Committee Chairman

David Stern headlines first batch of 2014 Basketball HOF inductees

Feb 16, 2014

The first wave of inductees for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has been announced and the undisputed headliner thus far is the recently resigned commissioner of the National Basketball Association, David Stern. Stern served in that capacity for thirty years, and during that time the NBA flourished becoming one of the biggest entities in all of sports. Not only did the players make a lot more money, they became a lot more famous, as ESPN analyst Colin Cowherd often stated, he made the names on the back of the jersey matter.

Stern will be joined International Committee selection, Sarunas Marciullonis from Lithuania. From 1981 to 1989 he played for Statyba Vilnius in the Soviet League and twice won the Lithuanian Championship. Internationally, he was a big part of the U.S.S.R.’s Gold Medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

With Lithuania breaking away from the Soviet Republic, Marciullonis joined the Golden State Warriors and would play for four teams in a nine year period, but again internationally he would make a huge impact as the man who resurrected the Lithuanian National Team. He did everything he could, including contacting players, negotiating shoe deals and other sponsorships. Literally, it can be argued that without him they would have never won the Bronze Medal in 1992 and again in 1996.

The ABA Committee has once again selected someone representing the Indiana Pacers as former Head Coach, Bob “Slick” Leonard will be inducted this year. Leonard coached the Pacers from 1968 and stayed with them through the move to the NBA. He was at the helm when Indiana won three ABA Championships.

Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton will also be inducted. He was chosen by the Early African-American Pioneers Committee and was one of the first black players in the NBA. Prior to joining the Association he was with the barnstorming New York Rens and the famed Harlem Globetrotters. He was an NBA All Star in 1957.

The final man who has already been chosen for the 2014 Basketball Hall of Fame Class is Guy Rodgers from the Veteran’s Committee. The Point Guard was a two tine Assists leader in the NBA as well as a four time All Star. Rodgers held the #98 spot on our list.

The Finalists for the Hall of Fame in the traditional vote was also announced. Alonzo Mourning who is in his first year of eligibility is the biggest name and the number #3 man on our Basketball list. Spencer Haywood, who was told that he was going to be inducted last year, returns as a Finalist and is ranked number #2 by us. Mitch Richmond (#9), Tim Hardaway (#10) and Kevin Johnson (#13) are also Finalists.

They are joined by NCAA coaches Nolan Richardson, Eddie Sutton and Gary Williams. The group is rounded out by Women’s Coach, Harley Redin and the three time AIAW champion in the 70’s, Immaculata University.

Our number one choice, Chris Webber was not chosen as a Finalist. As much as he has the statistics to make a Hall of Fame claim in both College and Pro, his banishment from the Michigan program after accepting funding from a local booster clearly played a part in his omission.

The announcement of the complete class will be announced on April 7^th, prior to the Final Four.

The Baseball List is revised

Feb 13, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Last week we here at Notinhalloffame.com were thrilled to unveil the 2014 Rock and Roll list at a timeframe much quicker than we did last year. With that completed, we were able to focus on the Baseball section, which we have now finished and are happy to unveil today.

As happy as we are to present it to all of you, we know that the debate on the Baseball Hall of Fame will remain the hottest debate among such institutions and we welcome the polarizing opinions that comes with it.

As with all of the other lists we do, we alter rankings based on the input that you give us. The votes and comments mean a lot to us and we certainly encourage all of you to keep making this website as interactive as possible. As for the new entries, we base that first ranking on as much statistical analysis as possible, though of course in the sport of Baseball, stats are constantly being evaluated and re-evaluated and far too often the magical element of the sport is forgotten when we look at the eligible players.

The top of the list remained the same as we continue to have the banned Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson at 1A and 1B and PED tainted Barry Bonds at 1C, making him the top eligible player. His support on our site is mostly positive, though in dealing with him and many of the other PED users (or suspected users), we are dealing with absolutes as you have told us you definitely want him in, or definitely want him out. Until it shifts that more of you want him out, Bonds will likely maintain the top spot.

The same is said for Roger Clemens, who won more Cy Young Awards than anyone else, who remains at number 2. Like Bonds, he is a position where it appears that the Baseball Writers will not be selecting them for the Hall of Fame, and we wonder how long we will see Bonds and Clemens remain 1 and 2 on this list.

Although the top is unchanged, there are four former players who are entering the top 25, two of which we think will be first ballot Hall of Fame entries, with a strong possibility of a third.

