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Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site. Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .
Our Fictitious Athlete HOF Announces the 2017 Class!
Dec 21, 2016
Published in
Not in Hall of Fame News
Major update for us!
The third full class of the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame has been announced and the six new entries encompass the sports of baseball, hockey, golf and boxing.
Joining previous inductees, The Hanson Brothers, Happy Gilmore, Reggie Dunlop Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn, Crash Davis, Roy Hobbs and inaugural inductee, Rocky Balboa are Apollo Creed (Rocky), Charlie Conway (The Mighty Ducks) and Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez (The Sandlot). The contributor section welcomes Gordon Bombay (The Mighty Ducks) and Chubbs Peterson (Happy Gilmore) and the first veteran’s category inductee chosen this year was Dennis Ryan (Take Me Out to the Ball Game).
This year’s leading vote getter was Apollo Creed. Portrayed by Carl Weathers in four of the Rocky films, Apollo was the former Heavyweight Champion of the World and would become the closest friend of the man who defeated him for the title, Rocky Balboa. Creed would die tragically in the ring in an exhibition match gone wrong, though his legacy lives on through his son, and Light Heavyweight contender, Adonis Creed. It should be noted that Apollo finished fourth two years ago.
Finishing second in the vote is Charlie Conway, the central character from the Mighty Ducks franchise. Conway was never presented as the star of the team, but he was their undeniable heart and the favorite of many aspiring hockey players. Conway finished fourth in the voting last year.
The third and final athletic inductee is this year’ lone baseball entry, Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez from The Sandlot. While it is revealed that Rodriguez would one day become a star player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, we see him as the star of his sandlot team and the one you wished was your best friend when you were a kid.
These fictional athletes were elected over the process of a yearlong online vote, which started with over 300 Preliminary Candidates, was reduced to 50 Semi-Finalists, then reduced to an elite 15 in a Final Round, which produced the first Full Class of the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame.
These new inductees beat out the following finalists (in order of their vote totals) in the Final Round:
- Tim Riggins (Friday Night Lights)
- Willie “Mays” Hayes (Major League)
- Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)
- Bobby Boucher (The Waterboy)
- Ricky Bobby (Talladega Nights)
- Alex Moran (Blue Mountain State)
- Dottie Hinson (A League of Their Own)
- Shane Falco (The Replacements)
- Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid)
- Al Bundy (Married…With Children)
- Kenny Powers (Eastbound and Down)
- Dean Youngblood (Youngblood)
Like “real” Athletic Halls of Fame, the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame has a “wing” for contributors; again decided by three stages of online voting.
Like last year two Fictitious Contributors were voted in as opposed to one from the first year.
Joining Harry Doyle, Mr. Miyagi and Carl Spackler are Chubbs Peterson (Happy Gilmore) and Gordon Bombay (The Mighty Ducks).
The selection of Chubbs Peterson means that Carl Weathers is a double inductee this year and that the film Happy Gilmore, now has two inductees. Gordon Bombay’s induction also makes it a double entry class for the Mighty Ducks franchise.
Peterson and Bombay beat out the following finalists (in order of their vote totals) in the Final Round:
- Mickey Goldmill (Rocky)
- Jimmy Dugan (A League of Their Own)
- Lou Brown (Major League)
- Ray Kinsella (Field of Dreams)
- Norman Dale (Hoosiers)
- Jerry Maguire (Jerry Maguire)
- The Gopher (Caddyshack)
- Adrian Balboa (The Mighty Ducks)
Last year, the first Veteran’s Inductee was chosen as Andy “The Champ” Purcell from the original “The Champ” (1931). This year he is joined by Dennis Ryan, which was played by the “Chairman of the Board”, Frank Sinatre in Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
So, what comes next?
The 2017 Preliminary Vote, which is now up for all of you!
The Fictitious Athletes Preliminary Vote can be found here.
The Fictitious Contributors Preliminary Vote can be found here.
The Fictitious Veterans Vote can be found here.
Gang, we ask you to support our Hall and cast your vote!
The third full class of the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame has been announced and the six new entries encompass the sports of baseball, hockey, golf and boxing.
Joining previous inductees, The Hanson Brothers, Happy Gilmore, Reggie Dunlop Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn, Crash Davis, Roy Hobbs and inaugural inductee, Rocky Balboa are Apollo Creed (Rocky), Charlie Conway (The Mighty Ducks) and Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez (The Sandlot). The contributor section welcomes Gordon Bombay (The Mighty Ducks) and Chubbs Peterson (Happy Gilmore) and the first veteran’s category inductee chosen this year was Dennis Ryan (Take Me Out to the Ball Game).
