Overflowing Senior Pool

Talk of Fame Network routinely generates interesting, thought-provoking content. Rick Gosselin did it this time with his "Exploring the abyss that is the senior pool of HOF candidates." Gosselin has been a member of the Hall of Fame's selection panel for 25 years, including the last 16 years on the senior sub-committee. He's been in the thick of the Hall of Fame discussions. He doesn't think that enough players have been brought to those discussions. Even after the monster, 20-member Centennial Hall of Fame Class, there are so many players that have never had their careers discussed by the Hall's senior committee. Not getting that discussion is the start of deserving players falling through the cracks and then forgotten. Hall of Fame voting started in 1963. It's ludicrous that players from the 1920s are still peppering Hall of Fame Classes in the 2000s. Fritz Pollard, Benny Friedman, and Duke Slater should've been a part of any of the first dozen Classes. Lavvie Dilweg should've been with them but he still hasn't received the Canton call that he deserves. Dilweg is waiting at the surface of an overflowing senior pool of players that deserve to have their careers discussed. Gosselin has a list of 90 such players. It's such an expansive list that he can make a full football team from the players that he has on it. So he did. He can even go five deep at some positions.

Rick Gosselin's team of senior players whose careers merit Hall of Fame discussion.

Quarterback
Ken Anderson

Halfback
Larry Brown

Fullback
Pat Harder

Receivers
Billy Wilson
Sterling Sharpe

Tight End
Ron Kramer

Offensive Tackle
George Kunz
Jim Tyrer

Offensive Guard
Walt Sweeney
Ed Budde

Center
Jeff Van Note

Defensive End
Harvey Martin
Jim Marshall

Defensive Tackle
Keith Millard
Tom Sestak

Outside Linebacker
Maxie Baughn
Chuck Howley

Middle Linebacker
Randy Gradishar

Cornerback
Ken Riley
Everson Walls

Safety
Eddie Meador
Dick Anderson

Kicker
Gino Cappelletti

Punter
Jerrell Wilson

Kick Returner
Billy "White Shoes" Johnson

***

While I'm sure that they are on Gosselin's list, I'm surprised that his team didn't include Lavvie Dilweg and Al Wistert. Both should've been in the Hall of Fame long ago. I'm guessing that since Dilweg and Wistert are two of the best known Hall of Fame snubs that Gosselin just wanted to give attention to others.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons are under-represented in the Hall of Fame. Fans of those teams should be happy to see a couple of their players get some attention here.

Falcons: George Kunz, Jeff Van Note
Bengals: Ken Anderson, Ken Riley

It's a good bet that Falcons offensive tackle Mike Kenn is on Gosselin's list as well.

As a Minnesota Vikings fan, I liked seeing Jim Marshall and Keith Millard on this team. They are an interesting pair to include. If Millard had the longevity of Marshall, he'd already be in Canton. If Marshall had ever reached the height of Millard's brief career, he'd be there as well. If I was to be so bold as to pick a couple Vikings players to be on this team those players would be Chuck Foreman and Joey Browner.

Hall of Fame discussion vs Hall of Fame inclusion

Gosselin isn't calling for all 25 players on this team or every player on his list to get measured for spiffy gold jackets. He's simply saying that their careers should be discussed by the voters. To be honest, if these players aren't even being discussed the voters aren't meeting their responsibility. There are players that are automatic Hall of Famers. Then there are players that require some discussion. In the case of the senior pool, all of them require discussion. Sometimes that's simply because some of the voters never saw the player play. In the case of some of the more senior players, none of the voters have seen them play. As a result, a history lesson is required. It's a flawed system due to the simple fact that it's based on opinions. Education is the only way to improve the system and discussion is the only way to educate. There are football historians out there that know far more about some of the players than the Hall of Fame voters. In a perfect Hall of Fame voting world I'd like to think that they'd listen to those historians. Rick Gosselin and Talk of Fame Network do a fine job of initiating discussion. I hope that the rest of the voters are listening and joining the discussion.