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.

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 Kentucky has announced the nine members of their Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

The six new members are:

Chanda Bell, Softball (2009-12).  Bell is arguably the best softball player in school history and she took the Wildcats to their first four NCAA Tournament appearances in school history.  She won 68 Games with a 2.55 ERA, and holds the school record of 288 Strikeouts in a season.  Historically speaking, she also threw the first no-hitter and perfect game for Kentucky.

Sawyer Carroll, Baseball (2007-08).  Playing at Outfield, Carroll was a Consensus All-American in 2008.  That year he set a school record in Runs Batted In (83), and was a semi-finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.  Carroll still holds the all-time school record in Batting Average (.386) and On Base Percentage (.483).  He later played seven years in the Minor Leagues.  

Ron Mercer, Men’s Basketball (1995-97).  Mercer was a huge part of Kentucky’s NCAA Championship in 1996, and the year after he was an All-American and the SEC Player of the Year.  He scored 1,013 Points for the Wildcats.  Mercer went on to have an eight-year career in the NBA playing for Boston, Denver, Orlando, Chicago, Indiana, San Antonio and New Jersey.

A.J. Reed, Baseball (2012-14). In 2014, Reed was the Consensus National Player of the Year when he batted .336 with 23 Home Runs.  When he wasn’t at First Base, he was an excellent Pitcher, going 12-2 with a 2.09 ERA in his award-winning year.  He would later play for the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox.

Danny Trevathan, Football (2008-11).  Trevathan was the first Linebacker in Kentucky history to be named a First Team All-American and was the leading tackler in the SEC as both a junior and Senior. He would later play for the Denver Broncos, winning a Super Bowl, and he is now a Chicago Bear

Wayne Turner, Men’s Basketball (1995-99). Turner would play in 151 Games for Kentucky, and helped them reach three Final Fours, and won two NCAA Championships.  He would later briefly play for the Boston Celtics.  

The date and location of the ceremony, has yet to be determined.

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

One of the most important pioneers of music has passed away from cancer in Florian Schneider, the co-founder of the German group, Kraftwerk. He was 73 Years old.

Schneider co-founded Kraftwerk with Ralf Hutter in 1970, and he stayed with the group until 2008.  The German quartet are credited with pushing the boundaries of electronic music, which set sonic blueprints for many genres that followed.  

When people heard Kraftwerk for the first time in the 1970s, it was unlike anything they had hear before.  The music was cold and robotic, but it pulled you in a trance-like state. Countless musicians cite Kraftwerk as an influence, and with the exception of James Brown, their music is the most sampled of all-time.

Kraftwerk has been nominated multiple times for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they are currently #1 on our latest Notinhalloffame.com list of those to consider for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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

Now, let’s all take a trip down the Autobahn one more time.

It is a very dark day in the football world as it was announced that legendary coach, Don Shula passed away peacefully at his home yesterday. He was 90 years old.

Shula played seven seasons in the National Football League (1951-57) at Defensive Back with Cleveland, Baltimore and Washington.  Like many former players, he moved into coaching, first as the Defensive Coordinator for Detroit (1960-62), and then he took over as the Head Coach for Baltimore, where he compiled a 71-23-4 record and took them to Super Bowl III, where they were upset by the New York Jets.

The Miami Dolphins coveted Shula, and they signed him as their Head Coach in 1970, a position he held until 1995.  Shula took Miami to three straight Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII.  In the Super Bowl VII season, the Dolphins were undefeated, a record that has yet to be duplicated.  Shula would then helm Miami to two AFC Championships in the 1980s.  

The four-time Coach of the Year was named to the 1970s All-Decade Team and the NFL 100^thAnniversary Team.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him in 1997.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Don Shula.