Committee Chairman

Steelers retire Mean Joe Greene's Number

Jul 31, 2014

You would think that with the successful history of the Pittsburgh Steelers that they would have a plethora of retired numbers. They don’t, as prior to today’s announcement the Steelers have only retired the number 70 of Ernie Statutner, their star Defensive Tackle from the 1950’s who was a ten time All Pro and first ballot Football Hall of Fame selection. Now, a member of the famed “Steel Curtain” defense of the 1970’s will join Stautner in receiving the ultimate Steeler accolade.

“Mean” Joe Greene was not just a member of the punishing Steelers defense, he was its leader. The fourth overall pick of the 1969 NFL Draft, Greene would make an instant impact and earn his first of ten Pro Bowl selections in his rookie campaign. His trophy case also holds eight All Pro Selections, membership to the 1970’s All-Decade Team, the NFL’s 75^th Anniversary Team and a pair of Defensive Player of the Year Trophies, which were bestowed upon him in 1972 and 1974.

Calling Joe Greene “Mean” was not just a clever play to come up with a rhyming nickname. He literally was considered the meanest man in the already vicious sport, and the tales of him challenging the sport’s other legendary tough men (like Dick Butkus) to a fight, and kicking opponents in the groin (which occurred in 1975) are almost as legendary as his distaste for losing.

That desire to win rubbed off on his teammates and the Steelers, which won four Super Bowls that decade. Greene becomes the first from that elite group of talent from those championship squads to earn this honor. We have to wonder if this will usher in the retirement of more numbers from those legendary teams.

Greene was not just a beast on the field; he also was the star of an iconic Coca Cola commercial in the 70’s, possibly the most famous one ever from a Steeler, or at least from a Football player of that era.

It should be noted that nobody has worn the #75 since Joe Greene retired in 1981. This has been a common practice for Pittsburgh as they have also not reissued the numbers of past Steelers (#1) Gary Anderson, (#12) Terry Bradshaw, (#32) Franco Harris, (#36) Jerome Bettis, (#52) Mike Webster, (#58) Jack Lambert, (#59) Jack Ham, (#63) Dermontti Dawson and (#86) Hines Ward, and have not retired them either.

The ceremony will take place on November 2^nd, which will see Pittsburgh host their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens.

We would like to congratulate “Mean” Joe Greene and the fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers, many of whom we suspect are celebrating this decision.

Baseball HOF reduces eligibility to 10 Years

Jul 26, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

The Baseball Hall of Fame has announced a major change amongst the voting process. Hence forth, a player will only remain on the ballot for ten years as opposed to the fifteen years that has been the tradition for decades.

Currently, there are three men who will be entering next year in their year of eligibility past ten years who will be grandfathered in. Lee Smith (13th), Alan Trammell (14th) and Don Mattingly (15th and final) will remain on the ballot, though based on the support patterns that the three have had, it is not expected that any of the three will receive the support needed for Cooperstown.

One has to wonder openly if this reduction is to eliminate the controversy sooner surrounding the PED tainted athletes who are currently in the ballot. This would affect Mark McGwire the most, who is entering his ninth year on the ballot, and now has only two more years to gain induction. The former slugger received only 16.9 percent last year, which is his lowest yet. Coincidentally, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens dropped in support from their first year to their second. They will both only have eight more years on the ballot.

Arguably, the collateral damage (if this is to reduce the length that suspected PED users are on the ballot) would be Tim Raines, who will be on his 8th year. Raines received 46.1 percent of the vote last year down from a high of 52.2 the year before. Nevertheless, Raines has doubled his support from the first year on the ballot, and with seven more years of eligibility, past history indicates his chances for induction were still decent. With only three more years of eligibility left, it will be a tough and shorter road ahead.

Of note, in the past forty years, the reduced eligibility would have caused the following inductees to miss receiving the Hall of Fame call: Bert Blyleven (2011, 14th Year), Jim Rice (2009, 15th Year), Bruce Sutter (2006, 13th Year), Duke Snider (1980, 11th Year), Bob Lemon (1976, 12th Year) and Ralph Kiner (1975, 13th Year).

