Committee Chairman

RIP: Matthew Saad Muhammad

May 27, 2014

The world of boxing lost one if its most exciting combatants as former World Light Heavyweight Champion, Matthew Saad Muhammad died today at the age of 59 in Philadelphia of ALS.

Muhammad rose through the ranks and in 1979 he defeated Marvin Johnson for the WBC Light Heavyweight Championship with an 8^th round Knockout. He would make eight successful title defences including the Ring Magazine Fight of the Year in a fourteen round TKO win over Yaqui Lopez. He held the World Title until Dwight Muhammad Qawi defeated him in December of 1981 and realistically his time at the top had come to the end.

He would continue to box for the rest of the decade though he would trade losses with wins finishing up with a career record of 49-16-3 with 35 Knockouts. Muhammad would actually try his hand at Mixed Martial Arts at the first ever UWFI show in Japan, though he was defeated within a minute.

Like many other former boxers, his career after the ring did not go well. By 2010, he was homeless and broke, and became another tragic tale. We would rather remember him for his past glory and as the International Boxing Hall of Fame member of the Class of 1998. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Matthew Saad Muhammad.

College Football HOF names 2014 Class

May 24, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Although we do not foresee in the near future devoting a section of our website to those who are not in the College Football Hall of Fame, we here at Notinhalloffame.com have major respect for that particular Hall, and of course College Football as a whole.

Today the College Football Hall of Fame has announced the entire Class of 2014, and we thought it would be worthwhile to take a deeper look at the entire group.

Dre Bly: North Carolina   Cornerback, 1996-98

Bly is a two time consensus All American and led the nation is Interceptions in his freshman season with 11. In his sophomore campaign, Bly was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, which is awarded annually the nation’s top Defensive Player.

Tony Boselli: USC   Offensive Tackle, 1991-94

Boselli was a three time First Team All American and the USC star won the Morris Trophy in 1994, which is given annually to the top Lineman (one for Offense, and one for Defence) in the then named Pac12 Conference.

Dave Butz: Purdue   Defensive Lineman, 1970-72

Butz was a finalist in 1972 for the Vince Lombardi Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top Linebacker or Defensive Lineman.

Shane Conlan: Penn State   Linebacker, 1983-86

Conlan was a two time All American and was the defensive star of the Penn State 1986 National Championship Team. Conlan won the Defensive MVP of the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, which won the Nittany Lions the title. That year, he was also a Finalist for the Dick Butkus Award, which is given to the nation’s top Linebacker.

Joe Hamilton: Georgia Tech   Quarterback, 1996-99

Hamilton set multiple Quarterback records in the Atlantic Coast Conference and won the Davey O’Brien Award as the Nation’s top QB in 1999. He was also a Finalist for the Heisman Trophy that year.

John Huard: Maine   Linebacker, 1964-66

Huard was born in the state of Maine, and starred for the Black Bears in the mid 60’s.

Darrin Nelson: USC   Running Back, 1977-78 & 1980-81

Nelson starred at USC rushing for 4,442 Yards and receiving another 2,559 Yards and had 40 Touchdowns in his four year career.

Willie Roaf: Louisiana Tech   Offensive Tackle, 1990-92

Roaf was a consensus All American in 1992, which was also the season he was a Finalist for the Outland Trophy recognizing the nation’s top Offensive Linemen.

John Sciarra: UCLA   Quarterback, 1972-75

Sciarra led UCLA to an upset victory at the 1976 Rose Bowl over Ohio State. He was also selected to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.

Sterling Sharpe: South Carolina   Wide Receiver, 1983 & 1985-87

The Gamecocks retired Sharpe’s number, while he was still playing there and set multiple South Carolina receiving records. Sharpe had 169 catches while playing there.

Leonard Smith: McNeese State   Cornerback/Safety, 1979-82

Smith was an All-Southland Conference selection and was one of the more highly regarded defensive stars of his day.

Derrick Thomas: Alabama   Linebacker, 1985-88

Thomas set the FBS Sack record at Alabama and the Consensus All-American won the Dick Butkus Award in 1988. Thomas would also finish 10^th in Heisman Trophy voting that season.

