Following an event during a recent Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend in Canton, I spoke for a while with a member of the HOF’s board of directors. We compared notes on which Hall of Famers had returned for the annual festivities — the Hall has begun a tradition of inviting all back each year — and discussed why some inductees don’t return.
This board member felt strongly that those non-returnees were showing a lack of gratitude to the NFL and the Hall by their absence. He felt they “owed” both institutions because these players wouldn’t be everything they are and have everything they do if it weren’t for pro football.
I am a huge football fan. My dad started taking me to Browns and Hall of Fame games when I was still in elementary school — and that’s been a while, but we won’t go there. Anyway, as much as I love pro football, I am not a fan of everything the NFL does, especially the way it has handled, or mishandled, the retired players’ pension issues. Talk about owing someone something –who actually built the NFL into the sports powerhouse it is today? The players maybe? The NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) should show the same loyalty to those pioneers as the HOF board member thinks the players should show the NFL.
The players who honor their induction into the Hall of Fame by returning are really honoring those who came before them, those who played with them, and the game itself. And those are the real reasons they should return to Canton each year. But I agree it would be nice to see more Hall of Famers come back. Maybe when the NFL starts treating its former players with some respect and compassion, they will return the favor.
March 16, 2008 at 4:56 pm
http://johnbrodieforfootballhalloffame.bravehost.com/
Fans of John Brodie, QB of the 49ers from 1957 to 1973, and the great San Francisco 49ers, are helping get John R Brodie, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We are asking all fans of the 49ers to write or fax a nominating letter to the hall of Fame, for Brodie to be enshrined as a senior candidate.
We have made a webpage and there are addresses and sample letters you can use. The cut off date for a 2009 nomination is March 1, 2008, so we need the letters sent soon, please. Here is the address:
Send your letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attn: Nomination Committee
2121 George Halas Drive NW,
Canton, OH 44708
or Fax: 330-456-9080
here is the page with the sample letters:
http://johnbrodieforfootballhalloffame.bravehost.com/samples.html
There is also a Myspace:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=308917219
and an online petition, for fans to sign: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/johnbrodie/
Thanks so much for your help, despite having suffered a severe stroke in 2000, Brodie is still active and follows his beloved 49ers.
“Many people we have contacted are surprised that Brodie is not already in the Pro Football Hall of fame because of his awesome stats as a football player. In his seventeen year career with the San Francisco 49ers, John Brodie was one of the foremost quarterbacks in football. A quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers from 1957 through 1973, a 17 year run, John Brodie threw for 31,548 yards and tossed 214 TDs in 201 career games. He appeared in the Pro Bowl in 1965 and 1970. He was named NFL/NFC’s Most Valuable Player in 1970.
His statistics clearly show him to be worthy of the honor of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is the greatest honor that can be bestowed upon a football player and John Brodie is more than worthy of such an honor. He was among the leading passers in the league throughout the 1960s. His best statistical year was 1965 when he led the League in passing average (3,112 yards) and 30 touchdowns. When John Brodie retired from the NFL, he ranked third in the NFL in career passing yards.”