Alshon Jeffery was a standout player at South Carolina, earning an All-SEC selection.  The Wide Receiver was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2012 draft.  In his rookie year, he recorded 367 yards. Jeffery's second year saw him explode into the Pro Bowl with a career-high 1,421 yards and 89 receptions.  He followed this up with 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns in his third year, but was never able to achieve 1,000 yards again.  Jeffery played two more years with Chicago, breaking 800 yards in both of those seasons before moving on to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Although he was never able to replicate his best years in Chicago, Jeffery was now on a much better team and still a top option in the best position of his life. In his first year with the Eagles, he helped the team win the Super Bowl and scored Philly’s first touchdown of the game. Over his final three years, Jeffery battled injuries and eventually retired from the game after the 2020 season. However, with 6,786 yards, 46 touchdowns, and a Super Bowl win under his belt, Jeffery had a successful career.

Larry Warford, who played collegiate football at the University of Kentucky, won the starting position with the Detroit Lions after training camp in 2013. He had an impressive rookie year, finishing third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. Warford played for the Lions for four years before joining the New Orleans Saints in 2017. He became a three-time Pro Bowler in 2017, 2018 and 2019. However, Warford chose to opt out of the 2020 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and was later released by the Saints. Despite being a talented player, he was not signed by any other team and ultimately retired from the NFL. Over the course of his career, Warford played in 101 games, starting all of them.

It is Final Four weekend, and we know what that means for Hall of Fame watchers as the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the newest members of the Springfield-based institution.

The Class of 2023 consists of:

Vince Carter is the unquestioned headliner of the group, entering the Hall in his first year of eligibility.  Known for his athletic dunks and scoring touch, Carter was the 1999 Rookie of the Year, an eight-time All-Star, and was twice named to an All-NBA Team.  Later in his career, Carter won the NBA Sportsmanship Award (2016) and NBA Teammate of the Year (2020), which was a testament to his development as an elder statesman and teacher, which was not who he was in his younger years.  Speaking of his early seasons, regardless of how he left the Toronto Raptors, Carter brought legitimacy to the franchise and was the catalyst for the explosion of popularity of the sport in Canada.  Would Canada have so many great players now without Carter?  It is a legitimate question to ask.

Chauncey Billups was the 2004 NBA Finals MVP in Detroit’s stunning upset of the Los Angeles Lakers.  An All-American at Colorado, Billups went to five All-Star Games and was a three-time All-NBA Selection and two-time All-Defensive player.  Like Carter, Billups won the NBA Sportsmanship Award (2010) and the NBA Teammate of the Year Award (2013).  Billups also played for Boston, Denver, Minnesota, New York and the Los Angeles Clippers, and he is currently the Head Coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Seimone Augustus was the strongest female candidate, and it is no surprise that she was chosen.  A two-time Naismith Player of the Year at LSU, Augustus had an outstanding professional career, which was spent entirely with the Minnesota Lynx.  She led her Lynx to four WNBA Championships (2011, 2013, 2015 & 2017), was an All-WNBA Selection six times, an All-Star eight times and was named to the 20^th and 25^th WNBA Anniversary Teams.  Internationally, she won Gold in three Olympics (2008, 2012 & 2016) and the 2014 Worlds.

Bo Ryan is a legend in the state of Wisconsin, where he coached Wisconsin-Platteville to four Division III Championships (1991, 1995, 1998 & 1999) and later took Wisconsin to two Final Fours and won three Big Ten Tournaments.  A four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Ryan is already a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, with an overall record of 747-233.

Michael Cooper was the defensive specialist of the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty that won five NBA Championships in the 1980s.  Named the Defensive Player of the Year in 1987 and was a five-time First Team All-Defensive Selection and three-time Second Team All-Defensive Selection.

Walter Davis was a six-time All-Star and the 1978 Rookie of the Year.  He is still the all-time leading scorer in Phoenix Suns history.  He was also a two-time Second Team All-NBA Selection.

Michelle Timms enters through the Women’s Veteran Committee.  Timms, an Olympic Silver (2000) and Bronze Medal (1996) winner, played mostly in the WNBL in Australia before joining the WNBA with the Phoenix Mercury.  She was also a WNBA All-Star once.

Jerry West is now a three-time Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted as a player in 1980 and in 2010 as a member of the 1960 United States Gold Medal Winning Team.  This long overdue induction is as an executive, with West having won five NBA Rings as the Lakers’ General Manager and laying the foundation for success in the 2000s.  West left L.A. for Memphis, built them up, and later won two more titles in Golden State as an executive. 

