AFL Players' HOF Worthiness

[rebelx24]

Hi all,

Been a while since I last posted, but here's one regarding something I've periodically wondered about. What are people's feelings on how deserving various guys from the AFL are for the hall? There are a number of players on the AFL All-Time team (and a few who missed the cut) who aren't yet in and might have cases. Here are some just off the top of my head: Charlie Hennigan, Art Powell, Lionel Taylor, Fred Arbanas, Jim Tyrer (we know what's holding up his election), Ed Budde, Walt Sweeney, Bob Talamini, Jon Morris, Houston Antwine, Tom Sestak, Earl Faison, Ron McDole, Mike Stratton, Larry Grantham, Butch Byrd, Dave Grayson, George Saimes, Goose Gonsoulin, Jerrel Wilson (a punter from the AFL, so two hurdles for him to clear).

Any thoughts on these players? Did they not face enough serious competition for their hall cases to be more solid?

[Brian wolf]

Best AFL Players Not In The HOF

Jim Tyrer
Art Powell
Dave Grayson
Cookie Gilchrist
Walt Sweeney
Abner Haynes
Charlie Hennigan
Tom Sestak
Bob Talamini
Daryle Lamonica
Earl Faison
Lionel Taylor
Butch Byrd
Ed Budde
Larry Grantham
John Hadl

Tom Sestak had great ability but a short career like alot of these players, who had 6-7 year peaks.

[Brian wolf]

Otis Taylor as well but mostly played in the NFL. My list was strictly AFL career players, though Tyrer, Budde, Sweeney and Grantham had long careers stretching both leagues.
Like Pro Football Journal has pointed out a few times, shorter careers have hurt many of these players more than an NFL bias, though its probably still there amongst older voters.

[sluggermatt15]

Larry Grantham was the best player on the Jets SB III team, I still don't understand how he is not in the HOF.

[rewing84]

Brian how many hof seasons in your opinion did otis taylor have?

[Brian wolf]

Others believe Otis Taylor had too many injuries but he had great years as well in 66,67,71 and 72.
I thought he was a great compliment to the Chiefs powerful running game and clutch in the postseason, especially in 1966 and 1969. He was quiet in the Longest Game Ever Played Playoff against the Dolphins but the team was milking a great game from Podolak, who ran out of gas but put them in position to win. Damn, I wish I had a broadcast copy of that game ...

[rewing84]

what you said about sestaks career brian is 100% the truth his short career will hurt him in the long run in terms of hadl does the number of interceptions hurt his case

[Brian wolf]

Possibly Robert ... Hadl was a thrower though and did have some success playing in the AFL's toughest division, taking the team to two AFL Championship games, while being a backup for the 1963 champion. He was similar to Fouts though, leading strong offenses that never gave the defenses enough rest to be effective as the Charger's seasons wound down. What hurts him as well is playing too long where injuries and turnovers kept piling up.

[RichardBak]

I was a Hadl fan--and by extension, a Chargers fan (loved the uniforms and enjoyed watching Alworth, Lowe, Dickie Post, Gary Garrison, et al). However, my lasting impression is that he always seemed to flame out after a hot start. I looked up SD for 1966-68 to see if my memory served me right:

1966---started out 5-2-1, won only twice after that to finish 7-6-1
1967---started out 8-1-1, lost last 4 games to finish 8-5-1
1968---started out 8-2, lost 3 of last 4 to finish 9-5

Sure, the West was a tough division, but Hadl/SD rarely beat KC or Oakland. That said, it was always fun to watch those "bombs away" games involving the Chargers, Jets, and Raiders.

Hadl had many individual honors and he led the loop in various categories (TDP, yards, but also interceptions) but his only championship was as a back-up to Tobin Rote (who does belong in HOF) in 1963. As a starter he tanked in the '64 and '65 title games vs Buffalo. Overall, he's definitely HOVG, but IMO his lack of consistency and poor performances in big games with SD (and later the Rams) work against him being a truly serious candidate for Canton.

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

Lionel Taylor really needs to be in there. As I mentioned before, he had a streak that only Don Hutson topped.

Taylor and Gonsoulin were waived at the same time when Lou Saban came in. Gonsoulin played the next year with SF, he believed that he was the first position player to go from the AFL to start in the NFL, which I believe is likely true, although I haven't been able to verify it. Taylor got a job in Denver and then played a bit with Houston to fill in for some players who had gotten called into military service. Both Gonsoulin and Dave Grayson stand at the top of the AFL interception leaderboard, I believe, and I would like to see both get in the HOF as well.

So, I guess part of what I'm saying leads up to me asking, how do we view shorter careers in the era when players didn't make as much money and eventually needed to take regular jobs? Especially when they were higher-priced veterans and a new coach comes in and replaces them with lower-cost younger players? I think in today's world both Taylor and Gonsoulin would have played much longer.

One last note about Taylor - he had a great career as an assistant under Chuck Noll and later helped the Rams get to SB 14.