Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I'd be interested in the group's thoughts on Chuck Foreman's chances of making the Hall of Fame. Today his hometown newspaper the Frederick (MD) News-Post just ran a story about his renewed efforts to be considered, which is what prompted my question, since I grew up in Frederick too. The closed comp I can think of who's in the Hall of Fame is Floyd Little, but I know he got in by a narrow margin.

Shipley wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2024 11:41 am I'd be interested in the group's thoughts on Chuck Foreman's chances of making the Hall of Fame. Today his hometown newspaper the Frederick (MD) News-Post just ran a story about his renewed efforts to be considered, which is what prompted my question, since I grew up in Frederick too. The closed comp I can think of who's in the Hall of Fame is Floyd Little, but I know he got in by a narrow margin.

Was Little inducted through the regular writers eligibility or by Era Committees after his eligibility ran out?

SeahawkFever wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2024 12:55 pm

Shipley wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2024 11:41 am I'd be interested in the group's thoughts on Chuck Foreman's chances of making the Hall of Fame. Today his hometown newspaper the Frederick (MD) News-Post just ran a story about his renewed efforts to be considered, which is what prompted my question, since I grew up in Frederick too. The closed comp I can think of who's in the Hall of Fame is Floyd Little, but I know he got in by a narrow margin.

Was Little inducted through the regular writers eligibility or by Era Committees after his eligibility ran out?

Little was elected as a senior

I love Chuck Foreman but his window of greatness was only five years. While I do believe that he deserves enshrinement if Floyd Little is your baseline, I think Little is in the lowest tier of HOFers and was a very questionable selection.
One other thing to consider; if Foreman were to be elected, would Lydell Mitchell then also not deserve serious consideration?

JohnH19 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2024 9:55 am I love Chuck Foreman but his window of greatness was only five years. While I do believe that he deserves enshrinement if Floyd Little is your baseline, I think Little is in the lowest tier of HOFers and was a very questionable selection.
One other thing to consider; if Foreman were to be elected, would Lydell Mitchell then also not deserve serious consideration?

It seems Chuck Foreman has never been a candidate. He was a more important player than Floyd Little, since Foreman was on three Super Bowl teams, though all losers. It used to be said campaigning for the PFOF was counterproductive, but that seems to have changed.

In a recent interview, Foreman said something like, "O.J. and I were the two best backs in football."

SixtiesFan wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2024 10:08 am In a recent interview, Foreman said something like, "O.J. and I were the two best backs in football."

They probably were in 1975 and 76.

Honestly im in full agreement with John H 100% in terms of foreman not getting into the hall i agree with john on the fact his window was very very short and if it was longer than 5 years id be willing to endorse foreman for the hall

Chuck Foreman to me, is HOF. No question HOVG and I was stunned when I learned he wasn't in there.

His grouping himself in Simpson's category is likely because he and Simpson broke Jim Brown's single-season TD record the same season. Simpson ended with 23 TDs, Foreman 22.

This is also where differentiating between running back positions is important. It is very difficult to find a FULLBACK who led the league in receptions. It's very difficult to find any player in history at any position to score at least 15 TDs in back-to-back seasons. