gold star for USAHOF

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is important to us that the

The University of Iowa has already announced its intention to retire the #22 of Caitlin Clark.

This is an incredible achievement for Clark, whose career just concluded, and it places her in rarified air.  Few organizations and institutions seldom make an announcement like this after a player leaves, and it can’t be argued that Clark deserves to be in this group.

Clark, who will presumably be the first overall pick by the Indiana Fever this draft, set the NCAA record for Points (3,951) and carried the Hawkeyes on her back to two straight Finals.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Caitlin Clark for this impending honor.

3. Marshal Yanda

Marshal Yanda had an illustrious career with the Baltimore Ravens and is considered one of the best Offensive Linemen in the team's history. If not for Jonathan Ogden, he would undoubtedly be the best.

Yanda was selected in the third round of the draft from Iowa. He started 12 of his 16 games as a rookie and was a permanent fixture on the right side of the line from 2010 until his retirement in 2019. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2011 and went on to receive this honor a total of eight times. He was a two-time First Team All-Pro and a Second Team Selection five times. His presence on the O-Line helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII, and his footwork and blocking techniques were so perfect that Offensive Guards will be studying his work for years.

Yanda's lunch pail work ethic made him a star in the eyes of his peers, coaches, and fans. He was one of the most regimented players in the game, and barring injury never having an off year. He was an All-Decade Player and a pleasure to watch play.

213. John Niland

John Niland won the starting job at Left Guard for good in his second season in the NFL (1967) with the Dallas Cowboys, and would then go on to stake a claim as one of the elite Offensive Guards in the National Football League.  Niland would be named to the next six Pro Bowls and landed a pair of First Team All-Pros in the process (1971 & 1972).  The former Iowa Hawkeye would win a Super Bowl with the Cowboys in Super Bowl VI, and his upper-echelon blocking played a large part in that historic championship.

73. Jay Hilgenberg

There were many stars of the Chicago Bears throughout the 1980s and many were flashy and unforgettable.  Jay Hilgenberg was an unsung hero of that squad and an anchor of the Offensive Line.

63. Fred Brown

“Downtown” Fred Brown really was the epitome of instant offense off the bench.  A true legend in Seattle, Brown played his entire career scoring almost 15,000 points mostly with long range bombs hence the aforementioned nickname.  Captain of the '79 team that won the title, Brown led the league in three point shooting percentage in 1980, the first year of the new rule.  Unfortunately, this rule was way into his career because Freddy used to launch the rock from anywhere.  If the three point line were in effect during Downtown’s career he may have led the league in scoring a few years; he was that good from long distance.