Fixing the Hall of Fame, Part 1: Running Backs

[Rain Man]

Okay, there are currently 13 running backs in the Hall of Fame who were active in 1970 or later. If all positions were represented equally, with the same number of inductees, there should be 9 of these running backs in there.

The rules:

1. I'll post bios of the current enshrinees. Feel free to browse them.

2. If you would like to nominate any other players, feel free to do so, but you must make an argument for them.

3. After a reasonable time for discussion has passed, I'll add a poll to this post and we'll pick NINE Hall of Fame running backs.

The next several posts will detail the 13 currently in, in alphabetical order by last name.

[Valiant]

Just because Gale and some others are honestly non deserving to be there does not mean TD should be there...

There should be a longevity requirement for domination to be included...

[Molitoth]

Barry Sanders by far.

[htismaqe]

The "longevity requirement" argument is bogus.

If someone COMPLETELY dominates for 4 or 5 years and then gets hurt, they shouldn't be penalized.

Nor should guys get in for mind-boggling career stats when they NEVER dominated at any point in there career, they just played 20 years.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The "longevity requirement" argument is bogus.

If someone COMPLETELY dominates for 4 or 5 years and then gets hurt, they shouldn't be penalized.

Nor should guys get in for mind-boggling career stats when they NEVER dominated at any point in there career, they just played 20 years.

Sorry but longevity should matter, You better be in quite a few top 10 category lists to be in the HOF at the time of your playing... These guys that had two or three great years should not get in, that is what your own teams ring of fame or hall of fame is for not Canton...

Bottom line you should be in top ten lists, and I also agree that guys that play for 20 years get handicap stats in the end, but those guys also managed to play for 20 years when the majority cant even play 3..

[milkman]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

I think TD did enough personally to make the HoF. The only and ONLY thing keeping him from being a first ballot HoF'er is his lack of longevity in the league. But then again, Gale Sayers who is in the HoF, did less in the same amount of time and is in the HoF. Davis helped solidify one of the best offenses ever in this league. The HoF is just too inconsistent and alot of times focuses on certain teams that player has been apart of instead of personal achievements and how they effected the league they played in (Cmon Larry ****in Csonka?!?).

Terrell Davis Stats:
+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1995 den | 14 | 237 1117 4.7 7 | 49 367 7.5 1 |
| 1996 den | 16 | 345 1538 4.5 13 | 36 310 8.6 2 |
| 1997 den | 15 | 369 1750 4.7 15 | 42 287 6.8 0 |
| 1998 den | 16 | 392 2008 5.1 21 | 25 217 8.7 2 |
| 1999 den | 4 | 67 211 3.1 2 | 3 26 8.7 0 |
| 2000 den | 5 | 78 282 3.6 2 | 2 4 2.0 0 |
| 2001 den | 11 | 167 701 4.2 0 | 12 69 5.8 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 81 | 1655 7607 4.6 60 | 169 1280 7.6 5 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+


Gale Sayers Stats:
+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1965 chi | 14 | 166 867 5.2 14 | 29 507 17.5 6 |
| 1966 chi | 14 | 229 1231 5.4 8 | 34 447 13.1 2 |
| 1967 chi | 13 | 186 880 4.7 7 | 16 126 7.9 1 |
| 1968 chi | 9 | 138 856 6.2 2 | 15 117 7.8 0 |
| 1969 chi | 14 | 236 1032 4.4 8 | 17 116 6.8 0 |
| 1970 chi | 2 | 23 52 2.3 0 | 1 -6 -6.0 0 |
| 1971 chi | 2 | 13 38 2.9 0 | 0 0 0.0 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 68 | 991 4956 5.0 39 | 112 1307 11.7 9 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+

I agree with what you're saying, except that I would argue that neither belong.

[cdcox]

Rain Man: This is a worthwhile exercise, but you should reconsider the punter and kicker positions. I don't think they deserve equal representation among the other 22 starters. Or are we going to elect HOF return men? HOF long snappers? HOF place kick holders? HOF gunners?

After Ray Guy and Reggie Roby how are we going to have a serious conversation about punters (no disrespect to Thunderfoot)?

