Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives. Eventually, we are going to get to that of the Division I schools, and conferences.  As such, it is news the University of West Virginia has announced their Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

This group comprises of eleven new members.  Due to COVID-19, there will be no 2020 ceremony, and they will be officially inducted alongside the Class of 2021.

The eleven new members are:

Janae (Cox) Asbury, Women’s Gymnastics 2004-07:  Cox was a three-time First Team All-American and three-time individual qualifier at the NCAA Championship.  Nobody in Mountaineer history has more career Points (2,070.65), and also holds program records in meets (50).

Da’Sean Butler, Men’s Basketball 2007-10:  Butler is third all-time in WVU in Points (2,095), and was a Second Team All-American in 2010.  Averaging 14.3 Points per Game, Butler took the Mountaineers to an NIT Championship in 2007, and a Final Four in 2010.

J.D. Drummonds, Women’s Basketball 1980-81:  Drummonds scored 1,160 Points and averaged 21.0 Points per Game in the 1981 Season, which is second all-time for WVU.  

Jedd Gyorko, Baseball 2008-10:  Playing at Second Base and Shortstop, Gyorko has the school record for Home Runs (35) and Batting Average (.404).  Gyorko was a First Team All-American as a Senior, and he went on to play eight seasons in the Majors.

Dick Leftridge, Football 1963-65:  Leftridge played at Fullback and rushed for 1,701 Yards and 21 Touchdowns.  He helped lead the team to Sothern Conference Championships in 1964 and 1965, and he later played one year as a Pittsburgh Steeler.

John McGrath, Men’s Soccer Coach 1969-95:  McGrath took the Mountaineers to five NCAA Tournaments and had a career record of 202-181-45.

Tony Robertson, Men’s Basketball 1976-77:  Robertson scored 1,026 Points over two years with an 18.0 Points per Game Average.  He would later play two seasons in the NBA.

John Rost, Men’s Rifle 1979-82:  Rost won the NCAA Air Rifle event in 1981 and 1982 and he would later represent the United States at the 1984 Olympics.

Clara (Grandt) Santucci, Women’s Track & Field 2005-10:  Grandt won All-American honors in three different disciplines.  Her specialty was the 10,000 Meter.

Tom Shafer, Baseball 1960-62:  Shafer had a 1.69 ERA over 125 Innings, and he was a First Team All-Southern Conference Selection twice.

Ron Wolfley, Football 1981-84:  Wolfley helped the Mountaineers win three Bowls (1981 Peach, 1983 Hall of Fame and 1984 Bluebonnet) and he rushed for 1,296 Yards and 10 Touchdowns.  He would later earn four Pro Bowls in the NFL.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the eight new members of the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives. Eventually, we are going to get to that of the Division I schools, and conferences.  As such, it is news to us that the Missouri Valley Conference has announced their Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

This is the 24^thHall of Fame Class for the Conference, and due to COVID-19, there will be no physical ceremony, nor any modern candidate, as all of these inductees are classified as “Veteran Candidates”.

The eight new members are:

Maurice Cheeks, West Texas State, Men’s Basketball, 1974-78: Cheeks started all four years at West Texas State, and was an All-MVC player three times.  He tallied 1,127 Points, and averaged 16.8 Points per Game as a Senior.  Cheeks later had a successful career in the NBA where he was a four-time All-Star, four-time First Team All-Defensive player and was a champion with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983.  His number was retired by the Sixers and he was named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Joe Greene, North Texas, Football, 1966-68:  Greene was a three-time All-MVC Selection and his squad went a combined 23-5-1 with him on the field.  An All-American in 1968, Greene went on to play professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers where he was a Rookie of the Year, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, 10-time All-Pro and four-time Super Bowl winner.  Greene is also a member of both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Clark W. Hetherington, Missouri, Administrator:  Hetherington was the Missouri’s Athletic Director from 1900 to 1910, and helped broker what is now the MVC.

James Naismith, Kansas, Administrator:   Yes, that James Naismith.  Naismith is the man who invented basketball, and was the first coach of the Jayhawks program (1898-1907), and he would later be a Professor at Kansas.  Following his tenure as a Professor, Naismith became their Athletic Director from 1919 to 1937.

Tara Oltman, Creighton, Softball, 2007-10:  Oltman was an All-MVC in all four of her years, and was a three-time MVC Pitcher of the Year.  She holds the conference records for Wins (118), Strikeouts (1,086) and Innings (1,064), and she led the Blue Jays to three NCAA Tournament Appearances.

F. Morgan Taylor, Grinnell, Track & Field, 1926:  Taylor was also an Olympian who won the Gold Medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1924 Games in Paris.  Taylor still holds the school record in the long jump.

