There were two sports-world related deaths last week – – Greg Gumbel and Bill Bergey. Greg Gumbel was a great broadcaster; he was one of the rare individuals who excelled at doing play-by-play and at being a studio host. Not many people even try to exist in those two worlds; Greg Gumbel did and he was excellent at both.
Bill Bergey was a great linebacker for the Bengals and the Eagles in the 1960s and 1970s. He did not get the same level of recognition as some other linebackers of his time because the Eagles’ teams he played for were abysmal. Nonetheless, Bill Bergey was a force majeure.
Rest in peace, Greg Gumbel and Bill Bergey.
Since I mentioned Bill Bergey, he is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but I think that he is one of those players who would have gotten into the Hall had he been on more successful teams. The list of 15 finalists for enshrinement this year has just been released, and I will use this opportunity to present the list and then to give you my selections.
- Eric Allen
- Jared Allen
- Jahri Evans
- Antonio Gates
- Tory Holt
- Luke Kuechly
- Eli Manning
- Steve Smith, Sr.
- Terrell Suggs
- Fred Taylor
- Adam Vinatieri
- Reggie Wayne
- Darren Woodsen
- Marshall Yanda
There is a maximum of 5 members to a new class for the Hall of Fame and a successful aspirant needs to get 80% of the votes cast. Stipulating that every name on that list is worthy of placement on the list, here would be my five votes – – if I had a vote in the first place:
- Eric Allen – – A really good player on some really mediocre teams
- Antonio Gates – – I am surprised that he is not already in the Hall of Fame
- Tory Holt – – An integral part of the “Greatest Show on Turf”
- Terrell Suggs – – Simply a great edge rusher
- Marshall Yanda – – Great in pass protection and a bulldozer on run plays
Moving on … When Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy earlier this month, he created a new “category” of trophy winners because it is difficult to say whether he is a great WR who also plays CB or vice versa. Since he would obviously be the only player in that new category, I wondered what the distribution among other positions was for Heisman winners. If I have counted correctly:
- 44 Running Backs – – collapsing fullbacks and halfbacks
- 39 Quarterbacks
- 4 Wide Receivers
- 2 Tight Ends
- 1 Cornerback
Defense may win championships, but offense gets a dominant share of public recognition.
Finally, I’ll close here with these words from coach John Heisman to give you an idea of his focus on football fundamentals”
“Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
Eric Allen played in the Tuck Rule game.
TenaciousP:
It would not surprise me in the least to learn that you can recite from memory every player in the Tuck Rule Game – – in alphabetical order.