Basketball card of an NBA legend who played in the 1950s and ’60s, Bob Pettit. Pettit played his entire career with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks and was the inaugural recipient of the NBA’s most valuable player award. He also was NBA Rookie of the Year in 1954 and led the Hawks to an NBA title in 1958, defeating the Boston Celtics. Pettit was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
Once again, the Buffalo Sabres management sends a loud and clear signal to the players in their locker room – if you try hard and put yourself in a position to earn a raise, we will find a way, even if we have to be creative, to go the cheap route and not have to pay you what you’re worth. The case of Tim Kennedy’s arbitration hearing is classic Sabres management style. Put the almighty dollar ahead of everything else including winning, and then talk about how they’re determined to build a Stanley Cup champion team here. The problem is, whoever it is that actually runs this dysfunctional franchise, whether it’s GM Darcy Regier, Larry Quinn or absentee owner Tom Golisano, knows how to talk the talk but never walks the walk. So now the loyal Buffalo fans get cheated out of watching an up-and-coming homegrown local kid, whose dream it is to play for this team. Instead they get to watch the other local kid, the other Tim – Tim Connolly – float through another season collecting a huge paycheck for doing next to nothing. The difference is Regier acquired Connolly as the centerpiece player in the trade that sent captain Mike Peca out of town, so he has to continue to justify this terrible trade by not only keeping Connolly on the roster but giving him contract extensions that put him up near the top of the team’s payroll, even though he is invisible on the ice at crunch time. Lindy Ruff is going to have his hands full this season attempting to repeat the mild success the team had last year. There is no way that the handling of Kennedy’s situation is not going to negatively affect the team’s locker room. I personally hope he signs with a team within the Northeast Division so he can haunt the Sabres management multiple times during the season. Of course, the players will continue to spew the company line that they understand it’s a business and sometimes tough decisions are made, etc. so that the fans might continue to believe the lie that the Sabres are actually doing everything within their power to win a Cup. Regier has actually been quoted as saying that he plans on carrying a 22 man roster this season instead of the allowable 23 players. It is very depressing when your local pro sports team is being run by a dull, stodgy CPA instead of an actual general manager. So Sabres fans, get ready to see an ad campaign for the upcoming season featuring lots of pictures of Ryan Miller and Tyler Myers. Yes, Regier, for the first time in 10 years actually hit on a first round draft pick with Myers, so I’m sure all the ads trying to sell tickets will be saturated with images of him. Then keep your fingers crossed that Miller will begin to live up to the hype and start to earn his huge salary by finally being a difference-maker for his team, the way Dominik Hasek was. While you’re watching Connolly, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville and the other supposed veteran “leaders” on this team go through the motions again, remember the effort that Kennedy played with while he was here, despite being one of the team’s smallest players. Then again, if the Sabres kept a high-energy player like Kennedy around they wouldn’t be built in the image of their GM – dull and lifeless.
Logo of the original Ottawa Senators franchise which played in the National Hockey League from 1917 until 1934. The team was highly successful, winning 11 Stanley Cups, but ran into financial difficulties and eventually moved to St. Louis and became the Eagles, playing one more unsuccessful year there before permanently suspending operations.
Here is a 1963 Topps baseball card of former New York Yankee outfielder Roger Maris, who broke Babe Ruth’s longstanding single season home run record by clubbing 61 “dingers” in 1961. His more popular Yankee teammate, Mickey Mantle, was the favorite of the fans to break the mark but came up short and wound up hitting 54 that season. Then the commissioner of baseball declared that Maris’ record would carry an asterisk in the record book because he broke the mark in 162 games, while Ruth played a shorter 154 game season in his time. It really was a shame how Maris was treated at the time, but he was highly regarded as a teammate by the players he played with, and the recent mess made of baseball’s record book in the steroid era has cast him in a new light and gained him much more respect for not only his single-season accomplishment but his entire career.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony for 2010 is now in the books, and the Hall of Fame preseason game has been played to officially kick off the new football season. Last week I blogged each day about players at each position who have been overlooked by the Hall voters. But I’ll close out the Hall of Fame posting today by sharing the classic photo above. In many ways, it’s like a “Where’s Waldo” puzzle. Yes, there’s something major missing from this photo. It’s a photo taken in 2009 at the ceremony in which Bills’ owner Ralph Wilson, Jr. and sack artist Bruce Smith were inducted into Canton. It’s a picture of all the members of the Bills who are in the Hall, with one glaring absence. That would be the team’s and the NFL’s one-time leading rusher, O.J. Simpson. Simpson was surpassed by Thurman Thomas as the team’s all-time leading rusher, and has dropped to 16th on the league’s all-time rushing yardage list. Unfortunately, “Juice” is seen more in the news in his orange prison jumpsuit in recent years than in his gold Hall of Fame blazer. That’s a real shame. Still, the photo is very memorable. The Bills Hall of Famers in the picture, starting from the left, are Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Marv Levy, Wilson, Joe DeLamielleure, James Lofton, Billy Shaw and Jim Kelly. One last note – the team with the most players in the Hall is one of the NFL’s oldest and most storied franchises, the Chicago Bears, followed by the Bears’ longest and fiercest rivals, the Green Bay Packers.
