It is a sad day for the wrestling world as James Harris, who wrestled professionally for years as Kamala “The Ugandan Headhunter” passed away.  He was 70 years old.

Born in Sentanobia, Mississippi in 1950, James Harris did not begin wrestling until 1978.  At 6’ 7” and well over 350 pounds, Harris was an imposing sight, but he was not a great performer.  After stints using his own name, “Sugar Bear” Harris, “Ugly Bear” Harris, and the Mississippi Mauler, he performed mostly in the American South and later the United Kingdom.  

It was not until 1982 where in Memphis, Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler developed the character of “Kamala” for him, where he was discovered by manager, James J. Dillon when he was in Africa.  Now barefoot, wearing a loincloth and with a painted face, stomach and chest, one of the greatest monster heel characters of all-time was born.  Kamala fought Jerry Lawler, winning the Southern Heavyweight Title and selling out arenas across the Memphis area.  After Lawler took back his title, Kamala would put over other faces (good guys), but this would be the template for years to come, where he would go into a territory and challenge a champion to sold out shows before putting someone over and going off to the next territory.

Kamala wrestled all across the United States, namely for Bill Watts in the Mid-South promotion where he competed against Andre the Giant in the Louisiana Superdome.  He also had a big run in Dallas for World Class Championship Wrestling, feuding with the Von Erich family.  He also wrestled at the Great American Bash for Jim Crockett Promotions, and the AWA in Minnesota.

Kamala wrestled for the WWF on three different runs, the first in 1984, where he main evented against World Champion, Hulk Hogan and also Andre.  He was back in 1987, where he once again sold out multiple arenas challenging Hogan for the title.  His last run in the WWF was in 1992, where he famously feuded with the Undertaker.  

Following a brief run in WCW in 1994, Kamala wrestled sparingly and his main source of income was driving trucks.  Kamala gave many interviews over the years, where he detailed his low payoffs, but everyone who ever knew him would talk of his kindness.

We were blessed to have had a conversation this past March on our audio show, where we talked about his career and musical interests (he was quite the amateur singer).  In our latest list of those to consider for the WWE Hall of Fame, Kamala was ranked #32.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our deepest condolences to the friends, fans and family of James “Kamala” Harris.

This wasn’t the news we were hoping for.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced their process going forward for Coaches, Contributors and Seniors Finalists for the next four years (2021-24), and if you are a worthy Senior Candidate, the road to Canton seems a lot narrower.

Prior to the 2020 selection process, Coaches and Contributors were in the same category as modern players. This system did not guarantee that at least one Coach and/or Contributor would be chosen in a given year.  For the 100^thAnniversary Class, the Coaches and Contributors were pooled with the Senior Candidates, and ten Seniors, two Coaches, and three Contributors were chosen.  In the next four years, there will be one new member in each of those categories.

For the worthy Coaches, this makes it a little easier.  We would have made (and lost) a significant wager that under the 2020 system, both Don Coryell and Tom Flores, both previous finalists, were going to get in. Flores, who is 88, was even told by Hall of Fame Commissioner, that he was a “shoe-in”.  Clearly, he wasn’t, as we Baker use his mammoth hands to knock on the unnecessary doors on the sets of NBC and FOX’s NFL coverage to award gold jackets to both Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson.  While the resumes of both Cowher and Johnson are strong, many (including us) felt it was pandering to the television by Baker.

Moving forward, it is assumed that Flores and Coryell will be the next two in, and now that don’t have to compete against modern era players, there won’t be an omission of a Coach.  

But stranger things can happen in Canton.

The real heartbreak is for the Seniors.  The hope of many was that after they inducted ten for the Centennial Class, they would open up the doors for more in the future, with at the number of Senior Inductees at least being in the plural.  The silver lining is that before 2020, there was no guarantee that they committee would induct any, so at least there will be one slot for this group. This news has to be devastating for the likes of Drew Pearson and Randy Gradishar, both of whom were Senior Finalists last year, who just saw their chances diminish.  

Gradishar and Pearson are just two of a glut of players in the Senior pool with Hall of Fame worthy resumes. There are over 50 former All-Decade players who are not in, and this news is devastating not only for those worthy gridiron greats but for all of their passionate fans who want to honor their legacy.

In other significant Hall of Fame news, Bill Polian and Lisa Salters will be on the 48-person Hall of Fame Committee, replacing Ira Miller and Vito Stellino, who are exiting. Polian is a six-time NFL Executive of the Year, and is a Pro Football Hall of Famer; inducted in 2015.  Salters has worked for ESPN since 2000, covering basketball and football.  She becomes the first African-American woman to be a part of the Committee. 

The National College Baseball Hall of Fame has announced the Class of 2020.  Die to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony will be held virtually later this month.

The new inductees are:

Doug Ault, Panola Junior College & Texas Tech, 1969-72, First Base & Pitcher:  Ault was a two-time NJCAA All-American, and he was the MVP of the 1969 NJCAA World Series where he recorded three wins on the mound and batted .318.  With Texas Tech, he was the Co-MVP of the Southwest Conference in 1972, and he batted .475 that year.  Ault would later play in the Majors with the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays.

