You are what your bust says you are.
When the committee concluded, they chose the following men as the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame:
- G Larry Allen
- WR Cris Carter
- T Jonathan Ogden
- Head Coach Bill Parcells
- DT Warren Sapp
- Seniors’ Candidate DT-NT Curley Culp
- Seniors’ Candidate OLB Dave Robinson
That means owners Art Modell and Edward Debartolo, Jr., along with Jerome Bettis, Charles Haley, Kevin Greene, Will Shields, Andre Reed, Tim Brown, Aeneas Williams, and Michael Strahan will have to wait at least one more year. When the committee narrowed the list from fifteen modern-era candidates to ten, Modell, DeBartolo, Shields, Brown and Greene were the five eliminated. Perhaps the biggest surprise is Strahan, but the pain is likely short-lived: I suspect he’ll be pretty happy getting inducted next year when the Super Bowl is his old stomping grounds.
A note about Carter. There have been 22 wide receivers to enter the NFL since World War II and wind up in the Hall of Fame. It took Carter six years to finally make the HOF, but that places him right in the middle of the pack:
Receiver | From | To | Tries | AP1 | PB | St | CarAV | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Rice | 1985 | 2004 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 160 | 303 | 1549 | 22895 | 197 |
| Paul Warfield | 1964 | 1977 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 105 | 157 | 427 | 8565 | 85 |
| Steve Largent | 1976 | 1989 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 103 | 200 | 819 | 13089 | 100 |
| Raymond Berry | 1955 | 1967 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 102 | 154 | 631 | 9275 | 68 |
| Lance Alworth | 1962 | 1972 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 97 | 136 | 542 | 10266 | 85 |
| Charley Taylor | 1964 | 1977 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 96 | 165 | 649 | 9110 | 79 |
| Michael Irvin | 1988 | 1999 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 105 | 159 | 750 | 11904 | 65 |
| James Lofton | 1978 | 1993 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 102 | 233 | 764 | 14004 | 75 |
| Charlie Joiner | 1969 | 1986 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 95 | 239 | 750 | 12146 | 65 |
| Fred Biletnikoff | 1965 | 1978 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 88 | 190 | 589 | 8974 | 76 |
| Cris Carter | 1987 | 2002 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 98 | 234 | 1101 | 13899 | 139 |
| Elroy Hirsch | 1946 | 1957 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 73 | 127 | 387 | 7029 | 60 |
| Art Monk | 1980 | 1995 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 93 | 224 | 940 | 12721 | 68 |
| Don Maynard | 1958 | 1973 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 100 | 186 | 633 | 11834 | 88 |
| Tom Fears | 1948 | 1956 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 48 | 87 | 400 | 5397 | 38 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 1958 | 1968 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 95 | 148 | 521 | 7954 | 65 |
| John Stallworth | 1974 | 1987 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 80 | 165 | 537 | 8723 | 63 |
| Pete Pihos | 1947 | 1955 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 73 | 107 | 373 | 5619 | 61 |
| Lynn Swann | 1974 | 1982 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 62 | 115 | 336 | 5462 | 51 |
| Dante Lavelli | 1946 | 1956 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 47 | 123 | 386 | 6488 | 62 |
| Tommy McDonald | 1957 | 1968 | SS | 0 | 6 | 9 | 75 | 152 | 495 | 8410 | 84 |
| Bob Hayes | 1965 | 1975 | SS | 2 | 3 | 8 | 83 | 132 | 371 | 7414 | 71 |
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank god we got another Lombardi-era Packer in the HOF!
It struck me at looking at the list the following: Of the receivers I know of that finished their careers # 1 ranked in receptions, the number of years it took them to get into the HOF. The list is as follows: Don Maynard (9 tries), Art Monk (8 tries), Charley Taylor (2 tries), Raymond Berry and Steve Largent (1 try). As a comparison, I wonder how long it took RB’s who finished their careers as # 1 in rushing yards to wait. I know Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith got in on one try obviously. I ‘m figuring the entire list is pretty short given the lenght of time it took to break Jim Brown’s record and only Smith and Payton were the career leaders following.
This is just a spontaneous remark. Its based on my recollection of the debate regarding Art Monk’s candidacy with little mention that he was the career receptions leader at the time he left the game. Which brings the following to mind. Wasn’t Billy Howton the career reception leader at one time, only to be passed by Raymond Berry in the mid 60′s?
Yep.
How would those numbers look if you used receiving yards instead of receptions?
Yes, that would be interesting Richie. Tim do you know the answer? I think receptions are overrated as yards gained and TDs is is trying to be accomplished.
Oh, and glad to see Dave Robinson in. To me, he was the best OLB in the NFL from 66-71. He was smart, tough, and atheletically superior to almost every other OLB of the that time except maybe Bobby Bell of the KC Chiefs.
Also, we need one more Packer in. I personally know Boyd Dowler and he would be a great senior addition to the Hall.
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