An alternate team logo used by the Buffalo Bills from 1965 until 1969. No player was given jersey # 31 when this logo was in use, as the player on the logo wearing the number was not meant to represent any specific player, but the “spirit of the team” according to team management. The tradition was broken in 1969 when backup running back Preston Ridlehuber was temporarily issued the number (for one game) while his usual #36 jersey was being repaired. Cornerback J.D. Williams wore the number in the 1990s, and it is currently worn by the team’s promising young safety, Jairus Byrd.
1979 Topps hockey card of Chicago Black Hawks Hall of Fame center Stan Mikita. His NHL career spanned 22 seasons, and he played them all with the Hawks, playing on their Stanley Cup-winning team in 1961. Although he gained a reputation as a great defensive centerman who was terrific on faceoffs later in his career, Mikita won the NHL scoring title 4 times in the 1960s.
From left: Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson.
When it comes to special teams, NFL coaches pretty much all preach the same sermon – they are just as important as offense and defense, they are 1/3 of the entire team and practice time should be equal to what offense and defense get, they can win or cost a team games. So, if special teams are that important, why are special teams players consistently ignored at Hall of Fame voting time? There are lots of players who played on special teams who ARE in the Hall, like Lou Groza, Sammy Baugh and Paul Hornung for instance, but they got in due to their play on offense and defense. Baugh was a terrific punter but if he hadn’t been a quarterback he wouldn’t be in the Hall. Groza and Hornung were outstanding placekickers but it was their play at tackle and halfback that got them in. It could be argued that George Blanda’s kicking ability got him elected as much as his QB play, but still, he probably wouldn’t be in if he had only kicked. When Jan Stenerud became the first placekicker to be elected, it was a big deal and the expectation was that his election would open the floodgates for all the other kickers, punters, return men, specialists, etc. to start getting elected. Of course, that didn’t happen. There still isn’t one pure punter in the Hall. And nowadays the “long snapper” is a specialty position. Will there be a day when players are voted in solely as long snappers? To me that’s a stretch, but then again, the position is important enough today that every coach employs one. The first pure punter who should be inducted into Canton has to be the Raiders’ Ray Guy. In fact, the assumption is it’s just a matter of time for him. He is clearly the most outstanding punter of all time and it can be argued that he revolutionized the position. Speaking of revolutionizing the game, when it comes to the “gunner” position on kick coverage, Steve Tasker of the Bills was the master. If any non-kicking special teams player deserves to be inducted, it is Tasker. He was a demon on kick coverage, a punt and kick-blocking machine and an occasional return man. Tasker was a player opposing teams specifically game-planned for. Billy “White Shoes” Johnson was a dynamic return man with the Falcons and Oilers, known for his outlandish end zone dances and, of course, for wearing white shoes. The fact that he reached the end zone so many times on returns that his end zone dances became legendary tells you all you need to know about his kick return abilities.
Above from left: Travis Williams, Pete Gogolak (and holder Daryle Lamonica), Mel Gray.
Two other return men who deserve a look are the Packers Travis Williams, who rivaled HOFer Gale Sayers in the 1960s as the NFL’s top return man, and the Cardinals’ Mel Gray. Williams played some at running back and Gray was a decent receiver, but mostly they made their name in the league returning kicks. The father and son combination of Terry and Eric Metcalf is unique. Both had decent careers as running backs and were similar type players. They both excelled in the kick return game. For historical reasons alone, perhaps Pete Gogolak should get some love from the voters. He was the first soccer-style placekicker. Talk about revolutionizing the game! There isn’t one straight-on placekicker left in football today. The last of the straight-on kickers, Washington’s Mark Mosely, was good enough to be considered for Canton also. In the AFL, players like Gene Mingo, Speedy Duncan, Gino Cappelletti and Jim Turner all excelled at some facet of special teams, or “bomb squads” as they were affectionately called back then.
Above: Reggie Roby (left), Brian Mitchell.
Besides Guy, any conversation about HOF punter possibilities has to include Jerrell Wilson of the Chiefs and Reggie Roby, who punted for various teams, mostly the Dolphins. The fact that Roby wore a watch when he punted infuriated some players and enhanced the notion to some that punters “aren’t real football players.” And of course, that kind of macho thinking has worked against even the greatest punters as far as their chances for getting voted into Canton. One other kick returner who deserves a mention is Brian Mitchell. He was a major threat on returns and also just a general all-around great special teamer, and besides Tasker, the next best choice of non-kicking bomb squadder who is deserving.
Logo of the American Basketball Association’s Oakland Oaks, who existed in the league’s first 2 seasons and won the ABA title in the 1968-69 season after signing superstar Rick Barry away from their cross-town NBA rivals, the San Francisco Warriors. Entertainer Pat Boone was a part owner of the franchise, but it wasn’t a great investment by him. The team failed miserably at the box office and was moved to Washington after the 1969 season.
Topps football card of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton. “Sweetness” was not only one of the greatest running backs of all time, but one of the greatest flat-out football players. He surpassed Jim Brown in 1984 to become the NFL’s all-time career rushing leader, although his record has since been broken by Emmitt Smith. Payton’s coach, Mike Ditka, called him “the greatest football player I have ever seen—but an even greater human being.” Payton died of a rare liver disease in 1999.
