Gridironfans.com Hall of Fame

RetroDan#16 · Aug 23, 2007

My nomination is:

James Wilder

(From BUCPOWER.com)

One of the finest players ever to wear a Buccaneer uniform. Started for most of his nine seasons in Tampa Bay and had two monster seasons in 1984 and 1985 in which he was the Buc offense. Went to the Pro Bowl on the back of this and in 1984, almost set an NFL record for combined rushing/receiving yards in a season. Ranks first in franchise history in receptions and set an NFL record with 43 carries in a single game in 1983 and an NFL record in 1984 with 492 rushes/receptions in a single season. Went on to play briefly for the Redskins and Lions on leaving Tampa Bay, but remains the finest running back the franchise has ever had.
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I've picked Wilder as my nomination as someone who ran their guts out for a mediocre team, and one of the unsung backs of recent times.

Platoon 86 · Aug 23, 2007

Nice nomination Dan. Anybody else want to nominate someone?

RetroDan#16 · Aug 23, 2007

Yeah lets get some more up - there are some good examples of the kind of player we're looking for so far so lets have some more!

linz_renee · Aug 23, 2007

umm... Jerry Rice. I tried to read through all of it, but my head hurts, so if he's already been nominated... and inducted... I'll be happy anyway.

Do I have to post a pic and all his stats? I'm feeling a little lazy.

Dougerrrr · Aug 24, 2007

Jim Marshall

Jim retired after 20 NFL seasons and holds NFL records for playing 282 consecutive games, over 300 including playoff games. 20 consecutive seasons without missing a game, 270 consecutive games with one team, 19 consecutive seasons with one team without missing a game, 29 fumble recoveries and one wrong way run (the longest safety in Pro Football history).
Jim's career marks are as follows; 409 games (pre-season, season, post season and pro-bowls), *1050 + tackles (league and post season games), *133 + sacks (league and post season games). Jim was captain of the Vikings for 17 years. His teams won 11 Divisional Championships, 1 with the Cleveland Browns and 10 with the Minnesota Vikings. He played in 4 Super Bowls. PLAYED EVERY GAME! INCREDIBLE!

49ers121 · Aug 24, 2007

Dougerrrr said: ↑

Jim Marshall

Jim retired after 20 NFL seasons and holds NFL records for playing 282 consecutive games, over 300 including playoff games. 20 consecutive seasons without missing a game, 270 consecutive games with one team, 19 consecutive seasons with one team without missing a game, 29 fumble recoveries and one wrong way run (the longest safety in Pro Football history).
Jim's career marks are as follows; 409 games (pre-season, season, post season and pro-bowls), *1050 + tackles (league and post season games), *133 + sacks (league and post season games). Jim was captain of the Vikings for 17 years. His teams won 11 Divisional Championships, 1 with the Cleveland Browns and 10 with the Minnesota Vikings. He played in 4 Super Bowls. PLAYED EVERY GAME! INCREDIBLE!
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Great pick it's very stupid that he's not in the HOF. I think the commitee takes that Wrong way Marshall thing to seriously.

RedskinsNo.1 · Aug 25, 2007

Well i nominate

The Immaculate Reception

Info taken from Wikipedia

The Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most controversial plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972. NFL Films has chosen it as the greatest play of all time. It is a pun on the name of the Immaculate Conception, a dogma in the Roman Catholic Church. The play was a turning point for the Steelers, who reversed four decades of futility and won four Super Bowls in the next seven seasons.

How it happened

The Pittsburgh Steelers trailed the Oakland Raiders 7-6, facing fourth-and-10 on their own 40-yard line with 22 seconds remaining in the game and no time-outs. Head coach Chuck Noll called a pass play, 66 Circle Option, intended for receiver Barry Pearson, a rookie who was playing in his first NFL game. Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, unable to find Pearson while avoiding two Raiders defenders, threw the ball to the Raiders' 35-yard line, toward fullback John "Frenchy" Fuqua. Raiders safety Jack Tatum collided with Fuqua just as the ball arrived. Tatum's hit knocked Fuqua to the ground and sent the ball sailing backward several yards, end over end. Steelers running back Franco Harris, after initially blocking on the play, had run downfield in case Bradshaw needed another eligible receiver. He scooped up the sailing ball just before it hit the ground, apparently off the tops of his shoes, and ran the rest of the way downfield to score the touchdown that gave the Steelers a 12-7 lead and the game.

