Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

by John Grasso » Thu Aug 13, 2015 8:16 pm
"Isn't it a Hall of FAME? Doesn't being famous count a little bit?
It isn't a Hall of Very Good, or Hall of Excellence or Hall of the Best Players in the NFL During Their Careers.
Kramer's block is one of the most Famous blocks in football history. That alone is worth his enshrinement."

EXCELLENT point, John.

And, not coincidentally, right in line with the second maxim in the Canton "Mission Statement."

Of course, not too many pay attention to that since it changes with the prevailing nonsense.

But, it is stated, none-the-less, and should be followed - to the letter.

And, the Kramer block qualifies under the fourth maxim as well.

From "Instant Replay": “I wouldn’t swear that I didn’t beat the center’s snap by a fraction of a second. I wouldn’t swear that I wasn’t actually offside on the play.”

John Grasso wrote:Isn't it a Hall of FAME? Doesn't being famous count a little bit?
It isn't a Hall of Very Good, or Hall of Excellence or Hall of the Best Players in the NFL During Their Careers.

The thought I've heard re "famous" is that the Hall bestows fame instead of necessarily collecting up all the famous.

John Grasso wrote: Kramer's block is one of the most Famous blocks in football history. That alone is worth his enshrinement.

If we are going to induct someone based off of a block, Al Wistert should be inducted for his block in the 1948 championship game.

Ken Crippen wrote:If we are going to induct someone based off of a block, Al Wistert should be inducted for his block in the 1948 championship game.

100% this.

Also taking "Fame" that literal is a bit ridiculous, goes in the category of the types that wanted Manning as "Most Valuable Player" in 2011.

If it was about fame then Russell Wilson, Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel could retire today and go in the HOF in five years, Chad Johnson/Ochocinco would be a lock. Cris Collinsworth - former player on the most watched 'show' in America - would be a Hall of FAMEr and so on.

Ken Crippen wrote:

John Grasso wrote: Kramer's block is one of the most Famous blocks in football history. That alone is worth his enshrinement.

If we are going to induct someone based off of a block, Al Wistert should be inducted for his block in the 1948 championship game.

That might make an interesting thread: the most memorable (or important) blocks in NFL history.

George Wilson's double wipeout block on the first touchdown in the 73-0 1940 title game is another hall of fame block.

On the NY Giants team history dvd from NFL Films there's a block by Rosey Brown in which he takes out 3 Eagles in an obscure 1960s regular season game.

I vote Fred Dryer's block on Dan Dierdorf as Jack Youngblood retuned a Jim Hart pass 47 yards for a score in the 1975 NFC divisional playoffs. I think you can see that play on YouTube. Devastating.

This isn't famous, but my dad saw it (along with 25,000 or so other people, I guess) and it's worth noting:

One game in 1945, his first year with the Redskins, Steve Bagarus took a short pass in the flat from Sammy Baugh, around the 50-yard line, then made a spectacular broken-field run, going from sideline to sideline and back again. Finally, at about the 5, two defenders had him cornered and were about to push him out of bounds. But just before they reached him, another Redskin sailed from the blind side and wiped them both out, and Bagarus walked into the end zone untouched. The punch line, as you may have guessed, is that the amazing block 50 yards downfield was thrown by Baugh.

Come to think of it, a lot of Redskins games were filmed even that long ago, and if this game was one of them, maybe it's still possible to see this play.

Another non-famous (but impressive) block came in 1979, when the Browns' Dino Hall scored on a 52-yard run. Rookie Willis Adams had one of his only highlights in the NFL when he took out two blockers on the run.