pick in 1998 and was a regular blueliner for the Sabres two years later.