2020 took another star football player as former Green Bay Packers Cornerback, Herb Adderley, passed away at the age of 81.

A Halfback at Michigan State, Adderley was taken by Green Bay with the 12^thOverall Pick in the 1961 Draft.  With Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor in tow, Packers Head Coach, Vince Lombardi, moved Adderley to Cornerback late in his rookie season.  It turned out to be one of the best position switches in athletic history.

From 1962 to 1967, Adderley was chosen for five Pro Bowls, four First Team All-Pros, and was considered to be one of the elite Corners in Football.  He was part of all five Packers’ NFL Championships and their first two Super Bowls.  Adderley was also named to the 1960s All-Decade Team.  He joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1970, and he played there for three seasons, winning a third Super Bowl (VI).  He retired with 48 Interceptions.

Adderley was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Herb Adderley.

The Black College Hall of Fame has announced the 25 Finalists for the Class of 2020, which includes 22 former players and three coaches.

This group was selected from a field over 150 candidates by an 11-member Selection Committee.

Players:

Joe “747” Adams, Quarterback, Tennessee State, 1977-80: Adams threw for 8,653 Yards for the Tigers and would play three years in the Canadian Football League for Saskatchewan, Toronto and Ottawa.

Coy Bacon, Defensive Lineman, Jackson State, 1964-67:  Already a Hall of Famer at Jackson State, Bacon played 14 years in the NFL where he was a three-time Pro Bowl Selection.  He played for Los Angeles, San Diego, Cincinnati and Washington, despite being Undrafted.

Verlon Biggs, Defensive End, Jackson State, 1962-65:  Biggs was a two-time All-American and All-SWAC player at Jackson State.  He was also a three-time All-Star with the New York Jets where he would help them win Super Bowl III.

Dwaine Board, Defensive End, North Carolina A&T State, 1975-78:  A member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, Board played ten seasons in the NFL, nine with San Francisco where he won three Super Bowls. He won a fourth ring as the Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach.

Ben Coates, Tight End, Livingstone College, 1987-90:  Coates had 103 Receptions, 1,268 Yards and 18 Touchdowns.  Professionally, Coates was a five-time Pro Bowler, a member of the 1990s All-Decade Team, and won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens.

Greg Coleman, Punter, Florida A&M, 1972-75:  Coleman went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL for Cleveland, Minnesota and Washington.

Clem Daniels, Running Back, Prairie View A&M, 1956-59: Daniels was a two-time Conference Champion and took Prairie View to an NAIA Championship.  He played nine seasons in the Pros, the first eight in the AFL where he was named the league MVP in 1963 as an Oakland Raider.  The four-time AFL All-Star led the Raiders to an AFL Title in 1967.  Daniels finished his career with one year in San Francisco.

Kevin Dent, Safety, Jackson State, 1985-88:  Dent was a three-time All-American, and during his stay at Jackson State, the Tigers only lost one conference game.  He had ten Interceptions as a sophomore.  Dent played for Tampa Bay in the Arena League and is already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2006.

Donald Driver, Wide Receiver, Alcorn State, 1995-98: Driver caught 88 passes for 1,993 Yards at Alcorn State, and he would go on to play fourteen years for the Green Bay Packers.  He was a four-time Pro Bowl Selection and helped the Packers win Super Bowl XLV.

Jimmie Giles, Tight End, Alcorn State, 1973-76:  After his career ended at Alcorn State, Giles played 13 years in the NFL with Houston, Tampa Bay, Detroit and Philadelphia. Giles was a four-time Pro Bowler, had 5,084 Receiving Yards and is in the Buccaneer’s Ring of Honor.

Winston Hill: Offensive Lineman, Texas Southern, 1960-63: Hill was an All-American and Super Bowl Champion with the New York Jets.  Hill was a four-time AFL All-Star, four-time Pro Bowler, and in 2020, was enshrined to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Richard Huntley, Running Back, Winston Salem State, 1992-95: Huntley rushed for 6,286 Yards and had 62 total Touchdowns for his school.  He would later have a four-year career in the NFL, playing for Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Carolina, Buffalo and Detroit.

Henry Lawrence, Offensive Lineman, Florida A&M, 1970-73: One of the most distinguished alumni in Rattler history, Lawrence played thirteen years for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders.  Professionally, he won three Super Bowls and was a two-time Pro Bowl Selection.  