Controversy

The critical question was: off whom did the ball bounce in that Fuqua/Tatum collision? If it bounced off Fuqua, and then Harris was the next to touch the ball, the reception was illegal since two offensive players could not touch a pass in succession (a rule that was changed in 1978); the Raiders would gain possession (on fourth down) and surely win. If the ball bounced off Tatum, or if it bounced off Fuqua and then Tatum, the reception was legal, as a defensive player was the last to touch the ball.

Another widely held point of contention to the play was whether or not the ball had hit the ground before Harris snatched it and ran with it. The press-box view doesn't show Harris catching the ball at all - just sprinting downfield with it - and the more famous end-zone view doesn't show the ball.

The game officials did not immediately make any signal, and there was no instant replay rule at the time. Referee Fred Swearingen telephoned the NFL's supervisor of officials, Art McNally, who was sitting in the press box, after which he signaled a touchdown. He ruled that it was a touchdown because he reported that Tatum and Fuqua made contact with the ball "simultaneously" and that Franco Harris legally caught the ball prior to it making contact with the ground. This was the first known use of television replay to confirm a call. It was later said that Swearingen was scared of backlash from the Steelers fans if he had ruled the other way. Fans immediately rushed the field, and it took 15 minutes to clear them so the point-after, or conversion, could be kicked to give the Steelers what turned out to be their final margin of victory, 13-7.

The play is still disputed by those involved, particularly by living personnel from the Raiders and their fans, who insist the Raiders should have won. The surviving video and photographs of the play are inconclusive. Tatum has said the ball did not bounce off him. Fuqua has been coy, supposedly saying he knows exactly what happened that day but will never tell. John Madden, coach of the 1972 Raiders, has said that he will never get over the play, and has indicated that he's bothered more by the delay between the end of the play and the final signal of touchdown, than by which player the ball truly hit.

Aftermath of the play

The week after this playoff victory, the Steelers lost the AFC championship game to the Miami Dolphins 21-17,[6] who would then win Super Bowl VII in their landmark undefeated season. The Steelers, however, would reverse four decades of futility and go on to become a dominant force in the NFL for the subsequent decade, winning four Super Bowls with such stars as Bradshaw, Harris, Lambert, Stallworth, and Lynn Swann and the Steel Curtain defense led by Jack Ham, "Mean" Joe Greene, Mel Blount, and Dwight White.

1972 was the team's 40th year in the league, during which they had finished above .500 only nine times, and until then had never won a playoff game. They had been regarded as one of the league's doormats (literally, as the 1944 Card-Pitt merger was 0-10 and was ridiculed as the "Carpets"). As recently as 1969 they had gone 1-13, thus winning the first draft choice (Terry Bradshaw) and seeding their remarkable turnaround.

The Immaculate Reception spawned a heated rivalry between the Steelers and Raiders, a rivalry that was at its peak during the 1970's, when both teams were among the best in the league and both were known for their hard-hitting, physical play. The teams met in the playoffs in each of the next four seasons, starting with the Raiders' 33-14 victory in the 1973 divisional playoffs. Pittsburgh would use AFC championship game victories over Oakland (24-13 at Oakland in 1974 and 16-10 at Pittsburgh in 1975) as a springboard to victories in Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl X, before the Raiders gained revenge with a 24-7 victory at home in 1976 before winning Super Bowl XI.

The phrase "Immaculate Reception" is a pun on the Immaculate Conception, implying that the play was divine or miraculous in nature (see Hail Mary pass for a similar term). It was first used on air by Myron Cope, the Steelers announcer who was reporting on the Steelers' victory. A woman named Sharon Levosky called Cope the night of the game and suggested the name (which was coined by her friend, Michael Ord). Cope used the term on television and the phrase stuck.

For the 1978 NFL season, the rule in question regarding the forward pass was repealed. There are no longer any restrictions on any deflections of passes.

