I have always been a critic of the NFL Hall of Fame selection process. The voters let too many players in and in many cases select the wrong players. Major League Baseball gets it right since a player need a certain percentage of votes to get in. The NFL selects five contributors every year without reservation and many a sportswriter have noted that “a Hall of Famer should be someone who the story of the game could not be told without”. Well, we just might have to agree to disagree, as it should only be determined by one’s domination of his competitors as compared to stars before and after.
Whether based on WHERE or WHEN an athlete played — or whether he was simply a colorful character whose personality out-shined his on-field credentials — the following fifteen should have never been selected for enshrinement into the elite echelon of football lore.
Author’s note: There are many candidates for this list but I chose to include the ones that have the most people brainwashed by the media and their own righteousness.
15. All Veteran’s Committee Selections
The addition of senior selections fundamentally makes no sense. If a player was not good enough to make it during his time of eligibility, then why would that player be allowed enshrinement at a later time? Giving the Veteran’s committee a say in the election process and including the likes of Clarence “Ace” Parker, George Musso, Arnie Weinmeister and Nick Buoniconti is insulting to the members that earned a spot during their true eligibility and essentially takes away from the truly elite nature of what the Hall stands for. In Major League Baseball they also participate in this practice, but the elected senior members are not given the same distinguished station that comes with being enshrined during one’s playing days.
14. Dave Casper, TE (Oakland Raiders)
Tight End is a tricky position to consider for the Hall because the position has changed so much over the years. It started as an extra blocking lineman and became a decoy and occasional receiver, then evolved into a weapon that can make or break a team. Therefore, we add Dave Casper to our list with reserve.
Upon first glance Casper’s stats are comparable, but when you look at his statistical averages, his numbers shrink because of the years that he played. Ozzie Newsome and Kellen Winslow were some of his contemporaries who played fewer years yet collected better stats.
13. Lynn Swann & John Stallworth, WR’s (Pittsburgh Steelers)
The duo that helped the Steelers get to four Super Bowls in the ’70s brings with it a career of average stats and below average dynamism. Swann never had more than sixty-one catches in a season and never more than 1,000 yards in a receiving year. When he retired in 1982, he was still not in the top fifty wide receivers in receptions and receiving yards. Stallworth’s stats were slightly better (though not by much) and the pair only combined for seven Pro Bowls. If not for being on the championship teams and playing in the Steel City, these two may be lost in anonymity.
12. Larry Csonka, RB (Miami Dolphins)
Larry Csonka spearheaded Miami’s rushing attack in the 1970s that led the team to two Super Bowl victories and an undefeated season. And it’s a good thing he was on those teams because if not, his consideration for the Hall of Fame would have been slight at best. His rushing totals just barely exceed 8,000 yards and he only achieved 1,000 yards rushing three times in eleven years.
Csonka had a decent rushing average but in an era with little elite rushing prowess he only cracked the Pro Bowl lineup five times. And while he warrants consideration as a fullback, he went in as a running back and is essentially lost to the greatness ahead of him since he does not even crack the top thirty all-time in yardage.
11. Rayfield Wright, OG (Dallas Cowboys)
As with a few selections on our list, Rayfield Wright is a beneficiary of his later eligibility coming to pass. Offensive linemen in the Hall of Fame includes a list of brute specimens that used their size and power to push people all over the field, which many times helped runners or passers gain entrance to the Hall due to their blocking supremacy. They had mean streaks and loved to get dirty (physically and figuratively). The likes of John Hannah, Bruce Matthews and Anthony Munoz are notable entries and leave us wondering where Rayfield Wright fits into this equation.
10. Roger Wehrli, DB (St. Louis Cardinals)
Who? Exactly. This one takes the cake in terms of the desperate need to have a class with five members. With so many other more deserving candidates, why did the writers feel the need to add a player that would not even be a footnote in the annals of league history?
While acknowledging that he did go to seven pro bowls, we’re curious why in just under 200 career games he managed to start in only 66 of them. Fellow enshrinee Mel Blount, who played in almost the same amount of games, managed to start three times as many games as Wehrli. If you were not even a starter in your era, how are you Hall-worthy?
9. Andre Tippett, OLB (New England Patriots)
Andre Tippett played in eleven seasons and finished his career as a rush linebacker with only 100 sacks. Men like John Randle, Richard Dent and Chris Doleman had careers that were exponentially more productive than Tippett and yet, somehow, are still on the outside looking in. Andre Tippett is more likely a product of simply playing in Boston; he was enshrined after the peak domination of the Patriots when they won three out of four Super Bowls in the early 2000s. He was a solid player in his time, for sure, but shouldn’t be given the same consideration as much as the aforementioned stars should be getting.
8. Paul Hornung, RB (Green Bay Packers)
He was a legend at Notre Dame and remains a high profile (and controversial) retired player to this day. The problem is, not only was he not one of the best rushers in the league, he wasn’t even the best rusher on his team! Jim Taylor commonly out-rushed his running mate and Hornung finished his nine year career with 3,711 yards rushing. Remember, this was an era where teams did not pass much. We seem to have such an affinity for the 1960s Packers and Lombardi that Paul Hornung was able to capitalize on his team’s popularity and make his way into the Hall of Fame.
