Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

2000 Redskins with Bailey, Sanders, and Green
Any others?

1960 Detroit Lions, with Yale Lary, Night Train Lane and Dick LeBeau, although for my money LeBeau shouldn't be in the Hall. Too bad Lane didn't join them when Jack Christiansen was still with the team; that would've been a serious trio, those two plus Lary.

Bob Gill wrote:1960 Detroit Lions, with Yale Lary, Night Train Lane and Dick LeBeau, although for my money LeBeau shouldn't be in the Hall. Too bad Lane didn't join them when Jack Christiansen was still with the team; that would've been a serious trio, those two plus Lary.

I dunno---62 picks in a 14-year career, 3 Pro Bowls and then 45 years as a coach, including more than a decade as Steelers DC and a couple of Super Bowl rings. I've seen guys with worse resumes get in the Hall.

RichardBak wrote:

Bob Gill wrote:1960 Detroit Lions, with Yale Lary, Night Train Lane and Dick LeBeau, although for my money LeBeau shouldn't be in the Hall. Too bad Lane didn't join them when Jack Christiansen was still with the team; that would've been a serious trio, those two plus Lary.

I dunno---62 picks in a 14-year career, 3 Pro Bowls and then 45 years as a coach, including more than a decade as Steelers DC and a couple of Super Bowl rings. I've seen guys with worse resumes get in the Hall.

The coaching experience was not supposed to enter into the equation. My guess is that they wanted to honor his coaching, but there was no path for that at the time. Therefore, they inducted him as a "player" to get around the rules.

LeBeau's a borderline pick based solely on his playing career, but I'm one of those guys who believe in weighing the totality of a candidate's career for the HOF, no matter what the sport. LeBeau had 59 consecutive NFL seasons as a player and a coach, which is pretty damn remarkable.

Also in fairness to LeBeau, he got light accolades during a decade that saw Adderley, Johnson, Lane, Brown(AFL) and later Barney make the HOF. Erich Barnes, Abe Woodson, John Sample and Bobby Boyd also had honors ...