Last month, regular contributor, Spheniscus and I debated the Hall of Fame merits of those who were on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

Now that the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2016 has announced their class has done the same.  We were hopeful to do this prior to the announcement of the actual inductees, but life, as it often does simply got in the way!

Last month, regular contributor, Spheniscus and I debated the Hall of Fame merits of those who were on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

Now that the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2016 has announced their class has done the same.  We were hopeful to do this prior to the announcement of the actual inductees, but life, as it often does simply got in the way!

Saying that, we felt it was worth our time to take a look at the 2016 Nominees and debate whether they should have gotten in (or not) and look to the future of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

As we slowly work on the 50 All-Time players for each major North American franchise, the follow up will be a look at how they honor their past players/coaches/executives. 

This being said, it is news to us that the Indianapolis Colts will be retiring the number 18 of former Quarterback, Peyton Manning and will also be erecting a statue in his honor outside of Lucas Oil Field.

The number one draft pick in 1998, Manning was the team’s starting Quarterback for fourteen years and was the NFL MVP four times.  Manning took the Colts to the Super Bowl twice, winning one of them, and threw 399 Touchdown Passes with 54,828 Yards as a Colt and is a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer. 

This will be the eight number retired by the Colts.

We would like to congratulate the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning at this time and we are sure it will be a beautiful moment for the fans of Indianapolis.

Our work in progress of the Greatest 50 Players of each major North American franchise continues.

We are proud to present our Top 50 Indianapolis Colts, an organization with 2 Super Bowls, 2 NFL Championships and a rich history in two cities.

As always, we will give you a sneak preview of the top 5:

1. Peyton Manning

2. Johnny Unitas

3. Gino Marchetti

4. Marvin Harrison

5. Raymond Berry

The complete list can be found here and we encourage you to check it our and voice your opinions.

Up next will be the Top 50 Minnesota Timberwolves, and yes the #1 choice on that one was very easy!

Look for that soon!

Generally, we don’t really talk about the retirement of NFL Punters, or Punters in general, but we do feel compelled to mention that Pat McAfee of the Indianapolis Colts has retired.

McAfee, who is only 29, was a very popular player amongst the Colts fans, both for his skill and for his quirky personality.  He actually ranked third in jersey sales on the team.  He retired from the NFL to join the growing website Barstool Sports.

The Punter is a former two time Pro Bowler and one time First Team All Pro Selection.

While we don’t see him as a Pro Football Hall of Famer, he is eligible in 2022 and we will be profiling him once our 2022 Football Futures are up.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Pat McAfee on a great career and wish him the best at Barstool Sports. 

Now maybe we should get a former Punter to work for us!

In 1999, the Indianapolis Colts were criticized for selecting Edgerrin James fourth in the draft when Ricky Williams was still available. That criticism ended as soon as they saw him play.

In his first year, James was the NFL’s leading rusher and was a First Team All Pro. He would again win the rushing title in his second season, though injuries would start to creep in. He would not win another rushing title, however he would have another five seasons hitting the 1,000 Yard mark, two of which netted him a Pro Bowl appearance. James rushed for a total of 12,246 and had another 3,364 Yards from 433 Receptions.

If popularity in New York City was enough to get inducted into the Football Hall of Fame, there is a good chance that Joe Klecko would have already been inducted.  As we know, that is not the only criteria and the popular former New York Jet remains a popular candidate among those who hang around Fireman Ed, though not among committee members.

People may remember when John Elway refused to report the Baltimore Colts when he was selected first overall in 1983.  Baltimore traded him to Denver, but it wasn’t all bad for the Colts as they received a future seven time Pro Bowler in return.