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 examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Los Angeles Chargers announced that Rodney Harrison will be inducted into their franchise Hall of Fame on October 23 during the Chargers' home game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Drafted in the fifth round in 1994 from Western Illinois, Harrison helped the Chargers reach their only Super Bowl as a rookie.  The hard-hitter became San Diego’s starting Strong Safety in 1996, and he was selected to two Pro Bowls (1998 & 2001) and was a First Team All-Pro once (1998).  Harrison joined the New England Patriots in 2003 (where he won two Super Bowls) and left behind 26 Interceptions and 21.5 Sacks as a Charger.

Harrison is already a member of the Chargers' 40th and 50th Anniversary Teams and is also part of the Patriots' 50th Anniversary Team.  He still holds the record for the most Sacks for a Defensive Back in NFL history (30.5).

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Rodney Harrison for his impending honor.

The modern fullback seems like a relic of football’s past, but when used correctly, it is a thing of beauty to watch.  Lorenzo Neal might be the game’s last great Fullback.

A traditional back at Fresno State, Neal was converted to a Fullback by the team that drafted him, New Orleans, to the position. In 1997, he set a record by blocking for 11 consecutive 1,000-yard rushers in history.  After playing for multiple teams, his best and most recognized run came in San Diego, where he paved the way for Hall of Fame Running Back LaDainian Tomlinson and earned multiple Pro Bowls and an All-Decade Selection. 

The odds of him getting enshrined in Canton are not strong, but his accomplishments set him apart from most fullbacks from his era.

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 examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Los Angeles Chargers will be inducting former owners, Alex and Faye Spanos to their franchise Hall of Fame.

This will bring a total of 43 members to the Hall.

Alex Spanos bought the San Diego Chargers in 1984 and oversaw the team until his death in 2018. His wife, Faye, died two months later.

The team is now owned and run by their son, Dean Spanos, who credited their parents for the vision of the team and that the team would not have relocated to Los Angeles.

Gary Johnson received the nickname of “Big Hands” innocently enough.  In eighth grade, Johnson grabbed a basketball in gym class, and the P.E. teacher yelled the following:

“Get your big hands off my basketball!”

Those meat hooks would be put to good use on the gridiron, first at Grambling, where he was a three-time Little All-American, and then for the San Diego Chargers, who drafted Johnson eighth overall in 1975.

An All-Rookie Selection, Johnson had his first double-digit sack year in 1977 (13.5).  As the Chargers offense improved by a decade’s end under Don Coryell and Quarterback Dan Fouts, the defensive corps also shaped up, making the Bolts serious AFC contenders. 

From 1979 to 1982, Johnson was named to the Pro Bowl, with First Team All-Pros coming his way in 1980 and 1981.  Johnson led the NFL in Sacks in 1980 with 17.5, but the Chargers were unable to get over the hump, and he was able to join the mighty San Francisco 49ers and help them win Super Bowl XIX, where Johnson got three Sacks in that postseason.

Russ Washington played both Offensive Tackle and Defensive Tackle at the University of Missouri, and the man who stood at 6’ 5” and nearly 300 pounds made the mouths water of NFL scouts.  the San Diego Chargers selected him fourth overall in 1968, where he was used as a Defensive Tackle over his first two seasons.  He did well, but the Chargers saw more value in him on the O-Line, and that is where he moved in 1970 and was their starting Right Tackle for 13 years.

Washington’s size was a better fit on offense, especially on pass protection.  When the team moved to a more pass-heavy offense under Don Coryell, Washington was in his element and it showed with five trips to the Pro Bowl in the second half of his career.  Rarely hurt, Washington played 200 Games for the Chargers and would enter their franchise Hall of Fame in 1985.

Ed White was a consensus All-American at the University of California and split his 17-year professional career in the NFL between the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers.

White was part of several successful Vikings teams that made multiple Super Bowl runs, and he played a major role in protecting Fran Tarkenton and other offensive weapons.  The Guard was traded to San Diego, helped protect another Hall of Fame quarterback, Dan Fouts, and earned four Pro Bowl selections.

White played in 241 Games, and is one of the most tenured Offensive Lineman in NFL history.

Doug Wilkerson was all set to play college ball at Michigan State, but an incident with another student in his senior year of high school led to its revocation.  It didn't derail his path to the pros; though he attended the small HBCU North Carolina Central, he shone so brightly that the Houston Oilers selected him in the first round in 1970.  As a rookie, Wilkerson did not start and was also playing at Defensive End.  The Oilers traded the Guard to San Diego, and he would play a large part in the “Air Coryell” Offense of the Chargers. 

