Committee Chairman

James Harrison Retires

Aug 31, 2014

A major retirement in the world of Football took place as Linebacker, James Harrison has announced that his playing career is over.

Harrison went undrafted in 2002 after his College career at Kent State, but would be signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. It would be a struggle for him to stick on the team as he floated on and off the practice squad, and only saw one game that season in a Special Teams role.

The following year, Harrison would try his hand with the Baltimore Ravens and after being assigned to the Rhein Fire of the World Football League, he was again cut when he returned to Baltimore. Harrison would resign (for a fourth time) with the Pittsburgh Steelers though this time with different results. He would play 43 Games for the Steelers from 2004 to 2006, starting eight of them at Linebacker and performing well on Special Teams, though it would be in the following season that he would breakout and become a star.

Harrison would become the starting Right Outside Linebacker after the surprise release of Joey Porter and at the age of 29, would become a star in the National Football League. He would make his first of five consecutive Pro Bowls and in 2008 would be the Defensive Player of the Year, making him the first undrafted player to ever receive that honor. Harrison also is a two time Super Bowl winner, the second of which saw him set the record for the longest Interception Return (100 Yards) in Super Bowl History.

Twice a First Time All-Pro, James Harrison had a five year stretch where he was not just considered one of the best Linebackers, he was also considered the meanest and one of the most controversial. As the NFL pushed towards a safer environment, Harrison would become one of the most fined players in the League. He would openly criticize the NFL for cracking down on punishing hits and in an interview with Men’s Journal called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “a crook and a liar” and that he hated him. Harrison has also openly publically criticized other NFL players, including his own Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. In his personal life, Harrison was charged with Domestic Violence, an offence that the NFL now suspends a player for.

Controversy or not, five very strong years and not much else might make his Hall of Fame induction difficult. Still, anyone who once won the Defensive Player of the Year will garner a look, and we are very curious to see if the Steelers will honor him in the future.

WWE Celebrity List Revised

Aug 30, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

We owe all of you an apology, as we have been a little slow in revamping our WWE Celebrity Rankings. With that being said, we are very pleased to announce the new top ten personalities who should be considered for the WWE Celebrity Wing.

Before we go into the new list, the Celebrity List of the WWE Hall of Fame could very well be exponentially more controversial than the performer list. Inductees like Drew Carey and William “The Refrigerator” Perry, who have only appeared on one WWE show, does not exactly scream Hall of Fame in any capacity. The most recent selections of Mr. T and Donald Trump, who we had ranked at numbers 3 and 5 respectively were much better selections in our opinion, and had Carey and Perry not entered the WWE Hall of Fame, we are not certain that they would have made our ten.

With that said, we would like to announce our new top ten for the Celebrity wing to consider for the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony!

Muhammad Ali, the former three-time Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World remains in the top slot. Ali, who was clearly influenced by Professional Wrestling in his promos, competed against WWE Hall of Famer and Japanese legend, Antonio Inoki, was the special referee in Wrestlemania I, and made multiple appearances in wrestling events during his life. Ali, in our opinion, should have been the first person in any “Celebrity Wing” for the WWE Hall of Fame.

Cyndi Lauper, who moved up from number four from our last list, holds the number two slot. Lauper, who was an integral part of the original Rock and Wrestling Connection in the mid-80’s, made an appearance recently on Monday Night Raw, which reminded people of what her real impact on the WWE was.

Andy Kaufman drops from number two to three. The former star of TAXI, made headlines with his feud with Jerry “The King” Lawler in the Memphis territory, and was a passionate fan of professional wrestling.

Floyd “Money” Mayweather, who defeated the Big Show at one of the Wrestlemanias elevates from number six to four. The boxer, who has had Triple H in his corner at Pay-Per-View Boxing Events has long been a fan of the WWE.

Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion, David Arquette, moves from number seven to five. Arquette, who appeared often on WCW Television in 2000, also had a brief appearance on WWE TV, the decade after.

Maria Menounos, who appeared at Wrestlemania and has been a huge advocate of the WWE debuts at number six and is a new rank for the WWE Celebrity Wing of the Hall of Fame. Based on her support of the organization, we think she we will move up in our rankings.

The remaining ten are former Wrestlemania main eventer, Lawrence Taylor at seven, William Shatner at number eight, Dennis Rodman at number nine and Regis Philbin, who makes his debut at number ten. Philbin not only appeared at Wrestlemania VII, but has long track record of interviewing (and not in a condescending way) past WWE talent.

We encourage you to make your voices heard and give us your opinions and votes.

The new rankings can be found here:

The Padres unveil Bud Selig Hall of Fame Park

Aug 30, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

We needed a few days to truly digest this. The San Diego Padres have announced that they are renaming Palm Court Plaza, the Bud Selig Hall of Fame Plaza, which is located outside of Left Field, near the busiest entrance in the park. The name change is to coincide with a relaunch of their own Hall of Fame, and a celebration of Padres history.

To date, with the addition of Relief Pitcher Trevor Hoffman last year, the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame includes nine men. The other eight who have been previously inducted are Buzzie Bavasi, Nate Colbert, Jerry Coleman, Tony Gwynn, Randy Jones, Ray Kroc, Dick Williams and Dave Winfield. The Padres, have been to two World Series, though have yet to hold the championship trophy in triumph.

Although San Diego has yet to win Baseball’s Holy Grail, the renaming of Palm Court Plaza to Selig Hall of Fame Plaza is a real headscratcher. Selig, has not exactly been a popular commissioner, and there is really no tie between him and the Padres organization. The intention was to honor Selig, who is leaving his post as the Major League Baseball Commissioner this year, though again, his tenure has been associated with only controversy.

With the death this past of year of Tony Gwynn, the Hall of Fame player and arguably the greatest San Diego Padre of all time, it is difficult to imagine that anyone other than the former multi-time Batting Champion as the man whom a Padres Hall of Fame is named after. If they were not going to select Gwynn, than at the very least they could have chosen who has had a positive affect on the franchise. This is not something that is usually attributed with Bud Selig.

Although we were happy to see the San Diego Padres attempt to celebrate their past history with a greater zeal, could they not have chosen to rename with it at least one hundred better choices than this?

College Football HOF relaunches

Aug 24, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

The transfer from South Bend, Indiana to Atlanta, Georgia is complete.

This weekend, the College Football Hall of Fame has officially opened up embracing the old (many artifacts in the Hall are over 100 years old) and the new with a virtual presence unseen in any other North American Sporting Hall of Fame to date.

The three story facility features a chance for NCAA fans to pick their favorite collegiate team and have multiple exhibits display interactive components of their respective team. Multiple videos are also available at the simple touch of a screen, making this Hall of Fame more unique than anything else that exists in the marketplace.

This new structure looks to increase tourism to Atlanta, which is already the Sports Mecca of the American South. The new Hall of Fame, located in the heart of Atlanta’s downtown is a place where we will be going soon in the next few years. Based on what we have heard so far, so should you!