@HighwayToHall
No, no, and no. Please don’t change the NFL Hall of Fame
voting structure. The system works. There is nothing wrong with it. Why are we
so obsessed with change?
Who has a better Hall of Fame voting system? Major League
baseball? The baseball writers elected no one in the Class of 2013, although
the vast majority of the baseball following public believes there are at least
10 Hall of Famers on the ballot.
The NBA? They don’t even have a Hall of Fame. It is a
blanket basketball Hall of Fame, which is why its members include Ralph
Sampson, Ferenc Hepp, and Joan Crawford (the basketball player, not the
actress).
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Madonna went in before Kiss,
Rush, and the Miracles.
No, the NFL has it right.
Let’s examine the system. First, the Hall of Fame compiles a
list and submits it to each of the 46 voters for their feedback, to make an attempt
not to overlook any worthy candidate. The list includes all first-year eligible
candidates who have even a remote chance of induction, as well as anyone who
received at least 4 votes in the previous election. The list also includes any
eligible person nominated by anyone. This is an important point: Any person can
nominate a player for inclusion on the ballot, simply by writing the Hall of
Fame.
When additional names are added, the list is again sent to
the 46 voters, again attempting to make sure no one has been overlooked. In
October, the final list, which seems to include anywhere from 75 to 150 names,
is sent to the voters, who are asked to vote for 25 Semifinalists.
The list of 25 top vote-getters is compiled in November, and
again sent to the voters. They are now instructed to vote for the 15 finalists.
The top 15 vote-getters are the names that will be discussed during the Hall of
Fame selection meeting.
The voters consist of sportswriters, one from each pro
football city, one representative of the Pro Football Writers of America (who
serves a two-year term), and thirteen at-large delegates. The appointments,
other than for the PFWA, can only be terminated by retirement or resignation.
The voters meet the day before the Super Bowl to select the
Hall of Fame class. Each of the 15 finalists, as well as two Seniors Committee
nominees, is discussed. After a discussion period, a vote is held and the
finalists are reduced to ten. After more discussion, another vote is held and
the list is reduced to five. At that point, the 5 remaining names, plus the two
Senior Candidates, require an 80 percent vote for election.
Under the current rules, four to seven new members will be
elected each year. The plus is that the NFL Hall guarantees they don’t run into
the same fiasco as the Baseball Hall of Fame did last year, with no inductees.
The negative is that there is a long list of seemingly deserving candidates. But
at least that list dwindles each year. Since 1970, more than 84% of all
finalists have ultimately gained election. That number rises to more than 91% when you
remove players that are still on the ballot. Furthermore, of the players no
longer eligible for the modern-era ballot, only 15 players were finalists
multiple times but were not voted into the Hall. That number accounts for less than 6% of all of the candidates (since 1970). In other words, 13 or 14 of the
finalists on each year’s modern-era ballot will ultimately be enshrined in Canton .
When a minimum of 13 finalists are future Hall of Famers,
how does someone complain about the system? You think Jerome Bettis should be
inducted before Charles Haley? Great. Who cares? Odds are that they will both get
in within the next couple of years. If for some reason a Ray Guy or Curley Culp
falls off the ballot because of the length of time that has gone by since he
played, a Seniors Committee exists to discuss these men and nominate two each
year to be included among the finalists. This guarantees the qualifications of
these men will get to be heard. Does it work? Well, Guy and Culp are now Hall
of Famers.
What are people complaining about? Do you really want ten
men to gain induction each year? How watered down will the Hall be? How many
undeserving members of the NFL Hall of Fame are there? Paul Hornung? Doak
Walker? Maybe Lynn Swann? Honestly, one really has to reach to name many people
who shouldn’t be enshrined. Compare that to Major League Baseball which has
made an absolute travesty out of the process. Fred Lindstrom? Jesse Haines?
Rube Marquard? No Barry Bonds or Tim Raines and guys like Lou Whitaker and Dan
Quisenberry aren’t even on the ballot.
I enjoy debating the Hall of Fame qualifications of players.
But Major League Baseball has taken that joy away. At least the NFL gets it
right. I just hope they don’t listen to the detractors and try to “fix”
something which isn’t broken.
