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.  As such it is huge news that the Colorado Rockies will be retiring the number 33 of former Outfielder, Larry Walker.

After playing for the Montreal Expos for six seasons, he would sign with Colorado as a Free Agent for the 1995 season.  Walker, who was already an All-Star in Montreal, would ascend to greater heights in Colorado.  With the Rockies, the Canadian slugger would go to four All-Star Games, and would win three Batting Titles.  Walker won the 1997 National League MVP, while also capturing five Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers with the Rockies.

This is the final year that Walker is eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and it is considered that he has approximately a 50/50 shot for Cooperstown.

Walker joins Todd Helton (#17), and the league wide retirement of #42 of Jackie Robinson.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Larry Walker for earning this prestigious honor.

When the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 10 new members from the player’s senior pool, that meant that 10 former legends were left off.  While there was a sizable groan in the Rocky Mountains when former Bronco, Randy Gradishar was left off, the most “visible” one was in Texas, as former Cowboys Wide Receiver, Drew Pearson, was also left off.

We use the word “visual” because KTVT from Plano, Texas was on hand to record his reaction.  When he wasn’t chosen, Pearson could not contain his disappointment:

“They broke my heart.  They broke my heart; and they did it like this! They strung it out like this.”

Pearson is referring to the broadcast on the NFL Network, which began at 7 AM EST.  While most people did not expect that they would go right into the announcement of who was chosen, nobody thought that the inductees would be announced in a reality show format, that dragged across nearly two hours.  The NFL Network did not state at the beginning that the announcements would be spread out over such a long duration of time.  The agony for those not chosen, and the families thereof, had to be excruciating.  

Pearson’s frustration continued:

“Can’t do nothing about it. Can’t catch no more damn passes. Can’t run no more routes.  It’s there.  What upsets me more is when they say you don’t deserve it.  They talk negative about you.  There’s nothing negative about my career in the NFL. Nothing!”

If we were to hazard a guess as to when the mood of the room changed, it had to be when fellow Wide Receiver, Harold Carmichael was announced to the Hall.  He wasn’t just announced on the NFL Network, he was there on hand to discuss the selection.  If he was there, he was obviously told ahead of time, and Pearson and all of the others in that room had to feel that their chances just plummeted.

While Pearson may have taken a chance having his reaction filmed live, there was no reason that he would have thought the broadcast would announce the new inductees in that staggered pattern.  None of us did.  This had let to minimal speculation that Hall of Fame President, David Baker, has been milking camera time and exposure for the Hall.  That train of thought began when he appeared on both the CBS and FOX playoff broadcasts to tell Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson respectively that they were now Hall of Famers; leading to some feeling that they earned that spot over Don Coryell and Tom Flores, who had previously been Finalists.  Cowher had not.

Dallas was not without representation as former Safety, Cliff Harris, was chosen.

All of this has left some with a bad taste in their mouth, but we again want to reiterate that we are thrilled that we are watching the biggest Pro Football Hall of Fame Class ever, and that is the most positive Hall related news in years.

Good or bad, we know we will keep wathing.

It was announced today that WWE Hall of Famer, Rocky Johnson, passed away today at the age of 75.  

Born Wayde Bowles in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Johnson was a natural athlete who had initially trained to be a boxer.  While he once sparred with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, his true calling was professional wrestling, which he began in 1964.  

Taking on the name of (which he would also legally change his name to) of Rocky Johnson, he would wrestled across North America, breaking out in 1970, when he won the NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship in Los Angeles.  Throughout the 1970s, he performed for various NWA promotions.  In 1971, he wrestled in San Francisco, where he was their United States Champion and later four-time Tag Team Champion, three of those reigns held alongside Pat Patterson.  “The Soulman” would also win other major singles titles in the United States, among which were the NWA Georgia Heavyweight (1974), NWA Florida Heavyweight (1975), NWA Texas Heavyweight (1976), and NWA Mid-America Southern Heavyweight (1976).

In the early 80s, a run in Mid-Atlantic would precede the WWF, where he teamed with Tony Atlas to defeat the Wild Samoans for the Tag Team Championship.  He would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008, and prior to that his last major appearance for the company was appearing from the crowd to help his son (Rocky Maivia) at Wrestlemania 13.