Let's redistribute the places (at least most of them) that you had designated to the kickers and punters to positional players. Or the "at large players" who didn't quite make the cut at their position.

[Rain Man]

I would like to propose James Brooks, the great running back for the Bengals and Chargers. This guy was an awesome running back, as witnessed by his four pro bowls and his 4.7 ypc rushing average. He was also a receiving threat, with nearly 400 career receptions.

As quoted by wikipedia,

"A four time pro bowler (1986, 1988-1990), Brooks excelled at running, receiving, and kick returning. By the time he left the Bengals in 1991, he was the team's all time leading rusher with 6,447 yards(he has since been surpassed by Corey Dillon's 8,061 yards), and is still among the Bengals top 10 all time leading receivers with 297 receptions for 3,012 yards. By the time of his retirement after the 1993 season, Brooks amassed 7,962 rushing yards, 383 receptions for 3,621 receiving yards, 565 punt return yards, 2,762 kickoff return yards, and scored 79 touchdowns(49 rushing and 30 receiving). As of 2006, Brooks' 14,910 total net yards ranks him #21 on the NFL's list of career total net yard leaders.

His most memorable run happened in a December 7, 1986 game against the New England Patriots. In that play, Brooks made several cutbacks, broke several tackles and dragged the final 5 yards across the goal line for a 56-yard touchdown run for the Bengals.

Brooks made a Super Bowl appearance with the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII. He also was a key participant in 2 of the most famous games in NFL Lore during his rookie season with the Chargers: The Epic In Miami, and the Freezer Bowl."

               +--------------------------+-------------------------+
                 |          Rushing         |        Receiving        |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year  TM |   G |   Att  Yards    Y/A   TD |   Rec  Yards   Y/R   TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1981 sdg |  14 |   109    525    4.8    3 |    46    329   7.2    3 |
| 1982 sdg |   9 |    87    430    4.9    6 |    13     66   5.1    0 |
| 1983 sdg |  15 |   127    516    4.1    3 |    25    215   8.6    0 |
| 1984 cin |  15 |   103    396    3.8    2 |    34    268   7.9    2 |
| 1985 cin |  16 |   192    929    4.8    7 |    55    576  10.5    5 |
| 1986 cin |  16 |   205   1087    5.3    5 |    54    686  12.7    4 |
| 1987 cin |   9 |    94    290    3.1    1 |    22    272  12.4    2 |
| 1988 cin |  15 |   182    931    5.1    8 |    29    287   9.9    6 |
| 1989 cin |  16 |   221   1239    5.6    7 |    37    306   8.3    2 |
| 1990 cin |  16 |   195   1004    5.1    5 |    26    269  10.3    4 |
| 1991 cin |  15 |   152    571    3.8    2 |    40    348   8.7    2 |
| 1992 cle |   4 |    13     38    2.9    0 |     2     -1  -0.5    0 |
| 1992 tam |   2 |     5      6    1.2    0 |     0      0   0.0    0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
|  TOTAL   | 162 |  1685   7962    4.7   49 |   383   3621   9.5   30 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+


Seasons among the league's top 10
Rushing yards: 1986-8, 1989-7, 1990-8 
Rushing TDs: 1982-8t, 1989-10t 
Yards from scrimmage: 1986-3, 1989-5, 1990-10 
Rush/Receive TDs: 1985-7t, 1988-4t 


Among the league's all-time top 50
Rushes: 48 
Rushing yards: 39 
Yards from scrimmage: 44 
Rush/Receive TDs: 46t 


Postseason data
Please read this fine print before using this data or sending questions or corrections. 