Albert Lewis, Defensive Back, Grambling State, 1979-82: Lewis was a two-time First Team SWAC player, and professionally played 16 years, 11 with Kansas City, and five with the Raiders.  Lewis recorded 42 Interceptions in the NFL, was a four-time Pro Bowler, and is in the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.

Tyrone McGriff, Offensive Lineman, Florida A&M, 1976-79: McGriff was a three-time All-American at Tackle and is already in the College Football Hall of Fame.  McGriff played three years for the Steelers and was with Michigan and Memphis of the USFL.

John “Big Train” Moody, Running Back, Morris Brown College, 1939-41:  Moody was the Fullback on the Morris Brown Team that won the 1940 SIAC Title.  He was allegedly contacted by the Los Angeles Rams that year, and would have been the first player from an HBCU to enter the NFL had that come to fruition.  

Nate Newton, Offensive Lineman, Florida A&M, 1979-82: An All-MEAC player at Florida A&M, Newton went on undrafted and played for Tampa Bay in the USFL, and would later be a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl Champion with the Dallas Cowboys.

Elijah Pitts, Running Back, Philander Smith College, 1958-61: Despite being heavily recruited by Big Ten programs, he elected to stay in his home state and dominate at Philander Smith College.  Pitts went on to win five NFL Championships and two Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers, and he was later a successful Running Backs Coach.

Jake Reed, Wide Receiver, Grambling State, 1987-90: Reed was a bona fide star at Grambling, and he went on to have a long career in the NFL, mostly with the Minnesota Vikings.  Reed had 6,999 Yards with 36 Touchdowns as a pro.

Johnnie Walton, Quarterback, Elizabeth City State, 1965-68: Walton was an All-CIAA player who threw for 1,400 Yards and 16 Touchdowns as a senior.  He would later bounce around in the Continental Football League and World Football League before he made it to the NGL with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.

Sammy White, Wide Receiver, Grambling State, 1972-75: White was a two-time All-SWAC Selection who had 802 Yards and 17 TDs as a Senior.  A Second Round Pick, White was the 1976 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and was twice a Pro Bowler.  White played all 11 of his NFL years with Minnesota and accumulated 6,400 Yards with 50 Touchdowns.

Roynell Young, Defensive Back, Alcorn State, 1976-79: Young had 20 Interceptions as a Brave, and helped his school win the SWAC in 1979.  He went on to play nine years in the NFL (all with Philadelphia) and was a Pro Bowl Selection in 1981.

Coaches:

Willard Bailey, Head Football Coach, Virginia Union, 1971-83 & 1995-03, Norfolk 2005-10, Virginia-Lynchburg 2011-13.  Bailey has seven CIAA Championships with a record of 238-169-7.

Rudy Hubbard, Head Football Coach, Florida A&M 1974-85. A Running Back at Ohio State, Hubbard would later coach the Rattlers to a Division I-AA Championship in 1978 and back-to-back Black College National Titles (1977-78).  He had a career record of 83-48-3.

William Nicks, Head Football Coach, Morris Brown College 1930-35, 1937-39 & 1941-42, Prairie View A&M 1945-47 & 1952-65. Nicks won six Black College National Titles, seven SWAC Titles and had a career record of 192-60-21.

The Class of 2020 will be announced on November 19, 2020, and will be officially enshrined on February 20, 2021 in Atlanta.

We aren’t going to lie to you. This announcement is a major disappointment to us.

The Hockey Hall of Fame has announced that there will be no Class of 2021.  

A statement from Lanny McDonald, the Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame, said the following:

“The magic of the induction weekend from the perspective of the new inductees is participating in several days of close interaction with family, friends, former teammates, fellow legends and fans.

On that premise, the board felt that this was the right decision to bestow upon the class of 2020 the recognition and lifetime experience they so richly deserve in all ways consistent with past induction classes.”

Considering what we do here at Notinhalloffame.com, and ranking those who should be in various Halls, this is a colossal disappointment to us.  We want to see former players and builders and get their due in appropriate time, but after getting over our initial disappointment, there are couple of other deeper thoughts we have.

The Hockey Hall has been around since 1945, and has been consistently inducting players, coaches and builders ever since.  This means there is no significant backlog and a one-year wait does not have the same impact that it would in others halls, namely the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  

The Sedin twins were locks to have entered in 2021, and in 2022, there is no lock who will enter the ballot. This does however postpone the wait for worthy players like Daniel Alfredsson and Alexander Mogilny, who have yet to get in.  That won’t happen in 2021.

