It is a very sad day in Denver and the world of Football at large as Pat Bowlen, the owner of the Denver Broncos passed away at the age of 75 after a long bout with Alzheimer’s.  He was 75 years old.

Bowlen purchased the team in 1984 and under his ownership the team went from mediocre to one of the flagships of the National Football League.  The Broncos went to seven Super Bowls winning three of them and he would become the first owner to see his team win 300 Games under his/her/their first 30 years of ownership.  He would be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past February and his August induction will now be posthumous.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Pat Bowlen at this time.  

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 and executive.  As such it is news to us that the Tennessee Titans will be retiring the numbers of both Eddie George and Steve McNair.

Eddie George was drafted 14^thOverall in 1996, which would be the final season the organization was in Houston.  George rushed for 1,368 Yards as a rookie and in the next three seasons he would not fall below 1,294 Yards in Rushing but would also be more of a receiving threat and was named to the Pro Bowl in all three of those seasons.  He would go his fourth (and fourth straight) tight after with a career high 1,509 Rushing Yards, 14 Rushing Touchdowns and would be chosen for what would be his only First Team All-Pro roster spot.  He would have two more 1,000 rushing campaigns and in his eight years as an Oiler/Titan he would accumulate 10,009 Rushing Yards and another 2,992 in the air with 74 Touchdowns.

Steve McNair was drafted 3^rdOverall in 1995 and he would be cemented as the starting Quarterback in 1997, the first year the franchise was entrenched in the state of Tennessee.  McNair would be a Pro Bowl Selection three times (2000, 2003 & 2005) and he would throw for 27,141 Yards and 156 Touchdowns while rushing for another 3,439 Yards and 36 TDs.  McNair was shot and killed by his mistress in a murder-suicide in 2009.

George (#23) and McNair (#9) become the seventh and eighth numbers retired by the franchise.  They join Warren Moon (#1), Earl Campbell (#34), Jim Norton (#43), Mike Munchak (#63), Elvin Bethea (#65) and Bruce Matthews (#74). 

The official ceremony will take place during the Titans home opener against the Indianapolis Colts on September 15.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Eddie George and the late Steve McNair for earning this very prestigious honor.

The University of Oregon has announced the members of their 2019 Athletic Hall of Fame.

The new members will be:

Mike Bellotti:  Bellotti became the Offensive Coordinator for the Ducks Football program in 1989 and he would hold that position until the 1995 season when he would take over as the team’s Head Coach.  He would have a record of 116-55 (1995-2008) and his run was highlighted by their 2001 Fiesta Bowl win.  Bellotti was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

Galen Rupp: Rupp would win six national championships at the University of Oregon and would later win the Silver Medal in the 10,000 Meters at the 2012 London Games and the Bronze in the Marathon at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games representing the United States.

Max Unger: Unger played Center for the Ducks and was an All-American in 2008.  He would go on to the NFL where he was chosen for three Pro Bowls.

Rachel Yurkovich: Yurkovich was a National Champion in the Javelin in both 2008 & 2009.  She would compete at the 2012 Olympics.

This group will be joined by the 1989 Softball Team, which were the first Ducks to compete in the Women’s College World Series and the 2007 and 2008 National Men’s Championship Cross-Country Teams.

To become eligible for the Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame the individual(s) in question must have left the institution 10 years earlier.  This group will be officially inducted in a banquet on October 25 and will be introduced at the football game the following day against Washington State.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the soon to be members of the Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame for earning this honor.

As we are neck deep in the 2019 NBA Finals, we have a significant retirement to look at in the world of Basketball as Tony Parker is calling it quits.

From France, Parker was selected by the San Antonio Spurs 28^thOverall and after beginning the season as a backup he was soon elevated to the team’s starting Point Guard.  A member of the First Team All-Rookie squad, Parker showed constant improvement and helped the Spurs win the 2003 NBA Championship and was a great fit with their star big man, Tim Duncan.  That was the first of four titles that he would win, with the others coming in 2005, 2007 and 2014.  In the 2007 Championship, he was named the Finals MVP, which made him the first European to win that honor.

Parker would be a six-time All-Star and he was also three-time Second Team All-NBA selection.  He would average 15.5 Points and 5.7 Assists per Game over a 1,254 Game career, 17 seasons with San Antonio and a final one with the Charlotte Hornets.

Internationally, he played for France at the 2012 Olympics and in eight Eurobasket Tournaments where he took them to a Gold Medal in 2013.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank Tony Parker for his on-court memories and we wish him the best in his post-playing career.