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 will expand to 400, and you can comment on and vote on:

The new 301 to 325:

301. Warrick Dunn
302. Levon Kirkland
303. Roddy White
304. Lou Rymkus
305. Kyle Williams
306. Willie Galimore
307. Keith Lincoln
308. Jerry Norton
309. Bobby Walston
310. Sherrill Headrick
311. Wayne Walker
312. Ryan Kalil*
313. Julian Peterson
314. Casey Hampton
315. Vic Sears
316. Swede Youngstrom
317. Ron McDole
318. Daryl Johnston
319. Nnamdi Asomugha
320. Bob Talamini
321. Sam Madison
322. Wesley Walls
323. Gaynell Tinsley
324. Jack Ferrante
325. Bubba Baker 

*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, basketball and hockey lists.

Had the NFL officially tracked Sacks in the years leading up to 1982, Al “Bubba” Baker might have gained some Hall of Fame traction.

Baker began his professional career with the Detroit Lions and instantly became the heart of Detroit’s Silver Rush Defense.  The former Colorado State Ram led the league (unofficially) in Sacks as a rookie with 23.  He easily won the Defensive Rookie of the Year, was a First Team All-Pro, and was the scariest pass rusher in the league.  He dominated again in 1979 with 16 Sacks and had his second “unofficial” sack crown with 17.5 in 1980.   Yep, 56.5 in his first three years!

Baker remained a potent player, but he ne did not go to another Pro Bowl beyond his first three seasons.  He was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals following a contract dispute, and in his four years under the Arch, he recorded 37.5 Sacks, with three double-digit years.  Baker played four more years, mostly in a reserve capacity, with three years in Cleveland and one in Minnesota.

He retired with 131.0 Sacks, a colossal number that remains unofficial, but those are not disputed metrics.

Stepping out of Colorado State as a second-round pick in 1978, Al "Bubba" Baker unleashed one of the most destructive individual seasons the National Football League has ever witnessed. The 6-foot-8 defensive end combined blinding speed with massive power, anchoring Detroit's legendary "Silver Rush" front four and terrorizing opposing quarterbacks from his very first snap.

Baker's rookie campaign was pure bedlam. He compiled an astounding 23.0 sacks in 1978—a jaw-dropping total that stands as the greatest single-season pass-rushing performance in NFL history. He easily captured AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and earned a consensus First-Team All-Pro nod. Baker proved it was no fluke by leading the league again two years later with 18.0 sacks in 1980, earning Pro Bowl honors in each of his first three professional seasons.

Opposing offenses had no answer for his edge-bending acceleration, but off-field contract disputes eventually shortened his stay in Motown. After five dominant years anchoring the Lions' line, Baker was traded to St. Louis in 1983, later spending time with Cleveland and Minnesota before retiring. Because sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982, his era-defining numbers sat in historical limbo for decades until retroactively compiled and verified.

As a Lion, Baker compiled 75.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, and two interceptions in Honolulu blue (131.0 career sacks overall). He was also chosen for both the Lions’ 75th Anniversary and All-Time Teams.