Following our last piece on the six names (Al Attles, Chuck Cooper, Vlade Divac, Bobby Jones, Sidney Moncrief and Paul Westphal  leaked by Adrian Wojnarowski the Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the full class. The additional members are:

Carl Braun:  Braun played at Colgate University and played 12 of his 13 seasons with the New York Knicks where he was a five time All Star (1953-57).  He would win the NBA Championship in his last year as a player, 1962 with the Boston Celtics.

Bill Fitch:  Fitch coached at Coe, North Dakota, Bowling and Minnesota before jumping to the pro ranks where he helmed the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1970 to 1979 and was the organization’s first Head Coach.  He would later take over in Boston and he took them to the title in 1981.  He finished out his career with coaching stints in Houston, New Jersey and the Los Angeles Clippers and had a career record of 944-1,106 and was a two time Coach of the Year (1976 & 1980)

Jack Sikma:  A two time NAIA All-American at Illinois Wesleyan, Jack Sikma split his pro career for the Seattle SuperSonics and the Milwaukee Bucks where he helped the latter win the NBA Championship in 1979.  He was a seven time All Star.  He was ranked #3 on our last Notinhalloffame.com list.

Teresa Weatherspoon:  Witherspoon led Louisiana Tech to the NCAA Title in 1988 and won the Wade Trophy along the way as the nation’s top player.  She was a six time Italian League All Star and a four time WNBA All Star and was twice named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.  She also helped the United States win Olympic Gold in 1988.

Also inducted are the 1957-59 Tennessee A&I Men’s Team and the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens Women’s Program.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019.

Six names for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame have been revealed byESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowskiand let’s just get right to who they are:

Al Attles:  Attles played for the Philadelphia /San Francisco Warriors for over a decade but midway through the 1969/70 Season he would become the Warriors Player/Coach making him one of the first African-American Coaches in the National Basketball Association.  He hung up the shoes a year later but was their Head Coach until 1983 where he would take them to the Championship in 1975 and compiled a 588-548 record.

Chuck Cooper:  Cooper made history as the first African-American to be drafted in the NBA, which occurred when Boston Celtics chose him with their Second Round Pick (14^thOverall) in 1950.  Cooper played for Duquesne collegiately and was in the NBA for seven seasons (Boston 1950-54), Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954-56) and Fort Wayne (1956).  Cooper faced intense prejudice as he would often have to stay in separate hotels and dine separately from his teammates. Cooper was chosen by the direct-elect Early African-American Pioneers Committee.

Vlade Divac:  An NBA All Star in 2001, Vlade Divac had over 13,000 Points over his career and would take Yugoslavia to many championships, most notably a win at the 1990 World Cup. Divac is Serbian and has been known for his humanitarian efforts and he is currently the General Manager of the Sacramento Kings.  He was ranked #24 by us on Notinhalloffame.com and he enters via the International Committee. 

Bobby Jones:  A Second Team All American from North Carolina, Bobby Jones began his pro career with the Denver Nuggets of the ABA in 1974 and would later join the Philadelphia 76ers until he retired in 1986.  Jones would go to four All Star Games was named to eight First Team All Defensive squads was the first ever Sixth Man of the Year and in 1983 he helped the Sixers with the NBA Title.  Jones was ranked #14 on our latest Notinhalloffame.com list.

Sidney Moncreif:  Moncrief was a First Team All-American and SWC Player of the Year in 1979 and in the NBA he was a two time Defensive Player of the Year (1983 & 1984) and was a five time All Star (1982-86). Moncreif played 12 of his 13 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and he was ranked #2 on our latest Notinhalloffame.com list.

Paul Westphal:  Westphal would help the Boston Celtics win the 1974 NBA Championship and from 1977 to 1981 he was named an All Star with three of those seasons (1977, 1979 & 1980) seeing him named a First Team All Pro while he was with the Phoenix Suns. He was ranked #15 on our last Notinhalloffame.com list.

Wojnarowski also announced that Chris Webber, Ben Wallace and Marques Johnson were not chosen.

For us Webber’s induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame is long overdue and we are guessing that they are wiping out his accomplishments at the University of Michigan due to the booster scandal he was involved in. 

Next year is absolutely loaded as Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh and Kevin Garnett are now eligible. We will be updating our Notinhalloffame.com Basketball list next month.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the six men who have been reported to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

According to the very reputable website, pwinsider.com, there will be 10 new entrants in the WWE Hall of Fame via the Legacy Wing.  As per previous years, this came with no fanfare and is a group of names that run the gamut of wrestling history with carrying levels of importance.