Pete Barnes, Southern, 1964-67, Outfield:  Barnes was a four-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference and two-time First Team NAIA All-American.  Playing at Outfield, he won the NAIA Batting Title (.506) in 1965, and he would take Southern to the NAIA World Series in 1966.  Also, a two-time All-American in Football, Barnes would play 11 seasons at Linebacker with stops in Houston, San Diego, St. Louis and New England.

Everett “Eppy” Barnes, Player, Coach, Athletic Director and ABCA Founding Father 1922-68:  Barnes is inducted as a contributor, and was pivotal in the creation of the College World Series. Barnes also helped to establish the College All-Star Game, and he also served as a member of the United States Olympic Committee.  

Rick Cerone, Seton Hall, 1973-75, Catcher:  Cerone was an All-American in 1975, and he took the Pirates to back-to-back College World Series appearances while becoming an All-College World Series Team Selection in 1975.  He left Seton Hall as their all-time leader in Batting Average (.363) and Home Runs (26). Cerone went on to have a long career in the Majors, playing for Cleveland, Toronto, New York (AL), Atlanta, Milwaukee, Boston, New York (NL), and Montreal.

John Deutsch, Montclair State, 1986-89, Outfield & First Base:  Montclair is a three-time NCAA Division III First Team All-American, and he was the Division III National Player of the Year in 1989.  Deutsch, who hit 58 career Home Runs and 236 Runs Batted In, would take Montclair State to the National Title, and he was the MVP of the series.

Gary Gentry, Phoenix College & Arizona State, 1965-1967, Pitcher: Gentry took Phoenix College to a National Championship in 1965, and Arizona State to one in 1967.  In the latter year, he struck out 227 batters, with a 17-1 Record and a 1.14 ERA.  An All-American that year, he had two wins with a 0.78 ERA over 23 Innings in that World Series.

Jim Gideon, Texas, 1973-75, Pitcher:  Gideon was a First Team All-American in 1974 and 1975, and he took the Longhorns to a College World Series win in 1975.  In both 1974 and 1975, he led the Nation in wins.  He would later play one Game for the Texas Rangers in 1975.

Roy Lee Jackson, Tuskegee, 1973-75, Pitcher and Designated Hitter:  

A three-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Selection (1973-75), Jackson went 22-9 and had 0.98 ERA and 160 Strikeouts in 1975.  He would also bat over .400 twice.  Jackson would later pitch for New York (NL), Toronto, San Diego and Minnesota

Paul Molitor, Minnesota, 1975-77, Shortstop:  Molitor was a two-time First Team All-American, and First Team Big Ten Selection.  In 1977, Molitor took the Golden Gophers to the College World Series, and he had a college Batting Average of .350 with 18 Home Runs and 52 Stolen Bases.  Molitor would later collect over 3,000 Hits, was a seven-time All-Star, and won the World Series with Toronto in 1993.  Molitor entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.

Jim Morris, Coach, DeKalb College 1976-79, Georgia Tech 1982-93 & Miami 1994-2018:  Morris is one of 12 coaches in College Baseball to have won over 1,500 Games and he took 13 teams to the College World Series, winning it all in 1999 and 2001 at Miami.

John Scolinos, Coach, Pepperdine 1946-60, Cal Poly Pomona 1962-91:  Scolinos led Pomona to three Division II National Championships (1976, 1980 & 1983), and was also a three-time Division II Coach of the Year.

Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1991-94, Catcher:  Varitek is the only player to be a First Team All-American three times, and in 1994, he won the Howser Trophy, Smith Award, Golden Spikes Award, and the National Player of the Year.  He later played professionally for the Boston Red Sox, where he would go to three All-Star Games and was a two-time World Series Champion.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest and impending members of the National College Baseball 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 look at the major colleges for how to they honor their former athletes.  As such it is huge news that Houston Astros have announced their Rutgers University has announced their latest Hall of Fame Class.

The Class of 2020 consists of five former student-athletes.

Eric LeGrand (Football):  LeGrand’s football career at Rutgers began in 2008, but ended tragically in 2010.  A collision during a game against Army led to a spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis from the neck down.  Rather than be depressed, LeGrand exemplified tremendous courage and works a motivational speaker and fundraiser.  Le LeGrand’s number 52 is the only jersey retired in the program’s history.

Essence Carson (Women’s Basketball):  Carson was a star on the 2007 NCAA Championship Team and she would score 1,262 Points with 707 Rebounds.  A three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Carson would later win a WNBA Championship with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016, and she currently plays for the Washington Mystics.

Alexis Gunzelman (Women’s Gymnastics):  Gunzelman was a walk-on who participated in 51 meets and is the only female gymnast to have qualified to compete in the Nationals in the all-around.

Jonelle Filigno-Hopkins (Women’s Soccer):  From Canada, Filigno-Hopkins scored 33 Goals with 16 of them being game-winners for Rutgers, while taking them four NCAA Tournaments. Internationally, she represented Canada in two Olympics and two World Cups.

James Ford (Men’s Lacrosse):  Playing for the Scarlet Knights from 1976 to 1980, Ford was the first African-American Captain in program history.  He scored 70 Goals and is the all-time school leader in Assists (131).

Due to the pandemic, there is no current timetable as to when and where the induction ceremony will take place.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Rutgers Athletic Hall of Fame