In his personal life, he married Ata Maivia, the daughter of “High Chief” Peter Maivia, and the oldest member of the famed Samoan wrestling clan.  They had a son, Dwayne Johnson, who followed in his father’s footsteps in wrestling, becoming “The Rock”.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Rocky Johnson at this time.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com are trying to think if there has ever been a busier Hall of Fame related day. On the same day that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced their Class of 2020, the Pro Football Hall of Fame (coincidentally, also based in Ohio), unveiled their Blue Ribbon Centennial Class.  This is the first time that the Canton based institution has ever had a panel dedicated to producing this many Hall of Famers, who were not part of the Modern Era pool.

There were 20 Finalists named to Centennial Slate of former players.

The 10 that got in were:

Harold Carmichael:  Carmichael was a superstar with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he would lead the NFL in Receiving Yards in 1973, and was a four-time Pro Bowler.  The Wide Receiver would be named to the 1970s All-Decade Team.

Jimbo Covert:  The Chicago Bears Offensive Lineman (1983-91) won a Super Bowl with the Bears in 1985, and he was also the NFLPA Offensive Lineman of the Year. Covert would also be selected for the 1980s All-Decade Team.

Bobby Dillon:  Dillon was a four-time Pro Bowl Selection and is still the all-time leader in Interceptions for the Green Bay Packers, the only team that he ever played for.  He passed away last August.

Cliff Harris:  Playing his entire career at Safety for Dallas, Harris was a Super Bowl Champion, and six-time Pro Bowl Selection.  He was also chosen for the 1970’s All-Decade Team.

Winston Hill:  Hill was a four-time AFL All-Star and four-time Pro Bowl with the New York Jets, and was an integral part of New York’s Super Bowl III Championship. 

Alex Karras:  The legendary Defensive Tackle played his entire career with the Detroit Lions, and he was a four-time Pro Bowl and 1960’s All-Decade Team member.

Duke Slater:  A pioneer in every way, Duke Slater was the first African-American Lineman, joining the league in 1922.  He was a First Team All-Pro four times.  

Donnie Shell:  The Steel Curtain gains more representation with the induction of Shell.  A member of all four of their Super Bowl wins in the 1970s, Shell was a five-time Pro Bowl recipient at Safety.

Mac Speedie:  Speedie was with the Cleveland Browns for seven seasons, where the End helped take the team to all four AAFC Championships.  He would later go to two Pro Bowls, and overall he was a four-time leader in Receptions.

Ed Sprinkle:  The career Chicago Bear (1944-55), “the meanest man in football” is now in the Hall of Fame.  He was a member of the 1940s All-Decade Team and was an NFL Champion in 1946.

Those who did not get in were Cliff Branch, Roger Craig, LaVern Dilweg, Ox Emerson, Randy Gradishar, Cecil Isbell, Verne Lewellen, Tommy Nobis, Drew Pearson and Al Wistert.

In the Contributors Section, Steve Sabol of NFL Films enters.  He was at the helm of that division from 1964 to 2012 and he won 35 Emmys. 

Sabol is joined by former NFL Commissioner, Paul Tagliabue, who held that post from 1989 to 2006.  The NFL shot up in overall popularity and revenue over his tenure, and expanded by four teams.  The third Contributor was George Young, who was he General Manager of the New York Giants from 1979 to 1997 whose moves led them to two Super Bowls. 

The Contributor Finalists who were not chosen were Bud Adams, Ralph Hay, Bucko Kilroy, Art McNally, Art Modell, Clint Murchison and Seymour Siwoff 

Two former coaches, Bill Cowher, and Jimmy Johnson, had already been announced this past weekend.  As there were only two to be selected from the eight who made the list of Finalists, there were no Coaches announced today. Those that did not make the cut were Don Coryell, Tom Flores, Mike Holmgren, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves and Dick Vermeil.

We hope that that this will lead to the Pro Football Hall of Fame inducting a higher annual number of Senior Candidates in the future.

This group will be joined by five Modern-Era players.  They will be announced the day before the Super Bowl.

Before we congratulate the class, we have to openly take issue with the NFL Network’s broadcast this morning for dragging out the announcement.  While we understood this makes for compelling television, this was not laid out to those viewing, many of whom tuned in at 7:00 EST, for the specific purpose of watching to learn who was chosen.  It was never mentioned that this would be spread out over two hours to those watching. It was also learned that some of the new class who were still alive were told ahead of time (obvious, when Carmichael appeared in studio), and some were waiting by the phone.  While we are sure that no disrespect was intended, we are certain that this is how some of those felt who were not chosen.

All of these players were ranked on our latest Notinhalloffame.com list, and will be removed in February.  We will then remove all were inducted, re-rank those based on your comments and votes, and input those who are now eligible.

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