“The Big Unit” Randy Johnson is the highest ranking new entry, taking over the number 3 spot, which was owned last year by first year inductee and fellow Pitcher, Greg Maddux. It is on the Pitcher’s mound where we will also find Pedro Martinez who enters at number 5, again a position which inducted another first year entry last year in Frank Thomas.

John Smoltz did not make our top ten, though he enters at number 13 and is a very strong Hall of Fame contender. The others in the top ten are Mike Piazza (4), Jeff Bagwell (6), Mike Mussina (7), Tim Raines (8), Bill Dahlen (9) and Curt Schilling (10). Among the “Eligible” top ten, only Dahlen is not on next year’s ballot and would have to enter based on the support of the Veterans Committee.

Also now eligible is Gary Sheffield makes his debut at 22, and we are very eager to see what the Baseball Writers do with him. The fifth and final new entry to the list is Carlos Delgado who we have slotted in at 63.

You know what we want from all of you! Check out these new entries and cast your vote or offer a comment.

Donovan and Ray Davies selected to the Songwriters HOF

Feb 12, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

As we have mentioned here on Notinhalloffame.com, we don’t foresee us ever ranking those who are not in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This is not to say that we don’t have respect for this institution as we certainly do, but as much as songwriting is an obviously vital part of music, this Hall of Fame does not raise even a fraction of the ire and passion that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does.

Regardless of that fact, there is a major event which occurred yesterday as they have announced their 2014 Class which includes a pair of recognizable names and three names who penned for some of the greatest musical legends of all time.

The arguable headliner is Ray Davies, the frontman and songwriter of the popular British band, The Kinks. The band themselves have long since been inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though it can be argued that this is an overdue induction as Davies was not a songwriter who penned the standard rock tune. He could appeal to the working class, the avant garde and those who just wanted a cheery pop song.

The other high level name selected was Donovan, who also was selected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Scotsman was a major force on the Folk scene that was labelled as a genius by some and eccentric by others; of which they might both be right. No matter what, he was unique and he is a man of which time has shined a very positive light.

They are joined by another man from the United Kingdom, Graham Gouldman. He penned three well known songs that have persevered from the late 60’s, including two made famous by the Yardbirds (Heart Full of Soul & For Your Love) and Bus Stop which was recorded by the Hollies. He was a performer himself and was part of 10cc, which themselves had a decent run.

The fourth inductee is Mark James, form the United States. He wrote “Hooked on a Feeling” which was performed by his friend, B.J. Thomas and “Suspicious Minds” which was arguable Elvis’ last great hit. In our opinion, his greatest songwriting performance was “Always On My Mind” which was executed so well by Willie Nelson, that he often erroneously receives credit for writing it.

The final inductee is Jim Weatherly, also an American. Like everyone else selected this year, he wrote many hits but was known mostly for his work writing the majority of the songs for Gladys Knight and the Pips, including “Midnight Train to Georgia”.

We would like to congratulate this year’s class, and we will certainly keep an eye on who will be selected next year.

Lita to the WWE Hall of Fame

Feb 11, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

It was announced tonight on Monday Night Raw that Amy Dumas who performed as “Lita” in the WWE, will be part of the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame Class.

This should not come as a real shock, as she was one of the top women wrestlers in the 2000’s and the WWE has seemingly tried to induct a female every year since its return to annual inductions in 2004.

Amy Dumas began her wrestling career in 1998 and within a year she was performing in ECW as “Miss Congeniality” where she only appeared for five months before gaining attention from the World Wrestling Federation. She would debut in 2000 as the valet of Essa Rios, though it was clear that she was no ordinary valet.

Now named Lita, she would perform moonsaults on the prone body of the opponent of Rios after the match. It wasn’t a bad pairing, but her career skyrocketed as a member of “Team Extreme” with the Matt and Jeff Hardy, and she was quickly regarded for her athleticism and unique look. In the ring she would begin an on again-off again feud with Trish Stratus, and the two would make the Women’s division relevant in a way that has not been seen since the two retired.

She would make wrestling headlines when she left her real life boyfriend, Matt Hardy for fellow wrestler, Edge, turning her into the biggest female heel in wrestling. She retired as a four time WWE Champion, and arguable behind Trish Stratus as the most important female wrestler of the decade of the 2000’s.

We would like to congratulate Amy Dumas for her selection to the WWE Hall of Fame.