 Year  Opp   Result  |  RSH    YD  TD  |  REC    YD  TD
---------------------+-----------------+-----------------
 1981  mia  W,41-38  |    3    19   0  |    4    31   2
 1981  cin  L,7-27   |    6    23   0  |    2     5   0
 1982  pit  W,31-28  |    3    20   1  |    1     4   0
 1982  mia  L,13-34  |    3     9   0  |    2    25   0
 1988  sea  W,21-13  |   13    72   0  |    1     9   0
 1988  buf  W,21-10  |    7     6   0  |    2    21   1
*1988  sfo  L,16-20  |    6    24   0  |    1    20   0
 1990  hou  W,41-14  |    6    17   0  |    0     0   0
 1990  rai  L,10-20  |   11    26   0  |    1    22   0
---------------------+-----------------+-----------------
TOTAL                |   58   216   1  |   14   137   3


* - Super Bowl

[Rain Man]

I would also like to nominate William Andrews, the premier running fullback of the 1980s while playing with Atlanta. Like Gale Sayers before him, albeit with a very different style, Andrews was a dominating running back until a severe knee injury cut short his promising career.

Andrews made four pro bowls in his first five years, and was the second player in NFL history to log two 2,000-total-yard seasons. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry and averaged over 50 catches per season before the injury.

As quoted by wikipedia

"Andrews played professionally with the Atlanta Falcons. After a promising beginning to his career (He was one of the first NFL players with two 2,000 yard rushing/receiving seasons to his credit), he sustained a serious knee injury during the 1984 preseason that sidelined him for two years. He returned in 1986 for one season, largely as a tight end, before retiring. To celebrate his career, his number (31) was retired and hasn't been used by any Atlanta player since."

               |          Rushing         |        Receiving        |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year  TM |   G |   Att  Yards    Y/A   TD |   Rec  Yards   Y/R   TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1979 atl |  15 |   239   1023    4.3    3 |    39    309   7.9    2 |
| 1980 atl |  16 |   265   1308    4.9    4 |    51    456   8.9    1 |
| 1981 atl |  16 |   289   1301    4.5   10 |    81    735   9.1    2 |
| 1982 atl |   9 |   139    573    4.1    5 |    42    503  12.0    2 |
| 1983 atl |  16 |   331   1567    4.7    7 |    59    609  10.3    4 |
| 1986 atl |  15 |    52    214    4.1    1 |     5     35   7.0    0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
|  TOTAL   |  87 |  1315   5986    4.6   30 |   277   2647   9.6   11 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+


Seasons among the league's top 10
Rushes: 1980-7, 1981-7, 1983-4 
Rushing yards: 1980-4, 1981-7, 1983-2 
Rushing TDs: 1981-7t, 1982-10t 
Receptions: 1981-4, 1982-8t 
Yards from scrimmage: 1980-4, 1981-1, 1982-2, 1983-2 
Rush/Receive TDs: 1981-9t, 1982-9t 

William Andrews is not in the all-time top 50 in any major category. 


Postseason data
Please read this fine print before using this data or sending questions or corrections. 

 Year  Opp   Result  |  RSH    YD  TD  |  REC    YD  TD
---------------------+-----------------+-----------------
 1980  dal  L,27-30  |   14    43   0  |    2    19   1
 1982  min  L,24-30  |   11    48   0  |    0     0   0
---------------------+-----------------+-----------------
TOTAL                |   25    91   0  |    2    19   1

[jlscorpio]

Dickerson was my favorite. His single-season record might be around for a while...

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by cdcox

Rain Man: This is a worthwhile exercise, but you should reconsider the punter and kicker positions. I don't think they deserve equal representation among the other 22 starters. Or are we going to elect HOF return men? HOF long snappers? HOF place kick holders? HOF gunners?

After Ray Guy and Reggie Roby how are we going to have a serious conversation about punters (no disrespect to Thunderfoot)?

Let's redistribute the places (at least most of them) that you had designated to the kickers and punters to positional players. Or the "at large players" who didn't quite make the cut at their position.

How about this? We give them half their designated number of spots, which will save four spots. We give three of those spots to QBs and one to a RB.

[Rain Man]

Okay, so in the true and just Hall of Fame, we have 10 running backs. (I added one due to cdcox's appeal to reduce the number of kicking and punting positions.

The 10 are:

Marcus Allen
Earl Campbell
Eric Dickerson
Tony Dorsett
Franco Harris
Walter Payton
John Riggins
Barry Sanders
O.J. Simpson
Thurman Thomas (sigh)