LaDanian Tomlinson: TCU   Running Back, 1997-2000

The lightly recruited Tomlinson would set the FBS rushing record with 406 Yards in a game, and TCU’s turn around is mostly attributed to Tomlinson. He was a unanimous All American in 2000 and won the Doak Walker Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best Running Back. “L.T.” was also a Heisman Finalist that season.

Wesley Walls: Mississippi   Defensive End, Linebacker & Tight End, 1985-88

Walls was a very versatile player who converted from Defense to Offence in his tenure at Ole’ Miss. It was as a Tight End that Walls would earn All American honors.

Mike Bellotti, who was best known for coaching the Oregon Ducks from 1995 to 2008 has also been chosen as has Jerry Moore who coached Appalachian State to three Championships.

The College Football Hall of Fame will be completing their move from South Bend, IN to Atlanta, GA in the fall of this year.

NASCAR HOF Class is set

May 23, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

We have to apologize, as we have not been keeping up as much as we should be with the NASCAR Hall of Fame, but we do promise to rectify that in the upcoming months. Yesterday, the Charlotte based institution announced the class of 2015, which announced five men who many racing pundits will not likely question.

For many, the headliner is Bill Elliott who was the 1988 Winston Cup Champion. Calling Elliott a popular driver seems so understated as he was voted the Winston Cup Series Most Popular Driver sixteen times, which is the most by far and in 2005 the Governor of Georgia declared October 8^th to be “Bill Elliott Day”. Elliott has 44 career wins, including the famed Daytona 500 twice and he was a 2007 inductee to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Fred Lorenzen, one of the most successful drivers in the mid-60’s, was also chosen for this year’s class. Lorenzen won the 1965 Daytona 500 and became the first man to win a race in all five of the South’s original speedways, which was comprised of Daytona, Darlington, Atlanta, Charlotte and Rockingham. “Fast Freddie” was also a trailblazer in terms of the pocketbook, as he was the first to eclipse the $100,000 mark in earnings for a year. Lorenzen totalled 26 NASCAR wins and twice was named the Winston Cup Series Most Popular Driver.

This year’s NASCAR Hall of Fame Class also includes Joe Weatherly, who cut his teeth on the American Motorcycle Association in the late 40’s and won three Nationals. Weatherly would move on to the NASCAR Modified series and would win the Modified Crown in both 1952 and 1953 and would move on to the regular circuit and record 25 wins. He died in 1964 due to complications from a head injury from a crash that year at Riverside. Incidentally, he was the defending Grand National Series Champion.

Another inductee was Rex White, who was only five foot four, won 28 races on the NASCAR Grand National series. White was the National Series Champion in 1960.

The most intriguing inductee of this year’s class is Wendell Scott, who was not only the first African American in NASCAR, he was the first African American to win a race. Scott may have only won one race on the NASCAR’s big dance, but by breaking he color barrier, he is considered one of the great pioneers of North American sports.

We would like to congratulate this year’s Class, and we will unveil the next Notinhalloffame.com NASCAR list in two months.

Aaron Brooks to the Saints HOF

May 21, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

‘Tis the seasons for NFL franchise Halls of Fame to announce new members. Former Quarterback, Aaron Brooks and former Place Kicker, John Carney comprises the New Orleans Hall of Fame Class of 2014.

Brooks joined the Saints in 2000 and took over the starting role in November. The Saints had made the playoffs before Brooks arrival, but he was the first man to Quarterback them to a playoff victory. His career in New Orleans lasted six seasons where he threw for 120 Touchdowns and 19,156 Yards.

Carney joined the Saints in 2001 at the age of 37, and spent eight of his final ten seasons in the National Football League there. He would make 168 Field Goals and 264 PATs for a total of 768 Points, which is good enough for second overall in team history.

The New Orleans Saints began their Hall of Fame in 1988 with the institution inducting members annually with the exception of 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina. The Hall is physically located in the Plaza Level of the Superdome. We would like to congratulate both Aaron Brooks and John Carney for receiving this honor.