At the University of Nebraska, Alex Gordon was considered by all of the experts not just to be the best Cornhusker on the diamond but the best baseball player in all of the NCAA.  The winner of the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award, unsurprisingly, was Kansas City’s first pick (second overall) 2005 Amateur Draft.

A three-time All-Star, Alex Gordon led the American League in Doubles in 2012 and has had a pair of 20 Home Run seasons and another four where he exceeded 15.  Gordon has not always had the best Batting Average, but he did bat .303 in 2011.  Realistically it was Gordon's defense that has given him his greatest value to Kansas City.

Gordon played multiple positions in the field for KC, but it was at Leftfield where he truly shone.  He captured seven Gold Gloves, a Platinum Glove, and three Wilson Defensive Awards.

Gordon retired after the 2020 season, and while COVID-19 rendered his swansong less than impactful, he was still the heart of the team throughout the 2010s.  We don't think that Gordon will make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but you can't have a top twenty list of the best Royals of all time without Gordon on it.

Standing at 6' 9" and born in the former Czechoslovakia, Zdeno Chara was a Third Round Pick in 1996 by the New York Islanders, but while he made the team a year later, he never figured into their long-term plans.  A trade to obtain the disgruntled Alexei Yashin sent Chara to Ottawa, and it would be evident in a few years that it was the Slovak Defenseman who was the best player in the deal.

Chara developed on the offensive side with the Senators, utilizing his size and booming shot to become a feared attacker while controlling his own blue line.  Chara moved to elite status in Ottawa, earning his first post-season All-Star honors (First Team in 2004 and Second Team in 2006) and was the anchor of a potent Sens team, but as this was a small market, Chara's skills soon exceeded what Ottawa could pay.

Chara signed with the Boston Bruins in 2006, and as good as he was in the Canadian Capital, he was even better in New England.  Named the Captain as soon as he arrived, Chara played for Boston for 14 seasons, collecting five more post-season All-Stars and the coveted Norris Trophy as the NHL's top Defenseman in 2009.  He led Boston to win the 2011 Stanley Cup, holding it higher than anyone else and did so in the same year he won the Mark Messier Leadership Award.

Chara finished his career in his 40s, with a season each in Washington and the New York Islanders.

Chara retires with the most Games Played by a Defenseman (1,652) and set records as the oldest Defenseman to score in the playoffs.

Internationally, “Big Z” won Silver as a representative of Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey with two Silvers for Slovakia (2000 & 2012) in the World Hockey Championships.

Chara is an excellent bet for first-ballot entry.

In the world of Pro Football, retirements often trickle through many months, sometimes years after a player last appears in an NFL game.  This means that we are constantly adding players, even potential first ballot Hall of Famers to our futures.

Today, we are adding new names for you to vote on in the 2025 and 2026 Football Sections.

Added to 2025 are:

Clay Matthews III:  The third generation of the Matthews clan, was an excellent Linebacker who played most of his career with Green Bay.  A six-time Linebacker, Matthews won the PFWA Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, and owns a Super Bowl Ring.

Delanie Walker:  Walker blossomed late in his career as a Tight End when he was with the Tennessee Titans, where he went to three Pro Bowls.

Earl Thomas:  Thomas had a great run with the Seattle Seahawks where he won a Super Bowl while earning seven Pro Bowls at Safety.  A three-time First Team All-Pro and two-time Second Team All-Pro, Thomas’ career imploded with the Baltimore Ravens, and his stature within the football community took a pounding that could cost him a Hall of Fame bust.

Eric Reid:  Reid is best known for his solidarity in kneeling with Colin Kaepernick, but the Safety was a Pro Bowl Selection in 2013.

Marcell Dareus:  Dareus won a National Championship in Alabama, and the Defensive Tackle would later go to Pro Bowls when he played for the Bills.

Reshad Jones:  Jones played his entire career with Miami where he went to two Pro Bowls.  The Safety also had three 100 Tackle seasons.

Terrell Suggs:  Suggs was a member of Baltimore’s two Super Bowl winning teams, and he was also named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.  A seven-time Pro Bowl and one-time First Team All-Pro, Suggs had 139 Sacks and is the current all-time leader in Tackles for Loss with 202.