Doug Collins was chosen as a contributor, and few have as complete a career a resume as he does.  Collins was an All-American at Illinois State, a four-time NBA All-Star, and was a Head Coach with Chicago, Detroit, Washington and Philadelphia.  Already a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, Collins main contributions here is as a broadcaster, where he has done work with CBS, TBS, TNT, ESPN and NBC.

Dick Barnett enters through the Men’s Veteran Category.  Leading Tennessee State to three NAIA Titles, Barnett played for Syracuse, Los Angeles (Lakers) and the New York Knicks where he was a one-time All-Star and two-time NBA Champion.

Harley Redin was inducted via the Women’s Veteran Category.  He led the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens to six AAU National Championships.

Herb Simon is another Contributor inductee, and is currently the longest tenured governor in the NBA.  Simon is highly regarded in the Indianapolis community, and though he has never won a championship, he brought and continues to bring stability to the organization.

Charles Smith has more wins than any other coach in Louisiana High School Basketball and took his team to six state championships.

Look for our Notinhalloffame.com Basketball List to be updated to reflect the newest additions and those who are now eligible.  That should happen around May.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

1958 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project Class.

Here we are!  Again!!

If you have been following our Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project, you know that we have asked the rhetorical question: What if the PFHOF began in January 1946?

After soliciting and obtaining a passionate group of football fans and historians, we sent out a ballot for a Preliminary Vote, in which we asked each voter to give us 25 names as their semi-finalists and 5 in the Senior Pool. Following that, we asked the group to vote for their 15 Finalists in the Modern Era and 3 in the Senior Category. The final stage was to vote for their five Modern Era inductee and one Senior inductee.

This is the result of the thirteenth official class;

Below are the final results of this project based on 30 votes,

Remember that the group took a vote, and we have reverted back to the top five candidates entering the Hall.  This will be put to a vote again in “1960”.

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1958:

This is for the “Senior Era”, *Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1958, though no one made the mandatory 50% threshold to advance.

About the 1958 Inductees:

Sammy Baugh QB-TB, WAS 1937-52: Inducted in 1958 on his 1^st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

In 1937, The Boston Redskins relocated to Washington, and that year's First Round Pick was Sammy Baugh. Baugh was initially listed as a Tailback, but passing was not the norm. But he became one of the first accurate passers and the prototype for the modern Quarterback. He won two NFL Championships for Washington (1937 and 1942), and he led the NFL in Pass Completion Percentage eight times, Passing Yards four times, Touchdown Passes twice and Passer Rating three times.

Baugh was not just a Quarterback; he was also an excellent Punter. Before he was exclusively playing offence, he netted 31 interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. In the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Baugh may not be the best Quarterback, but historically speaking, he is considered the most important.

Bulldog Turner C-T-LB-G, CHI 1940-52: Inducted in 1958 on his 1^st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.

Clyde “Bulldog” Turner lived up to his nickname, playing at Center and Linebacker in a ferocious and skilled fashion.

Turner was a First-Round Pick in 1940 and played his entire career in Chicago. He was one of the best blockers in the decade, and his freak athleticism matched anyone on the field.  Turner proved to be the lynchpin to four NFL Championships and was also the league leader in Interceptions (8) in 1942.

Bob Waterfield QB-K-P, RAM 1945-52: Inducted in 1958 on his 1st r Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

Bob Waterfield had one of the most remarkable rookie seasons as a quarterback in NFL history. He graduated from UCLA and led the league in touchdown passes (14), was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP), and took the Cleveland Rams to an NFL Championship by defeating Sammy Baugh and the Washington Redskins.

After the Rams relocated to Los Angeles, Waterfield remained with the team until he retired in 1952. He was a three-time First Team All-Pro and led the Rams to another NFL Championship in 1951. Additionally, he played defensive back during the first half of his professional career and was an exceptional kicker and punter in the pros.

Tony Canadeo HB-TB-FB-DB, GNB 1941-52: Inducted in 1958 on his 1st r Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

One of the most versatile players in Green Bay Packers history, Tony Canadeo did it all for the team.  As an NFL Champion in 1944, Canadeo became the third player in the NFL to rush for over 1,000 yards and the first Packer to do so.  He would play good defense, was their kick returner, and was occasionally used as a Quarterback.

Steve Owen T-G, KAN 1924-25, CLE 1925, NYG 1026-33: Inducted in 1958 on his 20th Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 as a Coach.

Owen was inducted into the actual Hall of Fame as a Coach, but that section has been paused until 1963, and you elected him on his last “Modern” ballot as a player.  Named to the 1930’s All-Decade Team as a player, he was the captain of the team that won the 1927 NFL Championship, and in 1930 he became a player/coach.  Owen held that latter role until 1953, and won two more NFL Championships.