As the guy who nominated (and wrote the HoVG bio for) Abner Haynes I guess I'd better come to his defense.
Haynes might not have been the best athlete in football (or even the early AFL) but he has a place in football lore.
Abner was the first big star in the AFL (according to my research), especially in Texas, where the fledgling Texans (AFL) were fighting for recognition. To stretch an analogy, he was the AFL's Red Grange, helping to popularize his league at the time it needed it most.
Which is not to say he was a slouch as a player.
Haynes was Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year and led the league in total yardage in the AFL's inaugural season.
He was also elected to the All-Time AFL team and had his number retired by the Chiefs. He was All-AFL four times.
Not to mention he has some great tales associated with him ("We'll kick to the wind" and "The life you save may be Abner Haynes'" immediately come to mind) that are a part of football history.
I'm not arguing that there aren't players who are perhaps more worthy to be in our Hall.
But I do feel Abner deserves a place there. It would be difficult to tell the history of the American Football League without mentioning Abner Haynes...
http://www.profootballresearchers.org/h ... -2019.htmlI understand that it is very difficult to be an ardent proponent of one thing without being negative about it's supposed opposite. But I see no contradiction in wanting to acknowledge and support players from the early- (or pre-) NFL and doing the same for AFL (or any other worthy) players.
The two are not mutually exclusive.
If The Hall of Fame can include Jim Thorpe and Kurt Warner then I feel The Hall of (the) Very Good has room for both Peggy Parratt and Abner Haynes.