gold star for USAHOF

The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, resulting in a long push to revise what we already have, specifically now with our Football and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the next twenty-five of the 2024 Football List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 151 to 175:

151. Brian Mitchell
152. Lomas Brown
153. Tiki Barber
154. John David Crow
155. Byron “Whizzer” White
156. Gene Washington
157. Cameron Wake*
158. Boyd Dowler
159. Mike Alstott
160. Roger Brown
161. Chris Hinton
162. Eric Berry
163. Harlon Hill
164. George Christensen
165. Jimmy Smith
166. Michael Dean Perry
167. Fred Taylor
168. Drew Bledsoe
169. Billy Wilson
170. Wes Welker
171. James Brooks
172. Brandon Marshall
173. Mike Curtis
174. Eddie George
175. Art Powell 

*Denotes first year of eligibility. 

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will look at how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Cincinnati Bengals have announced the nominees for their Ring of Honor.

Here are the nominees:

Jim Breech, Place Kicker: 1980-92.

Breech is the all-time leading scorer in franchise history and was the first kicker to have two 40-yard Field Goals in the Super Bowl.

James Brooks, Running Back: 1984-91.

In the years Brooks played for the Bengals, only Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson, and Roger Craig had more Yards from Scrimmage (9,459). He was a four-time Pro Bowl Selection and had 64 Touchdowns for the club.

Cris Collinsworth, Wide Receiver: 1981-88.

Collinsworth was the runner-up for the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1981 and was a Pro Bowl and Second Team All-Pro in his first three seasons.  He exceeded 1,000 Yards four times and had 6,698 Receiving Yards and 26 TDs.

Corey Dillon, Running Back, 1997-2003.

Dillon was a three-time Pro Bowl Selection who rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first six seasons, 8,061 in total for the Bengals. He is Cincinnati’s all-time leading rusher and also had 89 Touchdowns (82 rushing, 7 receiving) for the Bengals.

David Fulcher, Safety, 1986-92.

Fulcher went to three straight Pro Bowls (1988-90) and was a First-Team All-Pro in 1989. Over his career, he recorded 31 Interceptions and 8.5 Sacks.

Tim Krumrie, Nose Tackle, 1983-94.

Krumrie was twice named to the Pro Bowl.  In 1988, he was a First-Team All-Pro and was seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Playing his 12-year career in Cincinnati, Krumrie accumulated 1,017 Tackles and 34.5 Sacks.

Dave Lapham, Offensive Guard, 1974-83.

Lapham started 105 of his 140 Games and, following his playing career, would join the Bengals broadcasting team.

Max Montoya, Offensive Guard, 1979-92.

Montoya was a member of the Bengals’ first two AFC Championship teams, and three of his four Pro Bowls were in Cincinnati.

Bob Trumpy, Tight End, 1968-77.

Trumpy is the only player in team history to be named an AFL All-Star and to the Pro Bowl.  A First Team All-Pro in 1969 when he had a career-high 835 Yards and 9 Touchdowns, he tallied 4,600 Yards and 35 TDs.

Reggie Williams, Linebacker, 1976-89.

Williams played all of his 206 NFL Games with the Bengals where he had 63.5 Sacks.  He also won the Alan Page Community Award in 1984 and the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 1988.

You can vote for who you think should enter the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor here.

Selected in the first round (24th overall) of the 1981 NFL Draft out of Auburn by the San Diego Chargers, James Brooks joined Cincinnati through a trade in 1984. That transaction proved to be one of the most significant in Bengals history, as the agile running back became the versatile engine of Coach Sam Wyche's innovative "No-Huddle" offense.

Brooks was an exceptionally swift and versatile backfield player who revolutionized the concept of versatility in the late 1980s. Demonstrating remarkable low-center-of-gravity stability, rapid lateral movement, and soft hands when receiving out of the backfield, he was virtually unguardable by linebackers in one-on-one coverage. Serving both as a conventional runner and a flexible receiver, Brooks consistently exploited angles in the secondary to generate substantial, game-changing plays.

Following his initial three seasons in San Diego as a return specialist and rotational running back, Brooks demonstrated significant development upon taking the field at Riverfront Stadium in 1984. His breakthrough year was 1986, during which he delivered an exemplary and versatile performance. Brooks achieved a career-high 1,087 rushing yards and recorded 54 receptions for 658 receiving yards, establishing a franchise record with 1,745 yards from scrimmage. This outstanding performance earned him his first selection to the Pro Bowl.

Following an injury-shortened 1987 campaign, Brooks made a robust return during Cincinnati's remarkable 1988 season. Acting as the pivotal element of the league's most dynamic offense, he accumulated 931 rushing yards and achieved a personal record of 14 total touchdowns (comprising eight rushing and six receiving). These accomplishments garnered him his second selection to the Pro Bowl. He sustained this performance into the postseason, instrumental in advancing Cincinnati through the AFC bracket to reach Super Bowl XXIII.

Brooks executed his most outstanding rushing campaign in 1989, establishing a franchise record at the time with 1,239 rushing yards while maintaining an impressive average of 5.6 yards per carry, thereby earning his third Pro Bowl selection. He concluded his distinguished period in 1990 with 1,004 rushing yards—culminated by a remarkable 201-yard single-game performance against Houston—to attain his fourth Pro Bowl invitation at the age of 32.

Brooks played 118 games (92 starts), becoming the Bengals' all-time leading rusher with 6,447 yards and 37 touchdowns, plus 297 receptions for 3,012 yards and 27 TDs. In 2026, he was inducted into the Bengals Ring of Honor.

174. James Brooks

For a time when James Brooks was playing it seemed that you would hear his name being called throughout the entire game.  With his incredible versatility, it stands to reason that teams would use him every way they could.