MM: Raiders and the Hall of Fame

Its Monday, and I am still mumbling.

In about a month, former Raider Jerry Rice will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, and will have his name in the 2010 edition of the Raiders media guide as a Raider Hall of Fame member along side such Raider legends as Eric Dickerson and James Lofton.

There are numerous career Raiders who deserve to get their yellow jackets who seem to be falling out of the conversation for those who actually have the votes. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been granted a seat as part of the College of Cardinals errr hallowed sportswriters who get a vote, so I’ll have to settle for a bit of agitation for the forgotten Raiders.

These are guys like Dave Dalby, who is inexplicably left out of the conversation even by many of the most die hard fans. He took over for Hall of Famer Jim Otto in 1976 and anchored the line for the next decade and did not miss a beat or a single game. He led the Raiders line whilst they won three Super Bowls.

Cliff Branch gets the love from Raider fans who know that he has the numbers and the resume to be in there with his contemporaries John Stallworth and Lynn Swann. However he seems to fade away in the semi-final round, and never gets the full consideration that his career deserves.

The most inexplicable candidate that has fallen away is Ken “The Snake’ Stabler. He got some play on an episode of NFL Network’s NFL’s Top Ten where he was named number five in the most deserving players not in the Hall of Fame. Sports Illustrated’s Dr Z is repeatedly on record as being the one who blocks The Snake’s entry into the Hall. He has been successful thus far, and with Stabler not even making the semi-finals last year, his hope is fading.

Ray Guy seems to get a buzz nearly every year once the voting starts. Questions abound as to why the greatest punter in the history of the game is left out. However, he has yet to get the call into the Hall of Fame. He was good enough to be put on the NFL’s All 75 team as well as the all 70s team, but when it comes time for the Hall he is passed over.

Here is hoping this is the year that one of these forgotten Raiders can break through.

*****

I am going to be interviewed tomorrow at 4:00 pacific daylight time on Houston radio station 1560 the game, where we’re going to talk about the Raiders and their match up with the Texans in week four. You can listen to the webcast here.

 

TFDS:

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