The new inductees will be:

Jim Barnett:  Barnett was one of the most successful promoters in wrestling history beginning with Indianapolis and Detroit and in the 1960s would take over the Australian territory and take it to new heights.  He would buy into Georgia Championship Wrestling and raise its profile until he sold his interest to the WWF where he would become a Vice President from 1984 to 1987.  He would later serve as a consultant in WCW and again in the WWE.  Barnett was ranked #127 on our Notinhalloffame.com list.

Bruiser Brody:  If there was anyone who had more of a free and independent spirit in Professional Wrestling we don’t who it is!  Brody was trained by Fritz Von Erich and would be a freelancer throughout the world and an international legend.  The pioneer of the modern brawling style was killed in Puerto Rico by a fellow wrestler (and booker) when he was stabbed over a business dispute in 1988.  Through Brody’s widow, a Legends Contract is in place for Brody and has been for a while so there is little surprise.  Brody was ranked #7 by us on Notinhalloffame.com.

Primo Carnera:  Carnera is actually better known for being the Heavyweight Boxing Champion in 1933 but he would wrestle after his boxing career ended and he would receive world title shots against Lou Thesz.  We did not have Carnera ranked.

Joseph Cohen:  Cohen was the creator of the Madison Square Garden Network, which had a relationship with the WWE as they aired their shows at MSG on that channel.

Wahoo McDaniel:  A former member of the American Football League over nine seasons, Wahoo McDaniel would be a stalwart in the National Wrestling Alliance, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic Territory where he was multi-time champion.  He would also hold multiple championships in Texas, Florida and Georgia and among his peers was one of the most respected wrestlers in the business. McDaniel was ranked #44 by us on Notinhalloffame.com.  He passed away n 2002.

S.D. Jones:  Jones cut his teeth in the Mid-Atlantic and California territories and he would join the WWF in the early ’80s.  Jones was originally in the mid-card but as the organization exploded in popularity he would be used as enhancement talent, most notably putting over King Kong Bundy in 24 seconds at the first Wrestlemania.  While he lost the majority of his matches he would be a very popular figure.  Jones was ranked #185 on our Notinhalloffame.com list.

“Playboy” Buddy Rose:  Many remember Rose in his last run with the company where his weight was a punchline with the “blow away diet” but he was a top contender for the WWWF title in 1982 against Bob Backlund and under a hood was the Executioner, the first man to walk down the aisle at a Wrestlemania.  Rose was a major star in Portland where he held their version of the Heavyweight Championship many times.  Rose is ranked #153 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Hisashi Shinma:  Shinma was the figurehead President of the WWF from 1978 to 1984 but he was also a top executive and booker for New Japan and integral to their relationship to the WWE, which would see a lot of talent exchanges between the two.  He was ranked #356 on our Notinhalloffame.com list.

Professor Toru Tanaka:  From Hawaii, but portraying an evil Japanese villain, Professor Toru Tanaka would challenge Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship and along with Mr. Fuji would be a three time WWWF World Tag Team Champion.  Tanaka would also appear in multiple films.  He was ranked #82 on Notinhalloffame.com

Luna Vachon:  This was a little controversial for some as many would think that the induction of Vachon (albeit posthumous) should have taken place on the main stage especially considering her main run in the WWE took place in the Attitude Era.  In an era of Divas, Vachon was a wrestler and she should have entered the WWE Hall of Fame before other women who entered ahead of her.  She was ranked #126 on Notinhalloffame.com.

While we again reiterate that this is a strange group, we are happy for the families of this group and we congratulate them.  

We will now begin work on revising our list and hope to have that up next month.

One of our favorite franchise Halls of Fame belongs to the New England Patriots, who not only have had a better past 20 years than any other NFL franchise but also celebrates their history better than most teams regardless of the sport.  That institution has announced that former Offensive Lineman Leon Gray has been chosen for the New England Patriots Hall of Fame via their Senior Committee.

Drafted in the 3^rd Round in 1973 by Miami, the Dolphins did not see much in their selection from Jackson State and he would be cut.  The Patriots disagreed with that assessment and he was signed where he would become the team’s starting Left Guard.  Gray moved to Left Tackle the following season, which was a perfect fit for his skills.  He would be named to the Pro Bowl in 1976 and 1978 with the latter seeing him earn First Team All-Pro honors.  He would surprisingly be traded to the Houston Oilers the following season where he would go to three more Pro Bowls.

Gray will be inducted along with one more former player, which will be revealed next week.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Leon Gray for earning this prestigious honor.