The Class of 2020 (Marion Hossa, Jarome Iginla, Kevin Lowe, Kim St. Pierre, Doug Wilson and Ken Holland) will be inducted in 2021.

We will keep our core Notinhalloffame.com Hockey Listintact until the summer of 2021, and add new eligible names accordingly.

One of our pet projects, the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the Finalists for the Class of 2020, which will be the 7^thfull class.  

The Finalists were decided by all of you, after being pared down first from over 500 Preliminary Nominees to 50 Semi-Finalists.

There are three wings in the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame:

The Fictitious Athlete wing, whose members are: Rocky Balboa (The Rocky series), Roy Hobbs (The Natural), Crash Avis (Bull Durham), Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn (Major League), Happy Gilmore (Happy Gilmore), Reggie Dunlop (Slap Shot), The Hanson Brothers (Slap Shot), Charlie Conway (The Mighty Ducks) Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez (The Sandlot), Apollo Creed (Rocky), Willie “Mays” Hayes (Major League), Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump), Bobby Boucher (The Waterboy), Paul “Wrecking” Crewe (The Longest Yard), Dottie Hinson (A League of Their Own), Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid), Clubber Lang (Rocky), Ivan Drago (Rocky) and “Fast” Eddie Felson (The Hustler & The Color of Money.

The Fictitious Contributor wing, whose members are: Harry Doyle (Major League), Carl Spackler (Caddyshack), Mr. Miyagi (The Karate Kid), Chubbs Peterson (Happy Gilmore), Gordon Bombay (The Mighty Ducks), Mickey Goldmill (Rocky), Morris Buttermaker (The Bad News Bears), Coach Ernie Pantusso (Cheers) and Adrian Balboa (Rocky)

The Fictitious Veteran wing, whose members are: Andy “Champ” Purcell (The Champ), Dennis Ryan (Take Me Out to the Ball Game), Guffy McGovern (Angels in the Outfield), Huxley College (Horse Feathers) and Sport Goofy.

The 15 Fictitious Athlete Finalists are:

Adonis Creed (Creed and Creed II).  The son of former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Apollo Creed, Adonis became the World Heavyweight Champion himself.  This is the most “recent” Finalist, and this is his second time as a Finalist.

Al Bundy (Married With Children).  Bundy has been a Finalist every single year of the Hall’s existence with the Polk High football star finishing fourth on two occasions.  He is most famous for scoring four touchdowns in a game, and he also led the Newmarket Mallers to a league championship in baseball.

Al Czervik (Caddyshack).  Czervik was a Finalist last year for the first time, and his win over the “snobs” at Bushwood Country Club is still golf legend. “Hey, everybody!  We’re all going to get laid!”

“All the Way” Mae Mordabito (A League of Their Own).  Mordabito played at Centerfield for the Rockford Peaches, and was the team’s leadoff hitter.  This is the first time that Madonna’s character has made it to the Finals.

“Big Ern” Ernie McCracken (Kingpin).  “Big Ern” was the most recognized bowler in the circuit. McCracken has been a multi-time Semi-Finalist.  Should this get it, Bill Murray will be a dual-inductee, already in as Carl Spackler from Caddyshack.

Billy Chapel (For Love of the Game).  As a veteran with the Detroit Tigers, Chapel pitched a perfect game.  He has always been a Semi-Finalist, and is a Finalist for the first time.  This would be Kevin Costner’s second induction, following his role as Crash Davis in Bull Durham.

Bud (Air Bud).  What sport could this golden retriever not do?  He did it all, and he returns as a Semi-Finalist for the fifth time.  He is a Finalist for the second time.

Homer Simpson (The Simpsons).  The multi-time Semi Finalist has excelled in multiple sports including Softball, Boxing and Mixed Curling.  He has played alongside Daryll Strawberry, fought a heavyweight champion (Drederick Tatum) and was in the Olympics with his wife.  Homer has been a Finalist before, and along with the Be-Sharps, is also a Finalist for our Fictitious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski (The Big Lebowski).  A pot smoking slacker who loves bowling? Sounds good to us!  The Dude has been a previous Semi-Finalist, but is a Finalist for the first time.