Fred Swearingen, the game's referee, was demoted to his former position of field judge (now known as the back judge) in 1975. He was selected to officiate Super Bowl XIII, where he was involved in another controversial call that favored the Steelers. In the fourth quarter with Pittsburgh leading the Dallas Cowboys 21-17, Bradshaw threw up a high pass for Lynn Swann. Swann tripped over Cowboys cornerback Benny Barnes, and the ball fluttered to the turf away from both players. Swearingen, well behind the play, called pass interference on Barnes, giving the Steelers a first down at the Cowboy 18. On the next play, Harris scored on an 18-yard touchdown run to put Pittsburgh ahead 28-17.

After the game, Cowboys coach Tom Landry and quarterback Roger Staubach blasted Swearingen's call. The NFL later sent a letter of apology to the Cowboys, stating that Swearingen's call was incorrect.

Resolution?

At the time of the play, high-definition video replays were not available. Both the videotapes and the films were played on sports programs repeatedly, with commentators unable to discern whether Tatum or Fuqua had touched the ball initially.

An article on the physics of the Immaculate Reception appeared in the science section of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on October 18, 2004. The article describes the work of John Fetkovich, an emeritus professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University. Fetkovitch's analysis of the NFL Films tape of the play led him to the conclusion, based the trajectory of the bounced ball and conservation of momentum, that the ball must have bounced off of Tatum, who was running upfield at the time, rather than Fuqua, who was running across and down the field. This implies that the referee's call was accurate.

It should be noted that Fetkovich is a lifetime Steeler fan and other physicists such as Timothy Gay at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln disagree with his conclusion.

An addendum to the article stated that NBC's video of the play, broadcast during the telecast of the 1998 AFC Championship game, clearly showed that the ball had hit Tatum.

Was It a Catch?

Less discussed was the question of whether the ball had been caught cleanly by Harris. The sideline views of both film and video gave no answer, as Harris had caught the ball out of frame, and came running into frame from the right side on his path to the end zone. The only other known NBC video was an end zone shot from above and behind the goalposts and, in keeping with the mystery of the play, one of the posts was exactly in the line of sight of Harris' hands and the ball. The best NFL Films shot of the play, from ground level, which is probably the most-often seen clip (along with audio of an excited Jack Flemming, the Steelers' radio announcer at the time) is a tight shot from the end zone of Harris snaring the ball, with his feet and the ground just out of frame below. The ball wobbles before he gets firm possession of it, raising the question of whether it touched the ground during the catch.
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Another Nomination

The Catch

Couldn't see that this had been nominated

The Catch was the winning touchdown reception in the January 10, 1982 NFC Championship American football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. The Catch is widely regarded as one of the most memorable events in NFL history.

The play

In a game where the lead shifted back and forth repeatedly, the 49ers took over the ball trailing 27-21 and marched down to the 6-yard line with 58 seconds left on the clock. When Joe Montana took the snap, the play, known as Sprint Right Option, was intended to be a pass to wide receiver Freddie Solomon; earlier in the game, Solomon scored a touchdown on that exact play. However, the Cowboys covered Solomon perfectly. Making matters worse, the pass rush of the Cowboys collapsed the 49ers offensive line. Three Cowboys -- defensive ends Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Larry Bethea, plus linebacker D. D. Lewis -- chased a backpedalling Montana to the sideline and were certain to send him out of bounds or make a sack. At the last moment, after pump-faking and getting 6-foot 9-inch "Too Tall" Jones to jump up prematurely, Montana threw a very high pass to the back of the end zone. 49ers receiver Dwight Clark made a leaping grab in his fingertips from the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown with 51 seconds left in the game. He finished the game with 8 catches for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The play, remembered in 49er lore as "Red Right Tight--Sprint Right Option" had called for both the primary receiver, Solomon, and Clark to line up on the right. Montana was supposed to roll to his right and find Solomon. Clark's pattern called for him to cut left across the end zone, stop, and immediately reverse his path to the right. If Solomon were covered, it would be up to Montana to find Clark. Due to the pressure, Montana's pass was high, but Clark was in position to make his memorable grab.