There is an argument that if it someone can’t get into the Baseball Hall of Fame in ten tries, that another five years won’t make that much more of a difference. While the six names in the previous paragraphs were big names in their day, it would not necessarily downgrade the perception of the Hall of Fame if they were not inducted.

Incidentally, this is the first major change in the Baseball Hall of Fame voting procedures since 1985, when the minimum five percent threshold was instituted to remain eligible.

We are very curious to hear the feedback from the eligible players that will be impacted from this decision.

Baseball HOF Weekend is here!

Jul 26, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Let’s not talk about the PEDs or gambling for a change. This weekend the Baseball Hall of Fame will be officially inducting their Class of 2015, and let’s just focus on the new inductees and the pageantry that will embrace the small town of Cooperstown, New York this weekend.

This weekend will feature six worthy inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame, all alive, and all to be present. Three of them (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine & Frank Thomas) are first ballot Hall of Fame inductees marking the first time that has happened since 1999 when Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount were selected. The other three (Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre) are arguably the greatest Managers in the last twenty five years.

With this group, it can be argued that it is so strong that there is no inarguable headliner, though we can imagine that there will be a strong contingent coming in from Atlanta as four of the six inductees played or managed there.

With Greg Maddux, you have an inductee who earned four straight Cy Young Awards and someone who stands in eighth place all time in Wins. Maddux also holds the Major League Record for the most Gold Gloves accrued in eighteen. Maddux’s longtime teammate, Tom Glavine also won a Cy Young Award, and also hit the 300 Win mark. This marks the first time since 1936, the first year of the Baseball Hall of Fame induction that two 300 game winners entered the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Famed Chicago White Sox slugger, Frank Thomas enters the Hall. A power hitter with great plate discipline, Thomas is a member of the 500 Home Run club and is a two time MVP. “The Big Hurt” brings to the Hall a whopping career OPS of .974.

These three greats are joined by three excellent choices by the Veteran’s Committee; the three men who are 3rd, 4th and 5th all time in Wins as a Manager. Accumulatively, the triumvirate of Joe Torre, Bobby Cox and Tony LaRussa have won eight World Series and have taken their teams to the playoffs a whopping thirty-eight times. Torre was a strong Hall of Fame contender himself as a player, staying on the ballot all fifteen years.

Let’s toss a beer back and grab a dog and toast the excellence of these six legends.

Knoblauch's Twins HOF invite revoked

Jul 25, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

It was not that long ago that the Minnesota Twins announced that Chuck Knoblauch would be entering their franchise’s Hall of Fame. There was a ceremony that was to take place on August 23rd before their home game, but that has been officially cancelled in wake of the alleged allegation that he assaulted his ex-wife.

This is not the first time that the former Second Baseman has had domestic issues. He was convicted of hitting a previous wife in 2010, and received one year’s probation for the assault.

In Minnesota, Knoblauch earned four All Star nods and the 1991 Rookie of the Year Award, the same season he won the World Series with the Twins.

This is one of the first times that we can remember that a Hall of Fame invite was revoked. Constantly, and this is regardless of the sport, we learn that our heroes are not necessarily worthy of our adoration and when these events occur, debate will ensue as to whether that athlete should have his Hall of Fame induction pulled.

The best example is when O.J. Simpson murdered (sorry, we are not going to say allegedly) his ex-wife in 1994, he was not removed from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, or the Buffalo Bills Ring of Honor. There were articles and a small movement looking to remove O.J. from those honors, but that movement never gained any steam.

The Twins for that matter had Kirby Puckett, who entered the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 2001. Shortly after Puckett entered Cooperstown, stories of Puckett’s indiscretions came out, mostly through a Sports Illustrated article though there was never any consideration to remove Puckett from the Baseball Hall of Fame, or the Twins Hall of Fame.

It is uncertain at this time, whether the Minnesota Twins will ever reinstate the Hall of Fame induction of Knoblauch. The Twins organization can either be praised for how they recognize that character matters or jeered for how only on field accomplishments should matter.

With all due respect to Knoblauch, it is not like this is Harmon Killebrew, who was a much bigger star in the Twins canon, so perhaps the decision was not a hard one. Either way, we wonder if this will create a precedent that other franchise Halls of Fame will follow.