Committee Chairman

Football Senior Candidates

Oct 01, 2013

We have not mentioned it here at Notinhalloffame.com but the Football Hall of Fame Seniors’ Committee nominated two men who hold a strong ranking on our Football rank.

Punter, Ray Guy and Defensive End, Claude Humphrey have been selected as the two Senior Nominees. Unlike the last few years, both Guy and Humphrey shined brightest in the 1970’s, whereas past Senior’s nominees were from either the 50’s and/or 60’s.

This isn’t the first time that Humphrey has appeared as a nominee. In 2009, he was on the ballot with Bob Hayes, who was selected. Humphrey was a dominating force for the Atlanta Falcons, and twice was a First Team All-Pro and a Second Team selection three times. He was an impact player immediately, capturing the Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1968 and would finish with 122 credited Quarterback Sacks. Only Dick Stanfel has been nominated by the Senior Committee twice without securing a spot in Canton. The odds of Claude Humphrey being the second aren’t strong.

Out of the 51 men (and we are counting men who have been selected twice) who have been named as a Senior nominee, 38 have been admitted as a Football Hall of Fame nominee. Those are pretty good odds, wouldn’t you say? Humphrey may be the man on the ballot for the second time, but that is not where the attention is focused. That is going towards Punter, Ray Guy.

Kickers and Punters are the second tier of Professional Football. They aren’t the same size, they don’t get the glory when they help their team win but take the brunt when their squad loses. Amazingly, with all of that against the Punter, there has been a push to induct Ray Guy, who revolutionized the position during his tenure with the Raiders.

Blog after blog has proclaimed that Ray Guy’ omission from the Hall of Fame is a travesty, despite how much the sport looks down upon special teams; an opinion that exists among many fans. With all of this said, this is the exception to the rule. With the exception of Guy, there has been no push from any Football media to select any other Punter for the Hall of Fame, and there probably never will be again. It is not like Guy has not been heavily considered before, as he was a Hall of Fame finalist seven times (1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2007 & 2008). In terms of accolades, he certainly fits the Canton bill.

Ray Guy was the first (and to date, only) Punter ever selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Guy was chosen by the Oakland Raiders, and though fans initially did not see the value in drafting a pure special teams player that high in the draft, it was proven that this was a man who was going to revolutionize the position.

It was alleged that because of Ray Guy, that the National Football League started to keep track of Hang Time; returning teams found his punts near impossible to return. 210 of his career punts were within his opponents’ 20 Yard Line. His skills indirectly led the Raiders to the first line of defence in games. Guy was named to the 1970’s All-Decade Team, Six Pro Bowls, Three First Team All-Pro Teams and the 75^th Anniversary Team.

Even more importantly, the legacy of Ray Guy is growing. Often time diminishes performance, but Guy has become a strange anomaly; a man who defies rules despite the red headed stepchild syndrome of special teams stereotypes. Despite being only a “Punter”, the popular conception is that he belongs in the Hall of Fame; even if no other kicker ever follows him in.

Something tells us that the special teams bias is going to buckle in 2014.

RIP: L.C. Greenwood

Oct 01, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

The Steel Curtain lost one today. Former Pittsburgh Steelers, Defensive End, L.C. Greenwood passed away due to kidney failure at the age of 67.

The popular defender was part of four Super Bowl wins and was named to the 1970’s All-Decade Team. Continued accolades include six Pro Bowl Selections and two First Team All-Pro teams. Greenwood is currently not in the Football Hall of Fame, though he was a Finalist twice. He is ranked #8 on our Notinhalloffame.com Football List, and is considered an omission by Canton not just by us, but by many football fans and writers.

We offer our condolences to the family and friends of L.C. Greenwood.

Mariano Rivera: Cooperstown Bound

Sep 28, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

        The yearlong farewell tour of Mariano Rivera has concluded and the consensus is that this is the end of the greatest Reliever in Baseball history. Virtually every statistic shows this, from the traditional to the obscure, and a handful of World Series rings cement it. Theory would dictate that the best player of a sporting position would be a Hall of Fame lock, though there is a distinct example where this isn’t the case.