Wilkerson was San Diego’s starting Left Guard from 1971 to 1984, and with the arrival of Dan Fouts in 1973 and Coryell’s arrival in 1978, Wilkerson became the protector of the Chargers offense.  Fouts was routinely throwing for unprecedented passing yards at the time, and Wilkerson was one of the top guards who rarely got his due, with the exception of the San Diego media.  Wilkerson was finally rewarded with three straight Pro Bowls (1980-82) and a First Team All-Pro in 1982.  Arguably one of the best Offensive Linemen in Chargers history, Wilkerson is part of the Chargers Hall of Fame and Black College Hall of Fame.

Former Quarterback, John Hadl, who played most notably with the San Diego Chargers, passed away at the age of 82.

A College Football Hall of Famer from the University of Kansas, Hadl played 11 years for the Chargers and was a three-time AFL leader in Passing Yards, compiling 33,503 Yards with 244 Touchdown Passes.  He also played for the Rams, Green Bay and Houston, and was a six-time AFL All-Star/Pro Bowl Selection.  

In our latest Notinhalloffame list of those to consider for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Hadl was ranked at #92.

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

Joey Bosa was a beast at Ohio State, earning two All-American honors, the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year, and winning the National Championship.  The Chargers used their Third Overall Pick on the Buckeye, and it proved to be the correct decision.

From the University of Utah, where he was a two-time Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, Eric Weddle joined the San Diego Chargers as a Second-Round Pick in 2007.  He played off the bench as a rookie.  Weddle won the starting job at Free Safety as a sophomore and became one of the top safeties of the 2010s.

Weddle usually played at FS, but could slide into Strong Safety and provide elite man-to-man coverage when needed.  Lauded for his high football IQ, Weddle became a de facto on-field coach for his squads.  Weddle went to his first Pro Bowl in 2011, the same year he co-led the league in Interceptions (7) and was also a First Team All-Pro.  He added two more Pro Bowls (2013 & 2014) and a second First Team All-Pro as a Charger, but his run in the sun ended when he signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2016.

The Ravens had Weddle for three seasons, during which he was an annual Pro Bowl selection.  Recording 10 Picks as a Raven, Weddle was released as a cost-cutting measure, and he joined the Los Angeles Rams for 2019.  He had a good year but elected to retire, seemingly ending his career, but the Rams made an offer he couldn’t refuse. 

In 2021, Los Angeles made the playoffs but saw the Safety position decimated by injury. Weddle was coaxed out of retirement, and with his ability to learn defensive schemes quickly, he started in the Rams' Super Bowl LVI win over Cincinnati. Weddle retired a second time, but this time as a champion.  He accumulated 39 Sacks and 1,179 Tackles over his career.

One of the most unlikely defensive stars in the early days of the Chargers was Dick Harris, an undrafted player from McNeese State.

From Washington State, Keith Lincoln elected to sign with the San Diego Chargers, as opposed to the Buffalo Bills, who chose him in the 1961 Draft.

Vincent Jackson did not have a rocket-like start in the NFL as the Northern Colorado Wide Receiver missed half of his rookie season (2005) due to injury and the Second Round Pick barely played in the games, he did appear him.

Kenny Graham made his professional debut with the San Diego Chargers, the season after the Bolts won their lone AFL Championship.  Graham might have missed out on a title, but the Washington State Cougar would become one of the most productive defensive players for San Diego for the rest of the 1960s.

Ernie Wright was an original member of the Los Angeles Chargers when they were an inaugural member of the American Football League in 1960, and the Ohio State Buckeye made the most of the opportunity.

A forgotten Quarterback in the annals of Chargers' history is Stan Humphries, who to date is the only pivot to take the organization to the Super Bowl.

The San Diego Chargers chose Boston College’s Offensive Guard, Don Macek, with their 1976 Second Round Pick, and while he never blossomed into a Pro Bowl, there was unquestioned value with this selection.

In the second year of the Chargers’ existence, Washington Linebacker, Chuck Allen was a very late Draft Pick (28^thRound), so for him just to make the team was a bit of a long shot.  Allen would accomplish a lot more than that.

The professional career of Dave Kocourek began in 1959 when the Wisconsin Badger joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.

Melvin Ingram was a First Round Pick in 2012 who was used as a backup Linebacker in his rookie year.  A torn ACL in his second training camp kept him out most of the year, but he returned and methodically worked his way into one of the better defensive players of the year.