Silver And Black Pride
This has been bothering me for days.
Late last week, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its 52 Senior Committee nominees for election in February. Former Raiders Lester Hayes, Matt Millen and Art Powell all made the cut ,which is very cool and they are all well deserving.
However, Jim Plunkett was not among the nominees.
Let’s get this straight, 52 nominees and Plunkett isn’t one of them?
That’s outrageous.
The overlying reality of this snub is that is it now become pretty obvious — Plunkett will probably never be enshrined into the Canton, Ohio museum. That’s a sobering, bothersome reality.
Once a player goes off the modern-player candidate list (they must have played within the past 25 years), they go to the Senior Committee list. Every year a couple of senior committee nominees become finalists.
So, for Plunkett to not get this list of 52 players, it means there are so many senior-committee candidates ahead of him it would likely take decades and perhaps generations for him to become a senior-committee finalist. And with the list of candidates growing every year, it’s highly unlikely Plunkett will get enough momentum to gain election.
Ever.
I talked to two members on the Hall of Fame voting committee (neither is on the senior voting committee) and they offered a bleak outlook on Plunkett’s chances.
“I would doubt he ever gets in,” said one voter.
“He’s probably not ever going to make it.” said the other.
I get that the Pro Football Hall of Fame is supposed to be reserved for the elite of the elite.
Yet, Plunkett had a major impact on the game and he is a two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Plunkett, a Super Bowl MVP, NFL Comeback Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year winner, is one of two quarterbacks who have won multiple Super Bowls who is eligible for enshrinement not to be inducted. The other is Eli Manning and he is expected to be elected soon.
For Plunkett, 77, to be pushed so far off the radar of election is absurd. Last week was a stark reminder that it will likely never happen. What a shame.