      Edgar Martinez spent the majority of his career as the Designated Hitter for the Seattle Mariners and is acknowledged as the top DH ever. The Baseball Hall of Fame voters have not responded with an affirmative to induction. Four decades after the Designate Hitter was instituted in the American League, there is a still hatred of the position, and not just by Baseball purists. The belief that is a part time role isn’t exactly wrong, though it is when applied to that of the Relief Pitcher.

      Pitchers have become a specialized art. Bullpens are larger than they were thirty years ago, and the idea of a hurler receiving a standing ovation for allowing two runs and six hits over five and a third innings would have been laughable in the previous generation. The reality is that Relief Pitching is not going anywhere, and in regards to Cooperstown, there is evidence to support it. Lee Smith retired as the active saves leader and his Hall of Fame support has not changed much since he became eligible. There have been many blogs over the past month that have challenged what should be Rivera’s inevitable induction, and those that have, have challenged the spots of closers in the Hall.

     The Reliever is not the Designated Hitter, in that they have broken through to Upstate New York. Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Dennis Eckersley and Goose Gossage have all been enshrined. Rivera may have been more of a specialist than the five just mentioned, but he unarguable has done that better than anybody.

     Rivera will retire as the all-time Saves leader. The Save is in itself a controversial statistic, as far too often it is awarded in situations that hardly merit a whole number. Like the Win, it is not an accurate measure of a Pitcher’s ability but, again, like the Win, a huge number cannot be ignored. A career number of over 650 Saves stands out, though that is not necessarily the statistic that impresses us the most.

     Prior to his retirement, the Panamanian had the lowest active Earned Run Average and 13^th overall in the career number (minimum 1,000 Innings Pitched). Every Pitcher with a lower ERA came from an era where there career ended decades before Rivera was born. Mariano’s career WHIP of 1.000 gives him a third place all-time rank which again has no equal among his peers. Ten times, Rivera posted a sub 1.000 WHIP and is the career leader in ERA+. He never won the Cy Young, but was voted in the top five on five occasions. He is number three all-time in WPA (Win Probability Added) and fourth in Strikeouts to Walks Ratio; and he did it all with one pitch, a cut Fastball that everybody knows is coming and can’t seem to do anything about.

     What the naysayers of Rivera fail to point out is his unparalleled post season accomplishments. This is not about accumulation, like Andy Pettitte, another Yankee who is retiring. Pettitte’s post season stats match his regular season accomplishments, but Rivera took his dominance to an even greater level when the lights were brighter

      Over his 141 Innings Pitched in October, his Earned Run Average dropped to 0.70, a full run and a half under what his spectacular regular season average was. His WHIP decreased from 1.000 to 0.759 and he posted 42 Saves. This isn’t just dominance, this is almost mythological!   Let’s also remember in the post-season you are only competing against the elite!

      Mariano Rivera is not just a Hall of Fame Pitcher but should be a first ballot inductee. We thank Rivera for his nineteen years of class and service in Major League Baseball and wonder when we will see his like again.

Canucks retire Bure's Jersey

Sep 26, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

On November 2, 2013 when the Toronto Maple Leafs come to Vancouver to play the Canucks, the West Coast franchise will be retiring the fourth jersey in their history. Recent Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Pavel Bure will have his number 10 hung to the rafters in the place where his North American Professional Hockey career began.

Bure spent his first seven seasons there where he scored 478 Points and was the goal scoring champion in the 1993-94 season. He also won the Calder in his debut season in the NHL. He would later win two Maurice Richard Trophies as a member of the Florida Panthers, but his popularity in Vancouver had few peers.

Bure joins Stan Smyl, Trevor Linden and Markus Naslund to have his jersey retired in Vancouver.