Lavvie Dilweg, end, 1926 Milwaukee Badgers, 1927-34 Green Bay Packers
If the Hall of Fame voters have closed the doors on players from the early decades of the league they should reconsider. They missed some players. Lavvie Dilweg is one of only two players on the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1920s that's not in the Hall of Fame. He was first team All-Pro in each of his first five seasons with the Packers. Three of those seasons (1929-31) ended with an NFL title. The game was different back then so his career totals of 23 catches for 443 and 12 touchdowns don't look like much but his play and importance to one of league's first great teams screams Hall of Fame.
Duke Slater, tackle, 1922 Milwaukee Badgers, 1922-26 Rock Island Independents, 1926-31 Chicago Cardinals
Duke Slater was simply one of the best linemen in the first dozen years of the NFL. He made one of the various All-Pro teams of the day in six of his ten seasons. He gained respect for his play despite being one of the few black players in the league. He was a Hall of Fame finalist in 1970 and 1971 but hasn't had much, if any, traction since.
Al Wistert, tackle/guard, 1943-51 Philadelphia Eagles
If a fan of the NFL in the 1940s had slept through the past 65 years and woke today, he'd be surprised to discover a Pro Football Hall of Fame and shocked that Al Wistert isn't a part of it. The Eagles teams of the late 1940s were considered by some at the time to be one of the best professional teams ever. Wistert was a big part of that praise. He was the best offensive lineman of his era. First or second team All-Pro in eight of his nine seasons, All-Decade Team of the 1940s, two NFL titles. If a player has the sort of career today that Wistert had in the 1940s he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Mac Speedie, end, 1946-52 Cleveland Browns
Mac Speedie was the big play threat of one of the great dynasties in pro football history. The Browns played in the championship game of their league every season from 1946-55. They won seven of those games. That's a ridiculous run of success. Speedie's ability to stretch the field vertically was a big part of that success. He should join the rest of his many teammates that are honored in Canton. Have those Browns teams filled their Hall of Fame quota in the eyes of the voters? Doesn't matter, Mac Speedie belongs. And, his name is fantastic.
Here are few more players that should already be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Alex Karras, defensive tackle, 1958-62 and 1964-70 Detroit Lions
Alex Karras was the most disruptive defensive tackle in the game for much of his 11-year career. The manner in which his opponents spoke of his play reminds me of the way that Warren Sapp played. An aggressive, gap-penetrating, backfield-wrecking force in the interior of the defense. His year-long suspension for gambling in 1963 could be the reason for his absence from the Hall of Fame. That reason lacks legs due to Paul Hornung missing the same season for the same reason and he and his career are honored in Canton.
Jerry Kramer, guard, 1958-68 Green Bay Packers
Jerry Kramer has long been the poster-boy for players deserving of induction. He was a great, integral player for a team that won five NFL titles in the 1960s. First team All-Pro five times. All-Decade Team of the 1960s. Some have said that there are already enough 1960-era Packer players in the Hall of Fame. That's a pathetic reason as there should never be quotas in honoring deserving players. Besides, about the time that some were posing that as a reason for Kramer's absence was the time that Packers linebacker Dave Robinson was inducted. Kramer should join Robinson and the rest of his great teammates.
Johnny Robinson, safety, 1960-62, 1963-71 Kansas City Chiefs
The NFL has done a decent job of respecting the players and teams of the American Football League but I can't help but think that Johnny Robinson would already be in the Hall of Fame if he'd played in the NFL. He was the best safety in the upstart league. He was All-Pro six times. The last of which he earned after the complete merger of the two leagues.
Chuck Foreman, running back, 1973-79 Minnesota Vikings, 1980 New England Patriots
I had to include a Vikings player. It came down to Chuck Foreman and Joey Browner and I went with the player that's been waiting longer. For a three-year period Foreman was one of the best backs in the league. He was certainly the most versatile. He was a running, catching dynamo. In 1975 Foreman was seven rushing yards short of leading the NFC in rushing, receiving, and touchdowns. Seven rushing yards short of a Triple Crown. Injuries started a too-early decline but in his prime it was a real treat to watch Foreman run.
And a few more:
Bruno Banducci, guard, 1944-45 Philadelphia Eagles, 1946-54 San Francisco 49ers
Gover "Ox" Emerson, guard/center, 1931-33 Portsmouth Spartans, 1934-37 Detroit Lions, 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers
Buddy Parker, coach, 1949 Chicago Cardinals, 1951-56 Detroit Lions, 1957-64 Pittsburgh Steelers
Steve Tasker, special teams, Houston Oilers 1985-86, 1986-97 Buffalo Bills
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