Committee Chairman

NASCAR HOF Class is set

May 23, 2014

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.

Ty Law to the Patriots HOF

May 20, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

The New England Patriots have announced that Ty Law will be the 22^nd member of the franchise’s Hall of Fame by winning their fan vote. Law will be officially inducted on August 1^st outside their Hall of Fame facility in a ceremony that will be available to the public. Law will be further celebrated at their October 16^th game against the New York Jets at halftime.

Ty Law was drafted in the First Round in 1995 (23^rd overall) and was a member of three Super Bowl championship teams. He spent his first ten seasons in the NFL with the Pats and recorded 36 Interceptions, returning for 583 Yards and 6 Touchdowns. The Cornerback was chosen for five Pro Bowls and a pair of First Team All Pro nods.

Law was chosen for the New England Patriots 1990’s, 2000’s and 50^th Anniversary Team, and is arguably one of the best Cornerbacks in Patriots history. We would like to congratulate Ty Law for being selected to the one of the best franchise Hall of Fame in sports.

Semi-Finalists named for the Fictitious Athlete HOF!

May 19, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Last November, The Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame announced Rocky Balboa as their inaugural inductee. The Class of 2014 Semi-Finalists has been announced, which were the result of online voting. 50 Athletes and 30 Contributors have advanced to the next round, where voting is permitted until August 15^th of this year.

The 50 Athlete Semi-Finalists are:

A.C. Slater (Saved by the Bell)

Al Bundy (Married, With Children)

Al Czervik (Caddyshack)

All the Way May Mortabito (A League of Their Own)

Amanda Whurlitzer (The Bad News Bears)

Apollo Creed (Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III)

Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez (The Sandlot)

Billy Bob (Varsity Blues)

Billy Chapel (For Love of the Game)

Billy Hoyle (White Men Can’t Jump)

Bobby Boucher (The Waterboy)

Bodhi (Point Break)

Bugs Bunny (Space Jam)

Bud (Air Bud)

Calvin Ebby “Nuke” LaLoosh (Bull Durham)

Charlie Conway (The Mighty Ducks Trilogy)

Clubber Lang (Rocky III)

Crash Davis (Bull Durham)

Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid)

Dean Youngblood (Youngblood)

Dottie Hinson (A League of Their Own)

Fast Eddie Felson (The Hustler & The Color of Money)

Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)

Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)

Ivan Drago (Rocky IV)

Jack Elliott (Mr. Baseball)

Jake Taylor (Major League & Major League II)

Jesus Shuttlesworth (He Got Game)

Jimmy Chitwood (Hoosiers)

Jon Moxon (Varsity Blues)

Kelly Leak (The Bad News Bears Trilogy)

Kenny Powers (Eastbound and Down)

Happy Gilmore (Happy Gilmore)

Hanson Brothers, The (Slap Shot)

Paul “Wrecking” Crewe ’74 (Burt Reynolds) (The Longest Yard)

Paul “Wrecking” Crewe ’05 (Adam Sandler) (The Longest Yard)

Peter LaFleur (Dodgeball)

Randy “The Ram” Robinson (The Wrestler)

Reggie Dunlop (Slap Shot)

Ricky Bobby (Talledega Nights)

Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn (Major League and Major League II)

Roy Hobbs (The Natural)

Roy McEvoy (Tin Cup)

Sam Malone (Cheers)

Scott Howard “The Wolf” (Teen Wolf)

Shane Falco (The Replacements)

Ty Webb (Caddyshack)

White Goodman (Dodgeball)

Willie “Mays” Hays (Major League)

Zeus (No Holds Barred)

The 30 Contributors Semi-Finalists are:

Adrian Balboa (Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV & Rocky V)

Annie Savoy (Bull Durham)

Arliss Michaels (Arliss)

Caretaker ’74 (James Hampton) (The Longest Yard)

Caretaker ’05 (Chris Rock) The Longest Yard)

Carl Spackler (Caddyshack

Cassidy (The Wrester)

Chubbs Peterson (Happy Gilmore)

Clyde (Every Which Way But Loose & Any Which Way You Can)

Coach Ernie Pantusso (Cheers)

Coach Klein (The Waterboy)

Frankie Dunn (Million Dollar Baby)

Gordon Bombay (The Mighty Ducks Trilogy)

Gus Lobel (Trouble With the Curve)

Harry Doyle (Major League & Major League 2)

Hayden Fox (Coach)

Helen “Mama” Boucher (The Waterboy)

Jerry Maguire (Jerry Maguire)

Jimmy Dugan (A League of Their Own)

John Kreese (The Karate Kid)

Ken Reeves (The White Shadow)

Luther Van Dam (Coach)

Mickey Goldmill (Rocky, Rocky II & Rocky III)

Morris Buttermaker (The Bad News Bears) ‘76

Mr. Larsen (Happy Gilmore)

Mr. Miyagi (The Karate Kid)

Norman Dale (Hoosiers)

Patches O’Houllihan (Dodgeball)

Ray Kinsella (Field of Dreams)

The Gopher (Caddyshack)

On August 15, the top Fictitious Athletes and top seven Fictitious Contributors will advance to become this year’s Finalists. Voting will then begin again, and the three Athletes and the one Contributor with the most votes will become the Class of 2014 and join Rocky Balboa into the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame.

Of note, are the multiple appearances by characters played by Adam Sandler and Kevin Costner who are on the ballot three times each. The Rocky Series gave us five Semi-Finalists, with Caddyshack and Major League netting four Semi-Finalists.

The Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame is the sister site of Notinhalloffame.com, which has annually ranked those not in the major sports and music Halls of Fame in North America since 2009. The direct link is www.notinhalloffame.com/fictitious-athlete-hall-of-fame. We encourage you to vote for the next round, and give us your thoughts.