Committee Chairman

2014 Hockey HOF Class Announced!

Jun 23, 2014

One of our favorite days of the year is here! Today, the Hockey Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2014, and in what has become a tradition for the Toronto based institution there were little surprises in the way of obvious snubs.

We had Czech Goalie, Dominik Hasek at number one on our list of those who should be considered for the Hockey Hall of Fame when he first became eligible this year, and to the shock of nobody “The Dominator” enters on his first year of eligibility. Hasek won everything worth winning in Hockey as he captured the Hart Trophy twice, the Vezina six times, the Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold. We are sure that he was a no-brainer in the eyes of the committee and the easiest choice of the lot.

Hasek is joined by another European and former Hart Trophy recipient, Peter Forsberg. The Swedish forward was number four on our list, and won the Stanley Cup twice with the Colorado Avalanche and the Olympic Gold Medal twice with Sweden. Forsebrg had a stellar 1.25 Points per Game Average in his career and also won the Art Ross Trophy for the most Points in the NHL in 2003.

Keeping with the International flavour of this year’s class, is American born Mike Modano who also enters the Hockey Hall of Fame on his first year eligible. Modano was a seven time All Star and took the Dallas Stars to their first ever Stanley Cup and his popularity solidified the game of Hockey in Texas. He is also the all-time leader in Points scored by an American born player. We had Modano ranked at the number five spot.

The final player chosen this year was a minor surprise in our eyes, as Rob Blake makes his way to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Blake (who we had ranked at number 18) also won the Stanley Cup with Colorado and was named the leagues top Defenceman in 1998. Like Hasek and Forsberg, he has an Olympic Gold Medal, which was won with Canada in 2002.

The Hockey Hall of Fame also chose Pat Burns, the former Coach of the Year who died a few years ago. There was a major push within the Internet to have him elected before he passed away, as he was openly battling cancer, so that he could receive this before he died. Burns was the Jack Adams Trophy Winner representing the NHL Coach of the Year three times. This has to be a bittersweet moment for his family.

The Hockey Hall of Fame will also induct former Referee, Bill McCreary who officiated nearly 2,000 Games between 1984 and 2011.

Notable omissions are Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya and Dave Andreychuk. Lindros in particular, has been the subject of many articles touting his candidacy for enshrinement.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate this year’s Hockey Hall of Fame Class. We intend to have our revised Hockey List for 2015 out by August of this year.

Tim Wallach to the Canadian Baseball HOF

Jun 21, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Although it lacks the prestige and history of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in the small town of St. Mary’s, Ontario quietly gains steam year by year, especially with the growth of Canadian talent in the Majors. This year’s class may not necessarily reflect that, but we do think it is worth reporting on the four new entrants to this Hall of Fame.

The undisputed headliner of this group is former Montreal Expos’ star, Tim Wallach. The Third Basemen first became an Expo in 1980 and after earning the starting job a year later, would be selected to five All Star Games and capture two Silver Slugger Awards. Offensively, Wallach hit 204 Home Runs in Montreal and would lead the National League in Doubles twice. He was also considered a star with his defense as he was chosen the Gold Glove recipient three times and would have a total bWAR of 36.8 in Montreal. Currently, Wallach is the Bench Coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Dave Van Horne who was the primary English Language Broadcaster for the Expos for thirty-two years from 1969 to 2000 joins Wallach. Van Horne, who currently is the voice of the Miami Marlins, received the Ford C. Frick Award in 2011, which automatically inducted him into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Two more men are part of this class. New Brunswick born Scout, Murray Cook was also chosen, as was Jim Ridley, who was born in Toronto. Ridley was a long time Scout for the Blue Jays and coached the Canadian Junior National Team for six years. The Award for the Canadian Baseball Scout of the Year is named in his honor.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would lie to congratulate this year’s inductees to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Guy Lapointe to have his number retired by the Montreal Canadians

Jun 20, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

For those of you have been following us here at Notinhalloffame.com, we are in the process of ranking all major North American sports franchises and how they honor their past players. One of the organizations that we suspect will be in the top five will be the Montreal Canadians, who have just announced that former Defenceman, Guy Lapointe will be the latest man who will have his number raised to the rafters of the Bell Center.

Lapointe was a member of the Habs’ “Big Three” corps of blueliners, which included fellow Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, Larry Robinson and Serge Savard, which anchored the team to six Stanley Cups in the 1970’s, including four in a row. He was part of the team from 1968 to 1989 where he was named a First Team NHL All Star once and a Second Team selection three times. Lapointe was also gifted on offense as he scored 572 Points as a member of the Montreal Canadians. Internationally, Guy Lapointe was a member of Team Canada’s famed 1972 Summit Series and the 1976 Canadian Team.

Guy Lapointe wore the number 5 with the Canadians, which was the same number that was worn by another Montreal legend, Bernie Geoffrion who had that number retired in 2006. This is not the first time that a number has been retired twice by the Habs as the number 12 was previously retired twice in honor of both Yvan Cournoyer and Dickie Moore and the number 16 was hangs from the Bell Center in respect to both Elmer Lach and Henri Richard.

Like every other former player who has had their number retired by the Montreal Canadians organization, Guy Lapointe is also a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, an accolade he achieved in 1993. As always the Canadians have set the bar high for other NHL franchises to follow in regards to retired numbers.

Dallas Clark Retires

Jun 19, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Dallas Clark, who last played in the NFL in 2013 with the Baltimore Ravens, officially announced that he was retired from playing Professional Football today in a press conference in Indianapolis. It was as a member of the Colts where Clark had his most productive seasons, playing nine of his eleven seasons, and tallying 5,665 Receiving Yards with 53 Touchdowns.

Clark was drafted in the first round in 2003 by Indianapolis where the Tight End proved to be an immediate fit for the Colts offense and would become a part of their Super Bowl XLI win, where he currently holds the record for the most Receiving Yards by a Tight End in an NFL post Season. He would have his best Regular Season in 2009 where he would eclipse the 1,000 Yard mark in Receiving and earn First Team All Pro and Pro Bowl honors.

It is unlikely that Dallas Clark has done enough to be a serious contender for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but his impact on the Indianapolis Colts was solid and perhaps they will acknowledge that with more than a press conference after his career one day.