Two examples of this usually-combative topic is one player I dug in the 1980's and another that had a very sad and unfair treatment from his team's fans.

First, First-Baseman Dale Murphy was a two-time National League MVP and multi-All-Star selections. Not to mention when the Atlanta Braves, unlike today, were so damn awful in the decade of excess and of course Mr. Murphy was actually the only bright spot for many years. The guy later on played for the Phillies and ended his career with a brief stint with the Colorado Rockies. The guy has been on the Hall of Fame ballot but so far no cigar.

Second is a legendary case....Roger Maris. Most known of course for his breaking of Babe Ruth's single-season homerun record of 60 in 1961, the guy was apparently also a very good outfielder/batsman and was a two-time AL MVP. Unfortunately, the poor guy got the s*it treatment from Yankee fans because he, not Mickey Mantle, had broken the Babe's record. Not to mention that the poor guy actually lost enthusiasm to play with the Yankees and thus his production numbers fell off in the years following those two MVP trophies. Originally a Cleveland Indians farm product and later playing for the Kansas City Athletics, he finished his career with respect with the St. Louis Cardinals. The actually decent-good HBO-produced movie 61* documents Maris' run in 1961 for the record.

Another example I would like to include is Pete Rose, but I don't think he will ever get inducted in his lifetime. I mean "Shoeless" Joe Jackson is still in career jail even though hes been dead for almost 5 decades...

Anyway, post more excellent-but-not-recognized players in all sports.

Jim Plunkett, Lester Hayes, Ray Guy, Cliff Branch, Ben Davidson, Daryl Lamonica, Tom Flores, Ken Stabler, Jack Tatum. Can you tell I'm a Raider fan? :p

Quite good nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well.

Plunkett and Stabler are Quarterbacks that should be in the Hall of Fame but haven't for some strange reason.

Other NFL players that deserve the recognition but so far haven't.....long-running(pun) WR Art Monk, great Dolphins Free-Safety in Jake Scott(Super Bowl VII MVP), long-time Denver Broncos Tackle Greg Zimmerman(who I assume will make the Hall someday anyway), and some others I can't remember at the moment.

Now someone that is guaranteed enshrinment next year is Dan THE MAN Marino....

We had a couple of recent discussions on the Baseball Hall Of Fame

HERE and HERE

As far as Dale Murphy goes, his lifetime Triple Crown stats (.266, 398, 1259) are not nearly as good as three other players, all outfielders and contemporaries of his, who are not in:

Andre Dawson (.279, 438, 1591)
Jim Rice (.298, 382, 1451)
Dwight Evans (.272, 385, 1384)

Evans is not the kind of guy you typically think of as a Hall of Famer, but Rice and Dawson certainly should get in before Murphy.

As far as Maris goes, he had a relatively short career for a Hall of Famer (12 years), and his lifetime Triple Crown stats down measure up at all (.260, 195, 851).

Subtract 1960-1962, when he combined for 133 homers and 354 RBIs, and he was nothing more than an average player for the rest of his career.

Yes, he was somewhat vilified by Yankee fans for being the one to break Ruith's record, and he was pressured unbelievably during his 61 homer season (to the point where his hair was actually falling out), but his lack of production after 1962 was strictly related to physical injuries.

The most notable name I can come up (forgive my Green Bay bias) is Jerry Kramer. He is named (by the NFL) the best offensive lineman in the first 50 years of the NFL but is still not in the Hall of Fame.

plaw, do you think the fact that he simply hit 61 homeruns should put him in the hall?
I understand what you are saying about his career stats but lets say someone like B.J. Upton hits 75 homeruns next year do you think he should be in or no?

In a word, no.

It's a fair argument that it should, and his two MVPs certainly bolster his case, but the HOF is about a guy's career, and Roger just doesn't have the body of work career-wise to deserve election.

And if B.J. Upton hits 75 homers next year he'd be well on his way to a HOF career, but breaking one single season record, albeit a very important one, is not enough.

Gil Hodges should be in the Hall.

Here's a few more, from the other thread.....

In: Don Drysdale 209-166, 2.95 E.R.A.
Not In: Milt Pappas 209-164, 3.40 E.R.A.