A photograph of the catch, with Clark at the height of his leap and Everson Walls reaching out to try and block the ball, was on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Clark and Montana re-enacted The Catch in observance of the 25th anniversary of the play as part of San Francisco alumni day activities at halftime of the Minnesota game November 5, 2006 at Candlestick Park.

Reactions

Many people claimed that Montana was trying to throw the ball away, leaving time for a fourth down. Clark disputes that assertion, claiming that it was a backup plan that they practiced many times.[2] Montana confirmed that he could not see the end zone through the defenders, but claims that he knew exactly where Clark would be. The 49ers coach, Bill Walsh, assumed that it was a throw-away play and immediately began planning for the fourth down until he heard the cheers from the crowd.

As for the height of the catch, Montana has said that he didn't feel that he threw a very high ball. However, Clark leapt as high as he could only to get his fingertips on the ball.

Aftermath and legacy

While The Catch is well known by most NFL fans, many forget that there were still 51 seconds left on the clock after Clark's touchdown, and with Dallas needing only a field goal to win, the game was far from over.

After the ensuing kickoff, Dallas receiver Drew Pearson caught a long pass, but defensive back Eric Wright made a touchdown-saving tackle to keep him from scoring. This play was known as "The Grab." Two plays later, quarterback Danny White lost a fumble while being sacked by Lawrence Pillers, and San Franciscos Jim Stuckey recovered the ball, sealing a victory for the 49ers.

The 49ers won 28-27 and went on to win Super Bowl XVI over the Cincinnati Bengals.

This game was a watershed in the historic fortunes of both the 49ers and the Cowboys. After being a losing team in the 1970s, San Francisco went on to win four Super Bowls in the 1980s, and made the playoffs eight out of the next 10 years. Meanwhile, Dallas, the winningest team in the NFC in the 1970s, never made it back to the Super Bowl in the 1980s, and suffered losing seasons in the last part of that decade.

The Catch was immortalized by two dramatic calls. Vin Scully described the play on CBS Television:

Montana...looking, looking, throwing in the end zone...Clark caught it!

Meanwhile, Jack Buck had the call over on CBS Radio:

Montana lines up at the five...and on third-down-and-three he rolls right, looking to throw...looking to throw...and he throws into the end zone...Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown, San Francisco, by Dwight Clark!

In 2005, a commercial for the Gatorade sports drink, with the slogan "What Happens When You're A Fraction Off?", portrayed an alternate version of The Catch, in which the ball bounced out of Clark's fingertips. Following the Gatorade logo, the real version was shown with Dwight Clark's completion. This is also done with Derek Jeter's "flip play" going wide of home plate and Michael Jordan's famous buzzer-beater against Cleveland going off the rim.
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Info taken from Wikipedia

Platoon 86 · Aug 25, 2007

Awesome nominations guys! Keep em coming!

JordanTaber · Aug 25, 2007

My nomination is 49ers NT Michael Carter:

After winning a silver medal in the shotput, Carter went on to be the most dominant nose tackle of the 1980's. He was selected to 3 Pro Bowls and was the centerpiece for the defense of a dynasty. He combined unfathomable strength with tremendous quickness and all-around athletic ability. There simply was nobody better at the position.

RedskinsNo.1 · Aug 25, 2007

Another Nomination

Doug Williams

Douglas Lee Williams (born August 9, 1955 in Zachary, Louisiana) is a well-known American football quarterback. Williams was best known for his MVP performance in Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos.

Career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Williams was the 17th overall pick of the 1978 NFL Draft, chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Grambling State. He led the Bucs to three playoff appearances and one NFC title game from 1979 to 1982, but an acrimonious contract dispute with owner Hugh Culverhouse led Williams to leave the Bucs and the NFL to play in the United States Football League. His 31-34-1 regular season record, and 1-3 playoff record made him the best quarterback in Buc history. The Bucs, who had never been to the playoffs before Williams arrived, had gone to the playoffs three times in four years and played in the 1979 NFC Championship Game. The Bucs would not make the playoffs again until after the 1996 season, and lost 10 games in every season but one in that stretch. Many Bucs fans blame Culverhouse's refusal to bend in the negotiations with Williams as a major factor.

Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws

In 1984, he joined the Oklahoma Outlaws of the United States Football League. He would lead his team in passing completing 261 out of 528 passes for 3,084 yards and threw 15 touchdowns, yet he also threw 21 interceptions, ending up with a passer rating of 60.5, during his team's dismal 6-12 season. In 1985, when his team moved to Arizona and fused with the Arizona Wranglers to become the Arizona Outlaws, Williams showed some improvement, completing 271 out of 509 passes for 3,673 yards with 21 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, ending up with a 76.4 passer rating. However, his Outlaws' just missed the playoffs with an 8-10 record.

Washington Redskins

After the USFL shut down in 1986, Williams returned to the NFL, joining the Washington Redskins at the behest of Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who had been the quarterbacks coach at Tampa Bay when Williams was there.

Initially Williams served as the backup for starting quarterback Jay Schroeder, but after Schroeder became injured, Williams ended up starting the last games of the 1987 regular season. When the Skins made the playoffs, Williams, with his 94.0 passer rating, remained starter. He led the team to Super Bowl XXII in which they routed the Denver Broncos, becoming the first black quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, and as of Super Bowl XLI, the only black quarterback to win one. On Media Day, Williams was reportedly asked one of the most famous questions in Media Day history: "How long have you been a black quarterback?" Although the question has become legendary, the story is seemingly an urban legend, sprung up from a misunderstanding of some of the questions Williams was asked.

Facing legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, Williams engineered a 42-10 rout, in which the Redskins set an NFL record by scoring five touchdowns in the second quarter. Williams completed 18 of 29 passes for 340 yards, with four TD passes, and was named Super Bowl MVP.

The Super Bowl was clearly the high point of Williams' NFL career. He suffered from injuries the following season, and was outshined by Mark Rypien, who eventually won the starting job from Williams. Williams would play one final season in 1989, as backup to Rypien, during the latter's first Pro Bowl season.

Williams retired with a 6-8 record as Redskins starter (9-8, counting playoffs) and a 37-42-1 record as a regular season starter (41-43-1, including 7 playoff starts). He had 100 passing touchdowns, and 15 rushing touchdowns, in 88 NFL games.

His throwback jersey remains one of the most popular jerseys sold by the Washington Redskins.

On the day before Super Bowl XXII, Williams had a 6-hour root canal surgery performed (under full anaesthetic) to repair an abcess under a dental bridge. The pain of this condition caused him to having not slept for several days, as reported in the book "Hit and Tell:War Stories of the NFL"(J.Hession/K.Lynch,Foghorn Press).

College Coach

Williams started off his college head coaching career at Morehouse College in 1997. He also has previous NFL experience as a scout for Jacksonville in 1995 and as offensive coordinator for the Scottish Claymores of the World League of American Football in 1995, and tutored running backs for Navy in 1994. Williams also excelled on the high school level as head coach and athletic director at Point Coupee High School in New Roads, Louisiana in 1991, and in 1993, he was head coach at Northeast High School in his hometown of Zachary, La., where he guided the team to a 13-1 record and the state semifinals.

Williams became the head football coach at Grambling State University in 1998, succeeding the legendary Eddie Robinson. He led the Tigers to 3 consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles from 2000-2002, before leaving to rejoin the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a personnel executive.

Williams currently works for Tampa Bay in the club's personnel department
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Dougerrrr · Aug 25, 2007

I like the first catch better than the second catch.....:icon_razz:

RedskinsNo.1 · Aug 25, 2007

Lol surprise surprise a steelers fan prefering the Immaculate Reception

Platoon 86 · Aug 25, 2007

I'd like to nominate, Quarterback Ken Stabler.

[Wikipedia]

Kenny "The Snake" Stabler (born Kenneth Micheal Stabler on December 25, 1945) is a former National Football League quarterback who played quarterback at the University of Alabama and for the Oakland Raiders (1970-1979); and for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints (1980-1984). He is left-handed, and at the time of his pro career left-handed quarterbacks were looked on as being unsuitable for professional football, with a variety of semi-credible excuses being given for this view. One such was that the spin on passes would be the reverse of "normal", resulting in problems for receivers.

