Chuck Foreman

[SixtiesFan]

There is a HOF campaign of sorts for Chuck Foreman, who is in the HOVG.

It's been said that if Floyd Little is in the HOF, Foreman should be. Also, Foreman is as worthy as Drew Pearson. His supporters claim "Chuck Foreman changed the game." We've heard that before. And there was never a RB with Foreman's skill set before he came in the league. Or Chuck Foreman was the first multi-purpose RB. These are from internet articles.

I think there were a good many "multi-purpose" runners in pro football in the 50s and 60s. Will Chuck Foreman someday make it as a Seniors nominee?

[ChrisBabcock]

Foreman, to me, seems identical to Lydell Mitchell... who I wouldn't put in the Hall. Looks like Foreman has slightly more honors though.

[Jay Z]

You can make a case for Floyd being the best back in football 1970-71. Can't say that for Chuck.

He was a multi purpose back, but one of several that came along at the same time, so I don't really give him credit for being an innovator. It was coming Chuck or no Chuck. Also, his statistics look better because of the usage during that time, wouldn't have been used the same or as frequently before or after.

Only five seasons anyone cares about. A lot of backs have that. McCutcheon, Metcalf, Mitchell. Mitchell actually had a #6 with San Diego that was better than Chuck's.

He played more in the playoffs than others, and had some good games in the playoffs, if you ignore the Super Bowl, where he did nothing. Not enough for me, no unless someone can convince me.

[paulksandiego]

I don't think Foreman should go in, but he'd be a better selection than Ed Sprinkle or Jimbo Covert.

[Bryan]

Foreman, to me, seems identical to Lydell Mitchell... who I wouldn't put in the Hall. Looks like Foreman has slightly more honors though.

But thats if you only look at the numbers. Foreman was much more aesthetically pleasing to watch, while Mitchell wasn't as spectacular. Foreman had a certain genius on the football field, a little bit like Leroy Kelly. Foreman "looked" like a HOF player, if that makes sense. He also held the single-season TD record for about 5 minutes.

I wouldn't necessarily put Foreman in the HOF, but I think he would fit in and would be a better choice than some other current HOF RBs.

[Bryan]

You can make a case for Floyd being the best back in football 1970-71. Can't say that for Chuck.

Little in 1970 didn't rush for 1000 yards, scored 3 TDs versus 6 fumbles, and had only 161 receiving yards. Some of the RBs who had more scrimmage yards were Hewritt Dixon, Les "Blond Bull" Josephson, Donnie Anderson, MacArthur Lane & Jim Kiick. I don't think anyone would have considered Little the best RB in football that year.

1971 might be a different story since Little led the NFL in rushing, but he scored only 6 TDs versus 4 fumbles and averaged 4.0 YPC while inside pluggers like John Brockington and Larry Csonka were averaging 5.1 and 5.4 yards per carry.

The only reason why Little could be considered the best back in football if we combine both the 70 & 71 seasons would be due to timing...Sayers was hurt, Kelly was slowing down, OJ hadn't powered up yet. Even then, I'd rather have Larry Csonka or Larry Brown over those two years, and perhaps a few others. Little's 9 TDs vs. 10 fumbles in that two year span isn't all that impressive.

1970-71 Little = 2034 rushing, 2450 scrimmage yards, 9 TDs
1975-76 Foreman = 2225 rushing, 3483 scrimmage yards, 36 TDs

[Bob Gill]

I liked Little in his playing days, but I think Foreman was better and had more impact on the NFL during his career. Little wasn't the worst choice ever for the Hall of Fame, but if we could only have one of the two in the Hall, I'd replace him with Foreman and it wouldn't be a difficult decision.

[Brian wolf]

Foreman has a case with good TD totals but so so Rick Casares, Don Perkins, Larry Brown, Billy Sims, William Andrews(injured like Sims and Davis) and all purpose backs, Timmy Brown and Abner Haynes. To me, the next senior back to make the HOF should be OJ Anderson or Roger Craig.

[Brian wolf]

Injuries affected a lot of backs but imagine Tommy Mason, another all-purpose back for the Vikings. Had he not tore his knee up against Dallas in 1966, sky was the limit ...

Top Seniors Backs for me

OJ Anderson
Roger Craig
Herschel Walker
Don Perkins
Timmy Brown/Abner Haynes
Rick Caseres
Chuck Foreman
John David Crow
Larry Brown

[SixtiesFan]

Injuries affected a lot of backs but imagine Tommy Mason, another all-purpose back for the Vikings. Had he not tore his knee up against Dallas in 1966, sky was the limit ...

Top Seniors Backs for me

OJ Anderson
Roger Craig
Herschel Walker
Don Perkins
Timmy Brown/Abner Haynes
Rick Caseres
Chuck Foreman
John David Crow
Larry Brown

The interesting thing is Chuck Foreman's supporters claiming he was "the first multi-purpose back." Most of the Pro Bowl-level RBs of the 50s and 60s could be described as such. Ollie Matson, Frank Gifford, Hugh McElhenny, John David Crowe, Abner Haynes, Billy Cannon (in his first two years with Houston), Timmy Brown, Tommy Mason, Jon Arnett, Bobby Mitchell (with the Browns), Lenny Moore, and I'm sure I'm leaving somebody out.

Many of the above did more things than Foreman, returning kicks for example, even the option pass.