In: Sandy Koufax 165-87, 2.76
Not In: Ron Guidry 170-91, 3.29

In: Lefty Gomez 189-102, 3.34
Not In: Allie Reynolds 182-107, 3.30

In: Robin Roberts 286-245, 3.41
Not In: Jim Kaat 283-237, 3.45

In: Catfish Hunter 224-166, 3.26
Not In: Luis Tiant 229-172, 3.30

In: Pee Wee Reese 126, 885, .269
In: Phil Rizzuto 38, 562, .273
Not In: Vern Stephens 247, 1174, .286 (Red Sox shortstop and contemporary of Reese and Rizzuto)

In: Gary Carter 324, 1225, .262
Not In: Ted Simmons 248, 1389, .285
Not In: Joe Torre 252, 1185, .297

Well the 2005 Preliminary Nominees List has been announced for next year's Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

http://www.profootballhof.com/history//release.jsp?release_id=1319

Since up to 6 can be inducted, here is whom if possible I would like to see get in:

DAN MARINO - Duh. Automatic First-Ballot Inductee. Arguably the greatest NFL Quarterback since 1980(like John Elway, Joe Montana, Steve McNair, Brett Favre, etc.) with all the NFL career passing records hes got his name on. Tragedy that Dan The Man never got a Super Bowl ring.

STEVE YOUNG - Ditto. Was able to escape Montana's larger-than-life shadow with the 49ers and carve his own initials on the bathroom stalls of football history, along wth his SB ring and several NFL MVP trophies hes got in his garage. Not to mention the guy's still-valed 6 Touchdown Passes Super Bowl record.

ART MONK - Most likely, the HOF voters will induct Michael COKE Irvin(at least the most likely Wide-Receiver of the nominees) but Monk is a guy I feel deserves induction. Of course Irvin does deserve enshrinement as well because despite all cola problems, he was a great Wide-Receiver with the Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s. More on Monk, click here:
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/100/91.html

GARY ZIMMERMAN - Was a finalist on the ballot last season, he probably will get elected this year. Dominant offensive linesman, and ending his career with he, Elway, and the rest of the Broncos of Denver winning their first Super Bowl.

DERRICK THOMAS - For the 11 seasons he played with the Kansas City Cheifs before his tragic death in a car accident, Thomas was one of the most dominant defensive players of the NFL before the era of Ray Lewis and Jevon Kearse and the other anti-Offensive warriors that now dominant the highlights of SPORTSCENTER. Absolutely one of the great players in the history of the Cheifs franchise. He STILL holds the single-game NFL record for sacks with 7 against the Seattle Seahawks back in 1990(same game that amazingly the Cheifs somehow STILL lost). I think combined with his dominance in the 90's, combined with his death cutting his career down, he has a legitimate shot of post-mortem enshrinement.

Now the 6th slot.....beats me for there are many other candidates on the preliminary list that are worthy methinks like the great Defensive Linemen like Eddie TOO TALL Jones(a member of the Dallas Cowboys' mini-dynasty of the 1970's) and the underrated Richard Dent(length 14 season career, but most famed as a member of the Super Bowl Schuffling Chicago Bears squad of 1985).

Simms/Plunkett/Stabler are Super Bowl winning Quarterbacks that all I think are worthy but I doubt will ever get a head bust(sadly). Same with other linebackers like Kevin Greene and Clay Matthews(older brother of the great offensive linesman and probable future HOF member Bruce Matthews), or the TE that is Russ Francis and so on.

Now the two big nominees in the Head Coaches category are of course the two-time Lombardi Trophy winning Jimmy Johnson(who was a great college football head coach as well) and of course Dan Reeves who took 4 squads to the Big Game itself(but never a win), but the real dark horse here is Chuck Knox.

Who? After doing deep research, turned out ole Knox was a pretty damn good coach that before the era of Marv Levy took the Buffalo Bills to great strides and before the era of Mike Holmgren took the Seahawks to possibly their only great era of their franchise. Not to mention that his Bills squad in 1980 finally defeated the lengthy drought against the Dolphins. Double J can vouch for Knox better I can hopefully. Also 5 NFC West consecutive division titles in his 5 years with the Los Angeles Rams.

Others I think for sure would be in the Hall of Fame someday in the Contributors category is the long-time owner of the Buffalo Bills, Ralph Wilson Jr. and current NFL commisioner Paul Tagliabue(who has been at the helm as the NFL has become the dominant professional sports league in America and helmed an economically sound and profitable time for the NFL itself and hasn't been given a bad rep by most fans or professionals. You know, basically the Anti-Bud Selig).

Also nominated is long-time Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans scout C. O. Brocato, who was involved with such dominant players coming into Bud Adams' franchise like Bruce Matthews, Steve AIR McNair, Eddie George, and so on.

Finally, the elder Ed Sabol and Steve Sabol of NFL Films are also nominated. Anyone that has watched ESPN at the wee hours of the morning or in the dull afternoons have most likely seen one of the seemingly-endless supply of NFL Films products. Excellent and beautiful game footage, not to mention pretty good documentaries on each Super Bowl game and of the great players in the league. The way their camera-work and slow-motion filming and fluid editing make these old game footage into seemingly recorded documentary imagery of the great mortal gods of the past playing the game of football. Something that MLB, NHL, and NBA have not yet been able to do with their stuff.

Sorry for the long post.