7. Dan Hampton, DT (Chicago Bears)
Playing most of his twelve year career as a defensive end, you would think that Dan Hampton would have tons of sacks and pro bowls to be in the Hall of Fame. Well, he makes my list because you are so, so wrong. Hampton only had 57 sacks in his career and only went to four pro bowls. He does have a Super Bowl Ring but most of the attention from the game was given to his line mates William Perry and Richard Dent (who was the MVP of the championship game). I am not sure how Hampton made his way into the Hall while his more dominant teammate Dent is out. Must be a careless error… right?
6. Bob Griese, QB (Miami Dolphins)
Bob Griese is a controversial choice for our list. He was an above average QB, true, but his stats do not measure up comparatively: they look more like those of Roman Gabriel or Joe Ferguson than Joe Montana or John Elway. The argument for inducting him is strengthened by a couple of Super Bowls (one in which he was hurt for most of the season) and his coach’s (Don Shula) legacy. Like his teammate Csonka, he didn’t dominate his own era and like the “no-name” defense that drove Miami to its championships, Griese was more just another role player on a great team.
5. John Madden, Coach (Oakland Raiders)
I have to admit this one was a personal choice as I am one football fan that could not stand to hear his rambling and babbling every Monday night. Aside from my opinions about his broadcasting abilities, though, Madden was only an average coach that had talented teams with great records.
In a sport where coaching matters, maybe more than any other sport, the question that’s raised is: why only one Super Bowl win with such great teams? The answer is the same for many other coaches who are successful in the regular season but lost in the post season: he was probably out coached in the playoffs and could not figure out a way to win despite all the on-field talent. I include Madden with Bud Grant and Buddy Ryan as coaches who were good but not great.
4. Harry Carson, LB (New York Giants)
Has anyone in history cried, pleaded and begged his way into the Hall like Harry Carson? In the months leading up to the vote in his final year of eligibility, Carson took to the radio airwaves on a tour of grandiosity that led eventually to his sympathy vote. Carson said he wanted off the ballot and was disgusted with the process, yet after he was elected he changed his tune to that of humility and gratitude. It was a lame selection that further cheapened the legitimacy of the Hall and Harry Carson will never have the same respect given to truly deserving linebackers.
3. Michael Irvin, WR (Dallas Cowboys)
What happens to the wide receiver who is ranked 27th in receptions, 17th in receiving yardage and 40 in receiving touchdowns? Well, apparently if you play for the Cowboys, you get into the Hall of Fame. Irvin is nowhere near as deserving as his trifecta cohorts Aikman and Smith. The list of receivers that outplayed him is longer than the one you’re reading and he is proof that personality sometimes goes a long way. Put Michael Irvin in Arizona for his playing career and he’s just a lost name with a lost franchise.
2. John Riggins, RB (Washington Redskins)
It just so happens that the top two on our list both made careers out of alternative lifestyles for their times and did more off the field to solidify their spots than on. John Riggins was one of those characters who entered the league with a chip on his shoulder and a “take no shit” attitude. With his afro and silent demeanor he danced to the beat of his own drum. The problem is he was merely average on the field except for when it mattered: he shined in the Super Bowl, but can one game get you into elite company, especially on the juggernaut teams that he played for?
His rushing totals are among the leaders but at under four yards per carry and a mere 64 yards per game, he leaves no one in awe. If not for his championship heroics, Riggins would be another forgotten rusher who attempted to be a bigger star away from the game than he was a star in the game.
1. Joe Namath, QB (New York Jets)
Finally: the one that pulled the wool over the eyes of many. Joe Namath is, without a doubt, the absolute worst Hall-of-Famer ever. We can talk about stats all we want. But Roman Gabriel, Dave Krieg and Joe Ferguson had as good, if not (as in the case of Krieg) monumentally better statistics. His completion percentage was abysmal and his QB rating ties him for 171st all time. Not to mention he threw way more interceptions than touchdowns! But aside from all of this, maybe the most important measure of greatness when comparing the legacy of a QB is wins, or lack of them: Joe Namath had a losing record as a starting quarterback.
Everyone wants to talk about “the guarantee” in Super Bowl III when the highly favored Colts lost to the Jets behind Namath’s assurance of victory. But what few remember is that Namath had an average day behind the running of Matt Snell and a staunch defense that made the difference in the game. In addition to his statistical impotence was his ridiculously needy personality and media-whore attitude. He loved to wear the fur coats and sport a Fu Manchu-mustache, but none of this should earn someone a spot in the highest echelon of his sport.
Namath was a larger-than-life character that drank too much and had a lot of women by his side, so maybe he would qualify to be inducted into the millionaire playboy Hall of Fame. But when it comes to football, he should be the first — even before OJ — to be voted out of the Hall of Fame.