THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME 2015

Once every year, the Football Gods gather in Canton, Ohio, these are the ones that sit , not on top of Mount Olympus, no, these are the ones that sit in back rooms and gather and vote on the ones that should be inducted in the Pro-Football Hall of Fame, and from the perspective that I have seen—I will tell you that that they got it right!

Jerome Bettis,  “THE BUS” from Notre Dame, goes into the hall, he was a great running back, that just bruised everyone that got in his way, and won a Super Bowl for his efforts as well with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and with THE BUS going in from the Fightin Irish, so did another member of the Golden Dome’s…

Dallas’ very own, Tim Brown.. .and here’s a little tidbit information, Brown is the FIRST Dallas Independent School member to enter into the Hallowed Halls of the Hall of Fame.. a Heisman Trophy winner out of Notre Dame, and a Cotton Bowl Classic participant, then made his way to the Silver and Black of the Oakland Raiders, a punt return specialist, and a wide receiver that made defenders look silly once he got his hands on the ball and good move. Brown is the answer to a great trivia question… only ONE public High School in the Nation has produced TWO Heisman Trophy Winners, can you name the school? ANSWER: WOODROW WILSON HIGH SCHOOL, Dallas, Texas.. the other winner was TCU’s Davey O’Brien, and then a trophy was named after him in his honor for the best College Quarterback in the Country.

Another Dallas connection went into the Hall of Fame, #94 in your program #1 in your heart.. .Charles Haley. The big defensive lineman that helped Dallas to win THREE Super Bowls in the 90’s and before that, he took TWO with the San Francisco 49ers! HE is the ONLY NFL player to have FIVE SUPER BOWL RINGS and yet took forever to get into the Hall of Fame.

Aikman, Irvin, Smith, Sanders, Allen, they all went into the Hall of Fame before a FIVE TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION was allowed in, I am not saying that this is in justice, it’s a bit mind boggling. I mean Haley deserves his place in the Hall, no doubt, but I would have liked to have seen it happen before 2015, he has been eligible since 2004, and it took another 11 years to get there!

Junior Seau, the San Diego Charger linebacker, who tragically took his life after all the head injuries, and brought attention to the concussion issues with the NFL and NCAA and even into High Schools, was inducted in this class of 2015, and there was a bit of controversy to it as well, as the NFL was NOT going to allow his daughter to induct him into the Hall with a speech. Thank GOODNESS someone woke up and reversed that, and allowed a very well spoke, very gracious young lady to stand at the podium and speak about her Father, with not just love, but with the passion that JUNIOR played with when he was between the hash marks. It was fitting, it was well spoken, and Sydney was eloquent, and complimentary to the right people with the Chargers, the NFL, and especially her Grand Parents. The first Samoan to be inducted to the Hall and as she said.. most likely not the last.

The Pro-Football Hall of Fame is not just about the NFL, its about PRO FOOTBALL as a whole, though the majority of the members did play for NFL teams there were those who’s career were involved in the Canadian Football League the Arena Football League, and leagues that were before and even during the infancy of the NFL.

Canton, Ohio, a small town, with a big place in the NFL and the beginnings of Pro Football.

With the Class of 2015 secured in their place, this Hall is just a bit more class! Congratulations to the newest members of the Hall, and from my perspective, its great to see a Woodrow Wilson Wildcat enter, and another notch for the city of Dallas! Well done!

Just a thought.