This year’s leading vote getter was Apollo Creed. Portrayed by Carl Weathers in four of the Rocky films, Apollo was the former Heavyweight Champion of the World and would become the closest friend of the man who defeated him for the title, Rocky Balboa. Creed would die tragically in the ring in an exhibition match gone wrong, though his legacy lives on through his son, and Light Heavyweight contender, Adonis Creed. It should be noted that Apollo finished fourth two years ago.
Finishing second in the vote is Charlie Conway, the central character from the Mighty Ducks franchise. Conway was never presented as the star of the team, but he was their undeniable heart and the favorite of many aspiring hockey players. Conway finished fourth in the voting last year.
The third and final athletic inductee is this year’ lone baseball entry, Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez from The Sandlot. While it is revealed that Rodriguez would one day become a star player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, we see him as the star of his sandlot team and the one you wished was your best friend when you were a kid.
These fictional athletes were elected over the process of a yearlong online vote, which started with over 300 Preliminary Candidates, was reduced to 50 Semi-Finalists, then reduced to an elite 15 in a Final Round, which produced the first Full Class of the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame.
These new inductees beat out the following finalists (in order of their vote totals) in the Final Round:
- Tim Riggins (Friday Night Lights)
- Willie “Mays” Hayes (Major League)
- Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)
- Bobby Boucher (The Waterboy)
- Ricky Bobby (Talladega Nights)
- Alex Moran (Blue Mountain State)
- Dottie Hinson (A League of Their Own)
- Shane Falco (The Replacements)
- Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid)
- Al Bundy (Married…With Children)
- Kenny Powers (Eastbound and Down)
- Dean Youngblood (Youngblood)
Like “real” Athletic Halls of Fame, the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame has a “wing” for contributors; again decided by three stages of online voting.
Like last year two Fictitious Contributors were voted in as opposed to one from the first year.
Joining Harry Doyle, Mr. Miyagi and Carl Spackler are Chubbs Peterson (Happy Gilmore) and Gordon Bombay (The Mighty Ducks).
The selection of Chubbs Peterson means that Carl Weathers is a double inductee this year and that the film Happy Gilmore, now has two inductees. Gordon Bombay’s induction also makes it a double entry class for the Mighty Ducks franchise.
Peterson and Bombay beat out the following finalists (in order of their vote totals) in the Final Round:
- Mickey Goldmill (Rocky)
- Jimmy Dugan (A League of Their Own)
- Lou Brown (Major League)
- Ray Kinsella (Field of Dreams)
- Norman Dale (Hoosiers)
- Jerry Maguire (Jerry Maguire)
- The Gopher (Caddyshack)
- Adrian Balboa (The Mighty Ducks)
Last year, the first Veteran’s Inductee was chosen as Andy “The Champ” Purcell from the original “The Champ” (1931). This year he is joined by Dennis Ryan, which was played by the “Chairman of the Board”, Frank Sinatre in Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
So, what comes next?
The 2017 Preliminary Vote, which is now up for all of you!
The Fictitious Athletes Preliminary Vote can be found here.
The Fictitious Contributors Preliminary Vote can be found here.
The Fictitious Veterans Vote can be found here.
Gang, we ask you to support our Hall and cast your vote!
The RRHOF Class of 2017 has been announced
Dec 20, 2016
Published in
Not in Hall of Fame News
This is kind of our Christmas morning.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced their 2017 Class, and let’s get right to it.
Pearl Jam, enters on their first year of eligibility and did this surprise anyone at all? When you think of what the RRHOF is looking for in an inductee they met every criteria and the discussion to enter the Cleveland probably didn’t even exist. They didn’t have to debate it all.
Tupac also joins as a first ballot inductee. No word yet as to whether his hologram will be making an appearance at the ceremony, but like Pearl Jam this was largely expected.
Journey, who won the fan vote, also got in on their first nomination, though they have been long eligible. This is the fourth year in a row where the winner of the fan vote gained entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Progressive Rock finally saw Yes get in after twenty plus years of eligibility. Arguably, this was of the biggest bands of their genre who had yet to get in.
The Electric Light Orchestra will also be inducted. Jeff Lynne has long been one of the most respected musicians in the industry and for what it is worth, now all of the Wilburys are Hall of Famers.
The surprise inductee was Joan Baez, who also got in on her first nomination, albeit after thirty-four years of eligibility. Baez was a folk icon, and she is the lone female to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year.
Perhaps the biggest relief (in our eyes) is that Chic’s Nile Rodgers will be entering the Hall as the recipient of the Award for Musical Excellence. Chic had been nominated annually without getting in, and this is likely going to put an end to that debacle.
Those not selected were Depeche Mode, Janet Jackson, Bad Brains, Jane’s Addiction, The Cars, Chic, The J. Geils Band, Kraftwerk, MC5, Steppenwolf, The Zombies, Joe Tex and Chaka Khan.
We will have a deeper look at this later in the week and we will also begin work on reworking our Notinhalloffame.com Rock and Roll list in late January.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced their 2017 Class, and let’s get right to it.