Born on December 25, 1945 in Foley, Alabama, USA, Stabler became a highly touted football player in high school. He earned the nickname "The Snake" from his coach after a long, winding touchdown run. He led Foley to a won-loss record of 29-1 over his high school career - the only loss coming against arch-rival Fairhope, Alabama. He was an all-around athlete in high school, averaging 29 points a game in basketball and excelling enough as a left-handed pitcher in baseball to receive minor-league contract offers from the Houston Astros and New York Yankees.

He was recruited by Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant and joined the team in 1964. At the time, freshman were ineligible, and were not allowed to play in accordance with NCAA regulations, so Stabler did not participate in the 1964 season. As Stabler sat out the 1964 season, he watched his Crimson Tide win its second national championship under Bryant. In 1965, with Joe Namath having graduated and Stabler becoming eligible to participate, he split time with Steve Sloan at quarterback, and combined they led Alabama to a national championship with a thrilling 39-28 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl. In 1966, as a junior, Stabler took over the starting job full-time, and led Alabama to a perfect 11-0 season, capped by a blowout of Nebraska, this time in the Sugar Bowl. The Tide, coming off of back-to-back national championships, and having gone undefeated in 1966, was nevertheless snubbed at the polls, finishing third in the nation behind Notre Dame and Michigan State. In 1967, expectations were high for the team as Stabler was finally a senior, but it turned into a lackluster year. The offense, with Stabler at the helm, struggled at times, and the defense's performance slipped too. Alabama finished 8-2-1, its worst season since Stabler was a freshman in high school, 1960. The 1967 season, however, is particularly memorable for Stabler, with his game-winning touchdown run against rival Auburn. Trailing 3-0 in a game that was mired by a horrendous rain, Stabler scampered around right end for a 47-yard touchdown run, giving the Tide a 7-3 victory over hated rival Auburn. This run has been dubbed, "The Run in the Mud" in Alabama football lore, and has been captured twice in the paintings of famed sports artist Daniel Moore.

All told, Stabler finished his career with the Crimson Tide in 1967, having compiled a 28-3-2 record as a starter.

He was drafted in the second round of the NFL draft in 1968. Stabler first made his mark in the NFL in a 1972 playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After entering the game in relief of Daryle Lamonica, he scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard scramble. The Steelers, however, came back to win on a controversial, deflected pass from Terry Bradshaw to Franco Harris, known in football lore as The Immaculate Reception.

After suffering severe knee injuries, Stabler became less a scrambling quarterback and more a classic, drop-back passer, known for deadly-accurate passes in the 10-to-20 yard range and an uncanny ability to lead late, come-from-behind drives. During the peak of his career he had an impressive receiving corps consisting of sprinter Cliff Branch, sure-handed possession receiver Fred Biletnikoff, and Hall-of-Fame tight end Dave Casper. As a starter in Oakland, Stabler was named AFC player of the year in 1974 and 1976, and was the NFL's passing champion in 1976. In January 1977 he guided the Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory, after a narrow playoff victory over the New England Patriots in which he scored the winning touchdown on a quarterback keeper. In the 1977 AFC Playoffs against the Baltimore Colts he threw a crucial 4th quarter pass to Dave Casper that set up a game tying field goal that sent into overtime in which the Raiders eventually won; the 4th quarter pass was dubbed the Ghost to the Post.

In 1980 he was traded to the Houston Oilers for Dan Pastorini, whom Raiders' owner Al Davis regarded as a more effective deep passer. The Oilers in turn saw Stabler as the missing ingredient that could finally get them past the Steelers and into the Super Bowl. Pastorini lost the starting job in Oakland to Jim Plunkett after an injury, and Plunkett then led the Raiders over Stabler and the Oilers in the playoffs. Stabler played one more season with Houston and then finished his NFL career with a three-year stint with the New Orleans Saints.

He currently provides color commentary alongside Eli Gold for broadcasts of Alabama football.
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Honors:
Pro Bowls: 4
1976 Bert Bell Award
NFL 1970s All-Decade Team

RedskinsNo.1 · Aug 25, 2007

Another good one, i'll have some more nominations tomorrow

brakos82 · Aug 25, 2007

If Earl Campbell isn't up there, I'd like to nominate him too...

