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Charles Haley: 2015 HOF Finalist



Having a lot of fun doing our Baseball debates with two of my bloggers, DDT and the Phillies Archivist, I wanted to repeat the same idea with this year’s Football Finalists, but due to time constraints I will take a deeper look at each candidate myself and offer a few thoughts as to their Hall of Fame candidacy

Next, I take a look at former Defensive End and Linebacker, Charles Haley.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Charles Haley has been named a Hall of Fame Finalist, and every single time that someone extolls the virtues of Haley for enshrinement they point to the same thing every single time:

Five Super Bowl Rings.

And why shouldn’t they do mention that fact over and over again?  There is no player who ever competed in the National Football League who can make that claim, and why else do you play the game if it isn’t to become a champion?  Haley wasn’t just a bystander, he was a pivotal figure in these championship teams with both the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers and is one of the few players who has over 100 Quarterback Sacks (100.5).  That is the most important stat, and one you can’t not mention when looking at Haley’s Hall of Fame credentials. 

Haley was also someone who had successful seasons at both Defensive End and at Linebacker, and went to the Pro Bowl and had First Team All Pro Selections at both positions, overall accumulating two First Team nods and five Pro Bowl selections, which again are decent numbers, though we have seen many other defensive players with five Pro Bowls who really have not come close to getting into Canton, though that is not what many think has kept him out so far.

As much as you would hear John Madden wax poetic about his skills on Sundays, you would equally hear about character issues that Haley had.  The defensive standout, who would later be diagnosed as bipolar, was absolutely detested by the media and though that should not be a factor for Hall of Fame voting, it is voted on by humans who mostly have interacted with the people they vote on.  The human factor plays a part, right or wrong.

It is not that he also did not ruffle teammates the wrong way as he famously had to be restrained from attacking Quarterback, Steve Young following a loss to the Oakland Raiders and this was not an isolated incident. 

Still, there have been many past teammates, namely Troy Aikman and his former coach, Jimmy Johnson who have been vocal advocates of Haley getting into the Hall.  That kind of support has to help though as much as he has become a finalist over and over, there never seemed to be any year where it felt that he was going to get over that hump.

This year doesn’t feel that much different either and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him fall short again. 




Last modified on Thursday, 19 March 2015 18:48
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