Tom Thacker, Cincinnati, Men’s Basketball, 1960-63:  Thacker was a starter on Cincinnati’s 1961 and 1962 NCAA Championship Teams, and he was a three-time All-Conference Selection and a Second Team All-American. He would later have a seven-year pro career, winning an NBA Title with Boston and an ABA Title with Indiana. Those titles made Thacker the only player to win a title in the NCAA, NBA and ABA.

Connie Yori, Creighton, Women’s Basketball, 1982-86 & Coach (1992-02):  Yori scored 2,010 career Points and would later be the MVC Coach of the Year in 2002. She would later have her number retired.

The MVC is currently comprised of Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Loyola, Missouri State, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois and Valparaiso.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the eight new members of the Missouri Valley Conference Hall o Fame.

We are getting really tired of writing obituaries.

Tom Seaver, who has been battling dementia for the past few years, has passed away at age 75.

When Seaver debuted for the New York Mets in 1967, it was evident immediately that this was one special Pitcher that the Mets had on their hands.  Named the Rookie of the Year, Seaver was named an All-Star, and “Tom Terrific” would earn that honor 11 more times in his career.  

Seaver is universally regarded as the greatest New York Met of all-time, and how could it he not be?  He was the anchor of the 1969 squad that shocked the baseball world winning the World Series for the “Miracle Mets”.  The Mets were considered underdogs, despite Seaver winning his first of three Cy Youngs that year.  With the Mets, Seaver won three ERA Titles, three WHIP Titles, and five Strikeout Titles.

The Mets shocked their fans by trading Seaver to Cincinnati during the 1977 season, and two of his All-Star appearances occurred as a Red.  Seaver would return to New York, and finished his career with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox.

Seaver retired with a record of 311-205, 3,640 Strikeouts with a career ERA of 2.86.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Tom Seaver.

Albert Pujols: A big contract bringing clipping the Angels’ wings

Alberto Pujols is still playing baseball? That question may have crossed your mind when it was announced the current Los Angeles Angels first baseman had passed Alex Rodriguez on Major League Baseball’s all-time RBI list this week. Pujols knocked in his 2,087^thRBI on August 24^thand is now trailing Hank Aaron as the all-time Major League Baseball leader. Sports fans are enjoying a large amount of sports available currently from baseball to horse racing. The biggest horse race in the world will take place on September 5^that Churchill Downs and fans can watch a Kentucky Derby live stream to follow all of the action on race day. 

Now, 40-years-old, Pujols’ standing as one of the greatest in Major League Baseball history doesn’t seem to be as firm as it was years ago. Pujols has spent the last eight and a half seasons playing for the Angels. So, if you forgot he was even in the league at this point, you can be forgiven. 

Pujols’ 2020 season has been rather forgettable. His RBI on Monday night to pull him closer to Aaron was a milestone but there was little to actually celebrate. The Angels are 10-22 as of this writing and 12.0 games out of first place in the AL West. For all the talk of the greatness of Pujols and Mike Trot, they sure have done little to get the Angels into American League West winning position. Of course, baseball takes more than just two players, but Pujols’ stats show a player limping toward retirement and hanging on for too long.

The first baseman is hitting .215 with an OBP of .253, and slugging percentage of .367 as of August 27^th. He has hit just three home runs and knocked in 12 RBI in 79 at bats. The once great hitting machine is a shell of his former self. 

Since arriving in Los Angeles in 2012, Pujols has regularly failed to get the Angels into the playoffs. Just one time have the club made the postseason following Pujols’ big money move from St. Louis. In pure poor money management, the Angels rewarded Pujols for what he did with the Cardinals and not what he could do in the future. 

The club signed him to a 10-year contract in 2012 for a $240 million. According to Spotrac, Pujols was due $29m this season alone. In 2012, signing Pujols for 10 years may have sounded like a great deal. He was 32 and coming off of winning the World Series with the Cardinals. He was also a three-time MVP. 

Pujols’ batting average has never risen over .300 for a full season in Los Angeles. Three times his OBP has dipped below .300, including this season. Other than in the 2015 season, Pujols hasn’t shown the power of his time in St. Louis. The 2015 campaign witnessed Pujols hitting 40 home runs. He hit 40 or more homers six times for the Cardinals. Just once has he done it in Los Angeles.

The last eight and a half seasons in Los Angeles have been well paid for Pujols. But with the Angels making the playoffs just once in that time, Pujols is now just a huge contract around the club’s neck. That deal won’t end until after the 2021 season. Pujols will earns $30m next season.