Platoon 86 · Aug 25, 2007

brakos82 said: ↑

If Earl Campbell isn't up there, I'd like to nominate him too...
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He's already in the Hall though.

Platoon 86 · Aug 28, 2007

I'd Like To Nominate Quarterback, Boomer Esiason.

[Wikipedia]

Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason (born April 17, 1961 in West Islip, New York, grew up in East Islip, New York) is a former quarterback with the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals (1984-1992, 1997), the New York Jets (1993-1995) and the Arizona Cardinals (1996). Esiason also attended East Islip High School in Long Island, New York, where he graduated in 1979. In 2004, he was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame.

He attended the University of Maryland and was drafted in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft (the 38th player chosen overall) by the Bengals, surprisingly low. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper was, in Esiason's words, "going ballistic" that he was still available in the latter stages of the first round. Two of his teammates on the Terrapins squad, guard Ron Solt and defensive end Pete Koch, were drafted in the first round by the Indianapolis Colts and the Bengals, respectively. No quarterbacks were drafted in the first round; Esiason was actually the first one selected. He was also drafted by the Washington Federals franchise of the now-defunct United States Football League.

Bengals:

Among the most prolific left-handed quarterbacks in NFL history, Boomer got his first pro start on Oct. 7, 1984, in Cincinnati in a game against the Houston Oilers. On a rainy day, Boomer led the Bengals to a 13-3 win over Houston and scored the game's only touchdown on a quarterback rush near the goalline. Boomer took over for Ken Anderson as the Bengals' full-time starting quarterback on Sept. 22, 1985, in a game in Cincinnati against the San Diego Chargers. He could not repeat the victory of his first career start, as the Bengals fell to the Chargers and eventual Hall of Famer Dan Fouts 44-41. At 6'-5" and 240 pounds, far larger than his predecessor and with a much more powerful arm, Esiason was the signal caller on one of the most potent offenses of the late 1980's, and he was surprisingly mobile, rushing for 1,598 yards on 447 attempts and scoring 7 touchdowns in his career. He was particularly adept at running the difficult play-action pass offense. A little over three years later, Esiason led the Cincinnati Bengals to their second (and to date, their last) appearance in the Super Bowl, where they again lost another close game to the San Francisco 49ers. In Super Bowl XXIII, the 49ers, led by Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, marched 92 yards on their last drive and won the game on a touchdown pass to receiver John Taylor with 34 seconds remaining in the game. A last-ditch pass to wide receiver Cris Collinsworth was broken up. The final score: 49ers 20, Bengals 16. Boomer Esiason has been noted as one of the greatest Cincinnati Bengal-quarterbacks to ever play, along with Ken Anderson and current starting quarterback Carson Palmer.

New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals & Back to Cincinnati

Esiason signed with the New York Jets in 1993, guiding their offense until 1995. He then signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent in 1996 and was contemplating retirement, but was talked into playing one more season with the Cincinnati Bengals. The final play of his 14-year professional career was a 77-yard touchdown pass to receiver Darnay Scott.

Records & Honors

Boomer Esiason was named to four Pro Bowl games (1986, 1988, 1989, 1993) and holds several NFL career records for left-handed quarterbacks, including most touchdown passes (247), passing yards (37,920), and completions (2,969).

Among the awards Boomer Esiason has earned during his career include the NFL's Most Valuable Player Award in 1988 (leading the league with a quarterback rating of 97.4), and the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 1995 for his charitable work.
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Among All Time 50
Pass Attempts: 5205 11th All Time
Pass Completions: 2969 12th All Time
Passing Yards: 37920 12th All Time
Passing Touchdowns: 247 14th All Time

RetroDan#16 · Aug 29, 2007

Nominations closed for the week now folks, any nominations from hereon are for the next week. Nominations will close again a week today (Wednesday.)

Thanks for the great nominations this past week, I'll post the inductees when I have the votes in from the judges, (probably in the next day or two)

Platoon 86 · Aug 29, 2007

Awesome, thank you Dan!

Dougerrrr · Aug 29, 2007

Cool....some great nominations....more to come I am sure.

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Platoon 86 Loony

Platoon 86 Loony

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Platoon 86 Loony

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