Pearl Jam, enters on their first year of eligibility and did this surprise anyone at all? When you think of what the RRHOF is looking for in an inductee they met every criteria and the discussion to enter the Cleveland probably didn’t even exist. They didn’t have to debate it all.
Tupac also joins as a first ballot inductee. No word yet as to whether his hologram will be making an appearance at the ceremony, but like Pearl Jam this was largely expected.
Journey, who won the fan vote, also got in on their first nomination, though they have been long eligible. This is the fourth year in a row where the winner of the fan vote gained entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Progressive Rock finally saw Yes get in after twenty plus years of eligibility. Arguably, this was of the biggest bands of their genre who had yet to get in.
The Electric Light Orchestra will also be inducted. Jeff Lynne has long been one of the most respected musicians in the industry and for what it is worth, now all of the Wilburys are Hall of Famers.
The surprise inductee was Joan Baez, who also got in on her first nomination, albeit after thirty-four years of eligibility. Baez was a folk icon, and she is the lone female to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year.
Perhaps the biggest relief (in our eyes) is that Chic’s Nile Rodgers will be entering the Hall as the recipient of the Award for Musical Excellence. Chic had been nominated annually without getting in, and this is likely going to put an end to that debacle.
Those not selected were Depeche Mode, Janet Jackson, Bad Brains, Jane’s Addiction, The Cars, Chic, The J. Geils Band, Kraftwerk, MC5, Steppenwolf, The Zombies, Joe Tex and Chaka Khan.
We will have a deeper look at this later in the week and we will also begin work on reworking our Notinhalloffame.com Rock and Roll list in late January.
Another vote lost for Schilling
Dec 16, 2016
Published in
Not in Hall of Fame News
This isn’t going to be Curt Schilling’s year is it?
We have another Baseball Hall of Fame writer who has stated that he will not be voting for Schilling and furthermore, won’t be voting for anyone for the 2017 Hall of Fame Class. That person is Wally Matthews, a former beat writer for the New York Yankees who had this say to say in a column regarding Schilling:
“If baseball’s Sabremetricians could come up with a way to quantify character, Curt Schilling’s would be a negative number.
But a guy’s personality is not supposed to be the criteria for voting, his performance is. However, voters are human beings and sometimes it is difficult to separate the man from the player.
That is where the question of Curt Schilling’s candidacy comes up for me this year. I have voted for Schilling in the past, based on his superior career WAR (80.7, higher than that of Tom Glavine, Don Sutton, Jim Palmer, Bob Feller, and yes, even Sandy Koufax) and his outstanding post-season numbers.
His personal views have often troubled and at times offended me — he is an unabashed collector of Nazi memorabilia — but I have kept that out of my thought process.
Until, that is, about a month ago, when he retweeted a photo of a man wearing a T-shirt advocating the lynching of journalists, with the comment, “OK, so much awesome here . . .”
Beyond the offensiveness of any reference to lynching, which is profoundly racist in itself, is the threat to the men and women in my profession. That is something I take personally and if Curt Schilling really wants to “lynch” journalists, he can start with me, in a boxing ring with 10-ounce gloves on. That will put an end to his sick little fantasy.”
Did he just challenge Schilling to a fight?
This wasn’t all that Matthews had to say, as other comments showed how he was disheartened with the baseball players in general and their attitude towards the media in general:
“I thought I had reached my breaking point a couple of years ago when, while covering a Yankees road game in a Midwest city, a pitcher who had recently been voted into the Hall of Fame — he was a borderline candidate at best but I voted for him, I must admit, under pressure from some colleagues — came upon the Yankees beat crew waiting for the elevator down to the post-game clubhouse.
This borderline Hall of Famer looked at the group of people, many of whom had voted for him, and turned to a companion. “Look at all the sheep,” he said, derisively. Then he began making ridiculous bleating noises. I couldn’t decide whether to belt him in the mouth or refer him to a psychiatrist. All I know is in that moment, I was profoundly sorry I voted for him and his slightly-better-than average stats.”
We are not sure who sounds more bitter, Matthews, or the former baseball player he is describing.
Matthews also vented about the hypocrisy of the Today’s Game Era Committee selecting Bud Selig for the 2017 Hall:
“As if trying to determine whose numbers are real and whose were inflated by artificial (read: chemical) and therefore illegal means weren’t difficult enough, the Hall has further complicated matters this year by voting in Bud Selig, a co-conspirator with Donald Fehr and Gene Orza in allowing the steroid era to occur in the first place.”
While his argument on the induction of Bud Selig is sound, the fact that someone is just throwing away a ballot is absurd and juvenile. Certainly there are other baseball journalists who would love to have this opportunity.
Either way, the tally for Schilling is not looking like it could possibly be higher than last year.
