The Writings of Eric E. Jenkins

It’s that time of year again. Another Hall of Fame has announced their initial nominees, and a couple of my favorite players are on the verge of being snubbed again. The National Football League has announced the nominees for the 2010 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Though the final inductees will not be announced until the Super Bowl on February 7^th, 2010, the initial voting is underway. Now, I am and have always been an Oakland Raider fan, and two of the greatest players at their positions in the history of professional football are still waiting for their call from Canton, Ohio, and it makes no sense to me.

Professional football is a game of numbers, and many times, hall of fame induction is based on numbers. Unfortunately for my two players, there is a belief that there are no numbers for their positions that will ensure their induction into the HOF. Offensive players, defensive line players and linebackers have absolute numbers that allow them to be considered as greats of the game, but offensive linemen, and defensive backs are believed to have to earn their way in through word of mouth. For this reason, one of the greatest cornerbacks in the game, “The Judge” Lester Hayes, is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Lester retired from the NFL in 1986 after a 10-years career spent entirely with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. Hayes was a 5-time pro bowler, a 6-time All-Pro either first or second team selection and was the 1980 Defensive Player of the year. Hayes was also a member of two Raider Super Bowl championship teams. These numbers say to me that he was one of the best at his position during the time that he played. If winning a title is a prerequisite, then Hayes has that as well. Despite this, Hayes has not been elected yet.

There is also a belief that defensive players have to have a rule changed because of the way that they played to be guaranteed induction into the Hall. Deacon Jones had the head slap outlawed, and also forced quarterback sacks to become an official stat. Dick “Night Train” Lane had the clothesline tackle outlawed. Well, when Lester played, an adhesive devise known as “stickum” was allowed for wide receivers to allow them to better hold onto the ball, especially in cold weather. Lester figured that he could use this to help him hold onto the ball if it came near him to help with interceptions. Because of Hayes’ success with stickum, the league outlawed the use of it at the beginning of the 1981 season, but not until after Hayes intercepted a league high 13 balls in 1980, so if a rule change guarantees induction, then why isn’t Hayes in the Hall? Maybe it is because he only played 10 years. Maybe it is because he is 42 interceptions shy of the career record, or maybe it is because he is a Raider.

The other player is considered the best to ever play his position. So good was he that he had a collegiate award named after himself. The thing that is keeping him out of the Hall is the institution’s insistence that special teams players do not really have a place among the great quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers that have already been enshrined. Ray Guy, the punter for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders also retired in 1986, after a 14-year career where he was a part of three Raider championship teams and his reputation for punting the ball so proficiently became one such that teams would inspect footballs that he punted for the presence of helium.

Just as with Lester Hayes, Guy has numbers that should ensure him induction into the Hall, but these numbers get overlooked because they are not league records. Guy punted 1,049 times and had only four punts blocked. Guy played in 207 consecutive games, including spending some time as the team’s third or fourth-string quarterback, and Guy, in 14 seasons, never had a punt returned for a touchdown. In fact, one of Guy’s punts lead to a touchdown play in Super Bowl XVIII when his 27-yard punt pinned the Redskins at the 12-yard line and on the next play, Jack Squirek intercepted Joe Theismann’s screen pass and took it in for a Raider touchdown that helped the Raiders win the game and the championship.

Ray Guy and Lester Hayes were among the best at their positions during the time that they played. I know that I have said in the past that if you think about whether or not a person deserves to be in their Hall of Fame then they probably do not, but there is nothing to think about in these cases. Ray Guy and Lester Hayes are worthy and should be inducted. Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith will be slam dunks this year, and either Chris Carter or Andre Reed might finally get in, but Lester Hayes and Ray Guy deserve to be in as well. This is not the Pro Football Hall of Very Good, it is the Hall of Fame, for the best of the best, and Hayes and Guy were simply that; the best of the best.