Vontaze Burfict:  Burfict was a controversial figure over his career, which was largely spent in Cincinnati.  The Linebacker went to the Pro Bowl in 2013.

They join Adam Vinatieri, Antoine Bethea, Aqib Talib, Brynden Trawick, Cameron Wake, C.J. Anderson, Darren Sproles, DeMaryius Thomas, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Donald Penn, Eli Manning, James Develin, Joe Staley, Jon Condo, Kyle Long, Luke Kuechly, Marshal Yanda, Matt Byant, Michael Bennett, Mike Pouncey, Patrick DiMarco, Patrick Chung, Roosevelt Nix, Ryan Kalil, Travis Frederick, Vernon Davis, Zach Brown and Zak DeOssie.

The entire 2025 list can be found here.

Added to 2026 are:

Dontari Poe:  Poe had a nice career as a Defensive Tackle/Nose Tackle in the NFL, where he went to two Pro Bowls as a Kansas City Chief.

Frank Gore:  The five-time Pro Bowl Running Back compiled 16,000 Rushing Yards, which places him third all-time.  Gore is also currently four in Yards from Scrimmage (19,985), fifth in All-Purpose Yards19,992) and twenty-third in Touchdowns (100).

Golden Tate:  Tate was a Pro Bowler in 2014, with the Wide Receiver also winning a Super Bowl as a Seahawk.

L.P. Ladoucer:  Ladoucer went to the 2014 Pro Bowl, and the Long Snapper was a career Dallas Cowboy.

Larry Fitzgerald:  Fitzgerald was an Arizona Cardinal for his entire pro career, and is second all-time in Receptions (1,432) and Receiving Yards (17,492).  A Pro Bowl Selection three times, the Wide Receiver had 121 Touchdowns, sixth most ever.

Mitchell Schwartz:  A Right Guard who had his best years with Kansas City, Schwartz was a one-time First Team and three-time Second Team All-Pro.  He has a Super Bowl Ring with the Chiefs.

Richie Incognito:  Incognito has a controversial career, but the Offensive Lineman was still a four-time Pro Bowler.

Stephen Gostkowski:  The Place Kicker who replaced Adam Vinatieri in New England had a great career himself, as he won three Super Bowls and was an All-Decade player.

Todd Gurley:  At one time, Gurley was considered one of the best Running Backs, and he was named the 2017 AP Offensive Player of the Year.  He had three Pro Bowls over his career.

They join Alex Smith, Anthony Costanzo, Anthony Sherman, Dez Bryant, Don Mulbach, Drew Brees, Greg Olsen, Jason Witten, Johnathan Joseph, Jordan Reed, Julian Edelman, Jurrell Casey, LeSean McCoy, Malcolm Butler, Marshawn Lynch, Matt Schaub, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Iupati, Phillip Rivers, Sean Lee, Thomas Davis and Tramon Williams

The entire 2026 list can be found here.

We will be presenting the 2027 Football Futures shortly.

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank you for your support.

From Savonlinna, Finland, Tuukka Rask was drafted in the First Round (21^st Overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he never played there as he was traded to Boston for fellow Goalie Andrew Raycroft.  It was a deal that historically would favor the Bruins, the team in which Rask played his entire career.

Rask was first called up in 2007 but was not the regular backup until the 2009-10 Season when he led the NHL in Save Percentage and Goals Against Average.  Rask would finally take over from Tim Thomas as the Bruins lead Goalie, bringing the Bruins back to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013.  They lost to Chicago, but Task established himself as one of the best in the game.  The season after, he won the coveted Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top Goalie.

Rask had his ups and down afterward, dealing with injuries, but again led the Bruins to another Cup Final in 2019, the same season he was named a Second Team All-Star.  Boston again lost, this time to St. Louis, who captured their first Title.

Rask had an upper-body injury that kept him on the sideline going into this season, but he came back to rejoin the Bruins, appearing in four games as Linus Ullmark’s backup, but he cited that he physically was not at the level he needed to be.

Internationally, Rask represented Finland multiple times, with his greatest success coming in the 2014 Olympics, where he backstopped his nation to a Bronze Medal.

Rask leaves the games with a record of 306-163-66 with a 2.28 GAA.