Committee Chairman

London Fletcher to retire

Dec 19, 2013

Today, the very popular Washington Redskins Linebacker, London Fletcher announced that he is unlikely to return to Pro Football next season. His success in the National Football League was not expected, as the undersized player (he is only five foot ten) played in tiny Division III, John Carroll University, where he was named the Division III Linebacker of the Year.

In 1998, he went undrafted, but was invited to the ST. Louis Rams training camp, where he made the opening day roster and played mostly in reserve capacity, though he did play in all in 16 games and was named the team’s Rookie of the Year. The following season, he became the Rams starting Middle Linebacker and would begin a career of incredible durability starting over 200 games and overall would become one of the true Iron Mans of the sport as he is one of only four players to appear in over 250 consecutive games, and the only Linebacker to achieve this mark. 1999 would prove to be the season where he would earn his sole Super Bowl Ring, helping St. Louis capture Super Bowl XXXIV.

The Rams were not known for their defence, but it was widely believed that Fletcher was a big part of keeping them respectable. They would appear in Super Bowl XXXVI, though this time in a losing effort.

Fletcher moved on the Buffalo Bills in 2003 as a restricted Free Agent, and while there he saw his tackling numbers increase as he netted 495 over a five year period while assisting on another 234.

After Buffalo, he signed with the Washington Redskins and though he was already a well respected player, it was in Washington that he finally made his first Pro Bowl (and would be named to four in a row) and was named in 2011 and 2012 to the Associated Press Second Team All Pro squad.

Outside of Football, Fletcher was known as a community leader and has always been praised for his charitable work. In 2012, he won the Bart Starr Award exemplifying outstanding character in the home, the field and the community. He was also nominated many times for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award which honors a player’s charitable work as well as his on field leadership.

The question we always ask here once a player announces his retirement, is does he belong in their respective Hall of Fame, and with London Fletcher there are some very strong points to consider.

Generally, the Football Hall of Fame has players who were at least a First Team All Pro once, which Fletcher never achieved and essentially he was never considered at any time in his career to be the best player in his position, with the possible exception when he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month in 2012.

You can argue that he “only” made four Pro Bowls, but he was an alternate so many times that while he may never been considered the top guy, he was in that lower tier of the top ten; a status he held for probably ten years. He is second All Time in Combined Tackles, and led the NFL in that category once in 2011. Fletcher is one of the few men to be a part of the 20/20 club (Sacks & Interceptions) and being the All Time leader in Games Played for a Linebacker has to be respected.

The case of London Fletcher is not one of a stat compiler, but that of a player who was very good for a long time in the most punishing sport in North America. Normally, a player in Canton has to be considered amongst the elite; but we think a very strong case can be made for someone who was so close for so long. We would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

2014 RRHOF Class Announced

Dec 17, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

We have to admit that we never thought we would see this day. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2014 and along with Nirvana who was expected to be a lock, KISS has finally received their long awaited nod to the Cleveland based institution.

Jan Wenner, who spearheaded the Hall of Fame years ago, was on record stating that KISS would never enter the Hall as long as he had something to say about it. The painted face gimmick got them attention, and their Rock and Roll anthems gave them a legion of fans, known as the KISS Army. We have no doubt that they are celebrating today.

Nirvana was the top act on our countdown and it was expected by everyone that they would be inducted on the first ballot. They were not the first Grunge band, but they were the first to really make it, and they kicked down the door that altered the musical landscape and changed radio stations forever.

Peter Gabriel was also selected and he joins an elite group that has two inductions. Gabriel was inducted a few years ago, where he was inducted as a member of Genesis. His solo career eclipsed the work he did with his previous band, and his foray into World Music gives this Class a very unique dimension.

Hall & Oates may not be an “urban act”, but the Blue Eyed Soul group channelled their sound from the Philly sound of the 70’s. The duo has been eligible for some time, but this was their first nomination which resulted in an immediate inclusion.

As the sole female nominee, many expected Linda Ronstadt to get selected, which she was. Ronstadt was arguably the top female solo act of the 1970’s, though the bulk of her songs were covers of other singers. She has been recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s, (she is no longer able to sing) which may have added a bit of sympathy to her Hall of Fame cause, though again as the lone female on the ballot, that may have played little part in her selection.

The final selection was a bit of surprise in our eyes in Cat Stevens. It is not that we did not think that he does not belong; if anything we feel that it is a bit overdue as he was one of the most beloved Singer/Songwriter of his day. However, his conversion to Islam and controversial statements likely made him someone that the “establishment” wanted to shy away from. The now named Yusuf Islam returned to music after a twenty year layoff, and perhaps his return generated the right time for an induction.

Overall, we are happy with this Class, though we are surprised that no African American act was selected, specifically N.W.A., which we thought were a certainty to enter this year. We were not surprised to see Chic fail to get in, as this is an annual occurrence.

It should also noted that the E. Street Band was selected to enter the Hall, receiving the Award for Musical Excellence. The man they support, Bruce Springsteen, was himself inducted in his first year of eligibility in 1999.

The Induction ceremony will take place on April 10, 2014 at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York.

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Roy Halladay Retires

Dec 10, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Returning to the Toronto Blue Jays for a one day contract, Roy Halladay officially announced his retirement today from the world of Baseball. “Doc” called it a career at the age of 36, where he won two Cy Young Awards, one with Toronto in 2003 and the second with Philadelphia in 2010.

Halladay finishes with a 203-105 record which may not be a huge win total, but over a sixteen year career in this era is very impressive. Seven times, he led the League in Complete Games, four times in Innings Pitched, once in WHIP, and was an All Star eight times. Halladay’s career WAR is 65.6, which puts him in line with other Hall of Fame Pitchers. In our opinion, Roy Halladay is a Hall of Fame entry and we would like to congratulate him on a wonderful career.

Veteran's Committee selects Torre, LaRussa and Cox

Dec 10, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

No matter what happens with the Players Vote, we at least know that we have some significant additions to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The Veterans Committee have unanimously selected three great Baseball Managers to the Hall with Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Tony LaRussa.

Cox was a very successful Manager with Toronto and Atlanta, winning over 2,500 Games and winning the World Series with the Braves in 1995. As his top two pitchers with Atlanta are on their first year on the ballot (Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine) it could be quite a tribute to Georgia Baseball this upcoming summer.

Joe Torre was on the ballot for a full fifteen years as a player. The former MVP was a multi-time All Star, but as a Major League Manager he captured four World Series rings with the New York Yankees and won over 2,300 games. Torre is the only person to have 2,000 Hits as a player and 2,000 wins as a Manager.

Tony LaRussa won three World Series, first with the Oakland A’s in 1989 and twice in the National League, with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and 2011. LaRussa was known as being one of the great strategists of the game and won 2,728 as a Major League Baseball Manager.

Although this trio ensures that regardless of what happens with the players vote that we have a solid 2014 Hall of Fame Class, much has been made of Marvin Miller’s failure to get selected on his sixth kick at the can. Miller was the head of the Player’s Association from 1966 to 1981 and actually received less support this year than he did in 2010. Others who failed to get selected were Dave Parker, George Steinbrenner, Dan Quisenberry, Steve Garvey, Billy Martin, Dave Concepcion, Tommy John and Ted Simmons.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place on June 27, 2014. We congratulate the three great Managers on this worthy induction.