Committee Chairman

RIP: Tommy Ramone

Jul 14, 2014

The end of an era was marked as the last surviving member of the original lineup of the Ramones, Drummer, Tommy Ramone passed away following a bout with bile duct cancer. He was 65 years old.

Born Thomas Erdelyi in Budapest, Hungary, he would immigrate to the New York City as a child and would soon find himself attracted to the music scene. Erdelyi would become friends with his High School Classmate, Johnny Cummings and form a garage band named the Tangerine Puppets in the late 1960’s. The duo would later meet Douglas Colvin and Jeffrey Hyman, and the foursome that would eventually become the Ramones had become entrenched in each other’s lives.

Cummings, Colvin and Hyman would form a band, with Colvin inspired by a Paul McCartney pseudonym during the “Silver Beatles” period, adopted the stage name of Dee Dee Ramone. Colvin convinced the others to adopt the fake last name and Hyman and Cummings became Joey and Johnny Ramone respectively. Thomas Erdelyi was not initially part of the band and only intended to be the group’s manager but as fate often intervenes in Rock and Roll, that would not be how the story would play out.

Dee Dee Ramone, who was the initial drummer, quickly came to the conclusion that singing and playing the drums simultaneously wouldn’t work, not with the rapid pace that was required with what was to be the Ramones sound. Erdelyi, still associated with the trio, and set to take place as the band’s manager, was on hand to teach prospective drummers the pacing and style required, though nobody was able to match what Erdelyi could do. He would forego his spot as the band’s manager and assume his new name of Tommy Ramone, the band’s new drummer.

The Ramones would be at the forefront and were considered the leaders of a new musical movement that was called, Punk. Their songs were brief, their tempo was rapid fire and nobody had ever heard anything like it before. They would hit the scene officially in 1974, and become a staple of CBGB’s, the place associated with new and upcoming music in New York City.

They would release their debut album in 1976 and though the Ramones were never a commercial success, their impact was undeniable and they would develop a legacy that has rendered them as one of the most influential bands of all time. Tommy Ramone was the drummer on that album, and would also perform on their next two. Additionally, Tommy would be the co-producer on those first three efforts.

Tommy Ramone would step down as the band’s drummer and would be replaced by Marky Ramone (Mark Bell) who would stay with the group for fifteen years. Tommy would remain on as the co-producer on the fourth album, and as the band’s manager. He would also return to produce their eight album. Tommy was also responsible for writing the bulk of “Blitzkrieg Bop” which is arguably their most recognizable song.

Tommy had been sick for some time prior to his passing, living in hospice care for the past few months. We offer our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Tommy Ramone and we here at Notinhalloffame.com are going to take the Rocket to Russia in two minute bursts.

Pete Carroll Headlines USC HOF Class

Jul 11, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

For those you have been regular followers here at Notinhalloffame.com, you already know that we will be unveiling a look at the big four North American Sports franchises and how they retire numbers and/or honor former players/contributors with their respective Halls of Fame. It stands to reason that this practice will eventually work its way to the major American College programs. With that in mind, we will now begin reporting on when a significant college admits someone into their Hall of Fame or retire a number.

Today, the University of Southern California has announced their latest Hall of Fame Class, with former Football Coach, Pete Carroll as the perceived headliner. Carroll brought the Trojans Football tea back to national prominence and won the National Championship in 2003 and 2004, and also won six BCS Bowl Games. He was criticized for leaving USC shortly before the University faced sanctions due to violations of the NCAA code, mostly centered around former Running Back, Reggie Bush. Still, Carroll’s impact at USC can not be denied.

Fifteen other people join Pete Carroll. Jack Del Rio, who played both Baseball and Football at USC from 1981 to 1985. Del Rio was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in Baseball, and starred as a Catcher, batting well over .300. He would be regarded as a bigger star in Football, winning the Rose Bowl MVP in ’85 and was an All-American Linebacker.

Mark Prior was also chosen. The Pitcher was a major star at USC, winning the Dick Howser Trophy, Golden Spikes Award, and Rotary Smith Award in 2001. His incredible performance led him to being the second player over all in the MLB Draft.

Another highly regarded Football player joins the Hall, with Quarterback, Jimmy Jones, who was one of the first African-American pivots of note. The trailblazing Jones went 22-8-3 as a Starter at USC.

The sport of Basketball is also represented with Harold Miner, a slam dunk aficionado who was the Pac-10 Player of the Year and Consensus All-American in 1992. That year, Miner led USC to a number #2 ranking prior to the NCAA Tournament.

Jamaican born Track and Field Star and 1976 200 Meter Olympic Gold Medalist, Don Quarrie was also selected.

The remaining inductees are Linebacker, Tim Rossovich, Rhodesia born Tennis player, Byron Black, Phillipine born and former NCAA Champion, Jennifer Rosales, Canadian born women’s soccer player, Isabelle Harvey, longtime Assistant Football Coach, Dave Levy, Hungarian born Water Polo star, Aniko Pelle, Sportswriter, Joe Jares, Swimmer, Kristine Quance, Volleyball star, Bob Yoder and John Hamilton who is recognized as a contributor.

We would like to congratulate this year’s Class to the USC Athletic Hall of Fame.

Tom Higgins to the NASCAR HOF

Jul 05, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

The NASCAR Hall of Fame has announced that Tom Higgins will become the fourth recipient of the Squier-Hall Media Award, which similar to the Ford C. Frick Award in Baseball earns him automatic induction into the Hall of Fame.

Higgins began his writing career in 1957 and would join the Charlotte Observer in 1964 where some of his duties included covering Motor Sports. It would soon become evident that this would be his calling and in 1980 he would become the first beat reporter for the NASCAR circuit (still working for the Charlotte Observer), and he would hold that title until his semi-retirement in 1997. Higgins has already been the recipient of numerous writing awards in the field of NASCAR and motorsports journalism, and this is the final, and highest accolade for him to receive.

The Award was named after legendary NASCAR broadcasters Ken Squier and Barney Hall, who were also the recipients of the award in 2013. The ceremony for the NASCAR Hall of Fame will take place January of next year.

Coming Soon this Summer and Fall

Jun 30, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

As it is a common occurrence here for us at Notinhalloffame.com, we would like to keep all of you aware of what is being planned for our continued growth at Notinhalloffame.com.

Hopefully, you have noticed our new “Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame”, which now is accepting votes for the second round for the 2014 Class. If you like that, then you will love the “Fictitious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” which follows the same platform, where your favorite fake bands duel for the privilege of being part of the inaugural class. We are hopeful of launching the voting this summer. Once that voting commences, the First Round will be open to the public. As all of you can imagine, we are very excited about this addition to our website!

We still have a lot more updates coming. In two months we plan to unveil the new NASCAR and Hockey Lists. In both cases, the men we had placed at the number one slot has been inducted, and there will be significant changes to each list’s top ten.

We are also looking towards future possibilities. By the Fall, we should have up additional names who will soon be eligible for the Hall of Fame in Baseball, Hockey and Basketball, and you can voice your opinion on where (or if) they should be ranked on future lists.

There will also be a major addition in November that we have mentioned earlier. We will be looking at all major North American sports franchise and how they have conducted themselves in terms of franchise Halls of Fame, Rings of Honor, Retired Numbers and other methods by which they have honored their past players and contributors. This will be illustrated in a fluid rank that we will also ask your input on.

We thank all of you for continued support and we look forward to continue to bring you new content on a regular basis.