Johnny Lawrence (The Karate Kid).  Lawrence was the lead fighter of the Cobra-Kai who terrorized Daniel LaRusso in 1984 in Fresno.  Lawrence’s loss to LaRusso tormented him for decades.  A Semi-Finalist last year, Lawrence is a Finalist for the first time.

Lee (Enter the Dragon).  Lee qualifies as he participates in what was the most unorganized martial arts tournament in memory.  This is his third straight year as a Finalist.

Lightning McQueen (Cars).  McQueen is one of the most successful anthropomorphic automobiles that race.  This is a two-time Semi-Finalist, and a Finalist for the first time.

Peter LaFleur (Dodgeball).  LaFleur led his Average Joe’s Gym team to a win in the Dodgeball Open in Las Vegas.  He is a three-time Finalist.

Ricky Bobby (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby).  NASCAR legend, Ricky Bobby has been a Finalist three times.

Shane Falco (The Replacements):  The former Ohio State Buckeye was a replacement player Quarterback for the Washington Sentinels.  Falco is a Finalist for the third time.

You can vote for them here.

The Fictitious Athlete Contributors are:

Caretaker (The Longest Yard ’05):  This is the Chris Rock version, and he is a Finalist for the second time.

Coach Klein (The Waterboy):  The Head Coach of South Central Louisiana State was a play-making genius and a previous Finalist.

Frank Drebin (The Naked Gun):  The. Detective from the Police Squad in L.A. pretended to be a Major League Umpire, while on the case.  He was a Semi-Finalist last year, and makes the Finals for the first time.

George Costanza (Seinfeld):  Costanza shockingly became an executive with the New York Yankees and is a two-time Semi-Finalist, and makes the Finals for the first time.

Jerry Maguire (Jerry Maguire):  The most known sports agent in the fictitious world is now a three-time Finalist.   

Jimmy Dugan (A League of Their Own):  Since the inception of the Fictitious Athlete Hall, Dugan has been a Finalist.  He had 500 career Home Runs, and would later helm the Rockford Peaches.  Dugan has been a Finalist every year.

John Kreese (The Karate Kid):  Kreese is a two-time Semi-Finalist and was the leader of the Cobra-Kai.  This is his second straight year as a Semi-Finalist, and he cracks the Finals for the first time.

Ken Reeves (The White Shadow):  A former Chicago Bull, Reeves became the head coach at Carver High in California.  Reeves has been an annual Semi-Finalist, and is a Finalist for the second time.

Lou Brown (Major League):  Brown went from managing the Toledo Mudhens and landed the job as the Cleveland Indians Manager.  The former Tire World manager is now a two-time Finalist

Norman Dale (Hoosiers):  Dale is a four-time Finalist and he led the small town Hickory High to a state championship in 1957.

Patches O’Houlihan (Dodgeball):  O’Houlihan was a former dodgeball star who trained the Average Joe’s Gym for their tournament in Las Vegas.  He was also a Finalist last year.

Pepper Brooks (Dodgeball):  Brooks worked as the color commentator for the Dodgeball tournament on the “Ocho”.  Brooks is a three-time Semi-Finalist, and is now a Finalist.

Ray Kinsella (Field of Dreams):  Kinsella built a baseball diamond in his Iowa cornfield where dead baseball players came to play.  He is a two-time Finalist.

Terrence Mann (Field of Dreams):  An important counter-culture writer of the 1960s, Mann is a disaffected baseball fan who travels with Kinsella to his Iowa baseball diamond.  He is now a Finalist.

The Gopher (Caddyshack):  The gopher has been terrorizing groundskeepers at Bushwood Country Club for years, and he has been known to dance to Kenny Loggins songs.  He is a three-time Semi-Finalist, and rockets to his first Finals.

You can vote for them here.

The Fictitious Athlete Veterans are:

Harold Lamb (The Freshman):  Lamb played college football for Tate University, and the undersized talent got the girl at the end.

Joe Boyd/Joe Hart (Damn Yankees):  The superfan of the Washington Senators instantly became the team’s biggest star.

Joe Pendleton/Bruce Farnsworth/Murdoch (Here Comes Mr. Jordan):  If you want a story about a reincarnated boxer, this is it!

You can vote for them here.

When you can, please support our site and cast your vote for the Class of 2020!

This year, three “Athletes” two “Contributors” and one “Veteran” will be inducted.

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support.