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 plan to do that for the major colleges in the NCAA.  As such, it is news to us that the University of Pittsburgh has announced thirteen members of their Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

The thirteen new members are:

Jennifer Bruce, Women’s Basketball(1981-85).  With 2,295 Points, Bruce is second all-time in points scored for Pittsburgh, and her 20.5 Points per Game is still good enough to be tied as the best for the institution.  Bruce was a three-time First Team All-Big East player and was the Big East Co-Player of the Year in 1984.

Donna DeMarino Sanft, Women’s Gymnastics (1970-74) Women’s Gymnastics Coach (1974-86), Administrator (1986-2014).  A three-time MVP as a gymnast, Sanft would take over as their Head Coach.  Over the 12 years she ran the program, Sanft had a meet record of 86-5701 and was twice named the Eastern Collegiate Coach of the Year.  Following her tenure as a coach, she worked as an administrator at Pitt for 28 years.  

Chantee Earl, Women’s Track and Field (1996-00).  Earl won the 800-Meter at the 2000 NCAA Indoor Championship and was second in that discipline in that year’s Outdoor Championship. Earl was a six-time All-American, and had seven Big East Titles.

Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, Football(1984-87). Heyward rushed for 1,791 Yards as a senior and was named a Consensus All-American, while also finishing fifth in Heisman Trophy voting. Heyward would later plat 11 years in the National Football League, and was a Pro Bowl Selection in 1995.

Brandin Knight, Men’s Basketball(1999-2003).  A two-time All-American, Knight took the Panthers to two consecutive Big East Regular Titles (2002 & 2003), with a Sweet 16 appearance in both years.  Knight is still the school record holder for Assists (785), Assists per Game (6.2) and Steals (298).  In 2009, his number 20 was retired by the school.

Ann Marie Lucanie, Women’s Volleyball(1990-93). Lucanie’s 1,815 career kills still ranks as second all-time at Pitt and she was a three-time Big East Player of the Year.  Over her time as a Panther, her school had an overall record of 101-39 and took her school to four Big East regular season titles and four Big East Tournaments.  

Ken Macha, Baseball(1968-72). Macha had a great 1971 season where he was in the top ten in the NCAA in Batting Average, Slugging Percentage and Runs Batted In.  He later played six years in the Majors.  

Curtis Martin, Football (1991-94).  Martin went for 2,643 Yards at Pitt, and was named to the All-Big East Team in 1993.  Martin would later become one of the most prolific Running Backs in the NFL, rushing for 14,101 Yards and earning a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement in 2012. 

Bob Peck, Football (1913-16).  Peck was an All-American each year from 1914 to 1916, and over those years, Pitt went 24-1.  He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.  

Pat Santoro, Wrestling (1986-89).  Santoro competed at the 142-pound weight class, and he had an overall record of 16713.  He would win the 1988 and 1989 NCAA Title, and he was a four-time member of the United States National Team.

Jackie Sherrill, Football Head Coach (1977-81).  Sherrill had a head coaching record of 50-9-1, with a 4-1 record in Bowls.  Those wins were the 1977 Gator, 1979 Fiesta, 1980 Gator and 1982 Sugar.  

Arnie Sowell, Men’s Track and Field (1953-57).  Sowell won four NCAA Titles, and he would also win the Gold Medal at the 800 meter at the 1955 Pan American Games.

Pop Warner, Football Head Coach (1915-23).  Warner had a head coaching record of 60-12-4 and his teams were recognized as National Champions in 1915, 1916 & 1918.  He was one of the most innovative coaches in football history.

This group will be officially inducted on October 16 at the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner.  They will be unveiled the following day at Pitt’s home game against Notre Dame.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to the impending members of the University of Pittsburgh Athletic Hall of Fame.

Richard Seymour was inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame today, beating out Mike Vrabel and Bill Parcells in an online vote.

Seymour arrived in New England when the Patriots used their number 6 pick of the 2001 Draft to select the All-American from Georgia, and he became a starting Defensive End as a rookie.  Seymour helped the Pats win their first Super Bowl that year, and he was named to the Pro Bowl the following season. 

Seymour became one of the leaders of the defense, and was a key component of New England’s second and third Super Bowl win.  Individually, he went to four additional Pro Bowls and had a three-year streak of First Team All-Pro Selections (2003-05).   His run with New England ended when he was traded to the Oakland Raiders before the 2009 season.  

Statistically, Seymour recorded 39/0 Sacks with 359 Combined Tackles for New England.

Seymour becomes the Patriots Hall of Fame 30^thinductee. 

The date and time for the induction ceremony is pending.

Seymour has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalist the last two years.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Richard Seymour for earning this prestigious honor, and openly wonder if this opens the door a little wider for Canton.

During last night’s UFC 249 broadcast, it was announced that Georges St. Pierre will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

St. Pierre will enter the Hall via the Modern Wing, which is reserved for fighters who meet the following criteria:

They turned pro after November 17, 2000

They are at least 35

They have been retired for more than a year.

From Montreal, St. Pierre made his UFC debut at UFC 46 by defeating Karo Parisyan, and months later he fought Matt Hughes at UFC 50 for the vacant Welterweight Championship.  St. Pierre lost, but he went on anther win streak, earning another shot at Hughes and the Welterweight belt.  This time, at UFC 65, He beat Hughes by TKO, and won the Knockout of the Night. 

This reign would be short lived as he lost his title in his first defense at UFC 69 to Matt Serra.  St. Pierre would never lose again.

St. Pierre beat Hughes again for the Interim Welterweight Title (UFC 79), and he avenged his lost to Serra at UFC 83 to win the Welterweight Title for a second time in a Submission of the Night contest.  

Following his win over Serra, he successfully defended his title against Jon Fitch, B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz and Johny Hendricks.  After the Hendricks fight (2013), St, Pierre retired and vacated the Welterweight Title.  

It was long speculated that St. Pierre would come out of retirement, but it would take until UFC 217, nearly four years after his last fight for him to return to the octagon.  St. Pierre was again the victor, defeating Michael Bisping by Technical Submission for the UFC Middleweight Title.  St. Pierre would again retire.

St. Pierre retires with a Mixed Martial Arts record of 26-2.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the date of the ceremony, which is usually held during Fight Week in July is not confirmed.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Georges St. Pierre for this well-deserved honor.

The Rock and Roll universe lost one of its architects today as Little Richard passed away.  He was 87 years old.

From Macon, Georgia, Little Richard was born Richard Penniman and took to music like a duck to water.  Leaving home at the age of 13, Penniman embraced not just the jump blues and R&B of the day, but also the theatrical components of performing.  He signed a deal with RCA Victor in 1951, and he would carve a place for himself on the R&B world, but in 1955, Richard was about to become one of the first stars of Rock and Roll.

Richard released his version of “Tutti Frutti”, and the pounding piano combined with his flamboyant appearance helped set the blueprint for what was rock music.  He would have more hits over the next few years with “Lucille”, “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly Miss Molly”.  

As popular as he was, Richard’s career abruptly halted, albeit by his own actions.  A dream he had about the end of the world combined with being on a plane whose engine caught on fire led Richard to think that there was a sign from God, and he abandoned rock for gospel.  The hits were over, but the influence he laid across the musicians that followed are still relevant today.

Richard was an inaugural member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

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