We have another Baseball Hall of Fame writer who has stated that he will not be voting for Schilling and furthermore, won’t be voting for anyone for the 2017 Hall of Fame Class. That person is Wally Matthews, a former beat writer for the New York Yankees who had this say to say in a column regarding Schilling:
“If baseball’s Sabremetricians could come up with a way to quantify character, Curt Schilling’s would be a negative number.
But a guy’s personality is not supposed to be the criteria for voting, his performance is. However, voters are human beings and sometimes it is difficult to separate the man from the player.
That is where the question of Curt Schilling’s candidacy comes up for me this year. I have voted for Schilling in the past, based on his superior career WAR (80.7, higher than that of Tom Glavine, Don Sutton, Jim Palmer, Bob Feller, and yes, even Sandy Koufax) and his outstanding post-season numbers.
His personal views have often troubled and at times offended me — he is an unabashed collector of Nazi memorabilia — but I have kept that out of my thought process.
Until, that is, about a month ago, when he retweeted a photo of a man wearing a T-shirt advocating the lynching of journalists, with the comment, “OK, so much awesome here . . .”
Beyond the offensiveness of any reference to lynching, which is profoundly racist in itself, is the threat to the men and women in my profession. That is something I take personally and if Curt Schilling really wants to “lynch” journalists, he can start with me, in a boxing ring with 10-ounce gloves on. That will put an end to his sick little fantasy.”
Did he just challenge Schilling to a fight?
This wasn’t all that Matthews had to say, as other comments showed how he was disheartened with the baseball players in general and their attitude towards the media in general:
“I thought I had reached my breaking point a couple of years ago when, while covering a Yankees road game in a Midwest city, a pitcher who had recently been voted into the Hall of Fame — he was a borderline candidate at best but I voted for him, I must admit, under pressure from some colleagues — came upon the Yankees beat crew waiting for the elevator down to the post-game clubhouse.
This borderline Hall of Famer looked at the group of people, many of whom had voted for him, and turned to a companion. “Look at all the sheep,” he said, derisively. Then he began making ridiculous bleating noises. I couldn’t decide whether to belt him in the mouth or refer him to a psychiatrist. All I know is in that moment, I was profoundly sorry I voted for him and his slightly-better-than average stats.”
We are not sure who sounds more bitter, Matthews, or the former baseball player he is describing.
Matthews also vented about the hypocrisy of the Today’s Game Era Committee selecting Bud Selig for the 2017 Hall:
“As if trying to determine whose numbers are real and whose were inflated by artificial (read: chemical) and therefore illegal means weren’t difficult enough, the Hall has further complicated matters this year by voting in Bud Selig, a co-conspirator with Donald Fehr and Gene Orza in allowing the steroid era to occur in the first place.”
While his argument on the induction of Bud Selig is sound, the fact that someone is just throwing away a ballot is absurd and juvenile. Certainly there are other baseball journalists who would love to have this opportunity.
Either way, the tally for Schilling is not looking like it could possibly be higher than last year.
The Top 50 Minnesota Vikings are now up!
Dec 13, 2016
Published in
Not in Hall of Fame News
Yes, we know this is a very slow process!
We have another Top 50 All Time to announce and we have returned to the National Football League, specifically the NFC North, where we tackled the monstrous legacy of the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions previously. This time we look at their division rival, the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota went to four Super Bowls in the 1970’s, all in losing efforts, but to get to that many title games you know that team was loaded with talent in that era. Not surprisingly, that is where many of our Top 50 come from.
This was a very hard process for us, perhaps the hardest one to date!
The entire list begins here:
We invite you to click through to see where Fran Tarkenton, Adrian Petersen, Cris Carter, Alan Page and Randy Moss are, but we will tell you who we ranked #1, and we know it will shock you a little.
It is Hall of Famer, Carl Eller.
We bet while you weren’t expecting that one, were you?
This list is up to the end of the 2015 Season.
We look forward to your feedback and remember the intent is to change this annually, so your opinions and comments do matter!
We have another Top 50 All Time to announce and we have returned to the National Football League, specifically the NFC North, where we tackled the monstrous legacy of the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions previously. This time we look at their division rival, the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota went to four Super Bowls in the 1970’s, all in losing efforts, but to get to that many title games you know that team was loaded with talent in that era. Not surprisingly, that is where many of our Top 50 come from.
This was a very hard process for us, perhaps the hardest one to date!
The entire list begins here:
We invite you to click through to see where Fran Tarkenton, Adrian Petersen, Cris Carter, Alan Page and Randy Moss are, but we will tell you who we ranked #1, and we know it will shock you a little.
It is Hall of Famer, Carl Eller.
We bet while you weren’t expecting that one, were you?
This list is up to the end of the 2015 Season.
We look forward to your feedback and remember the intent is to change this annually, so your opinions and comments do matter!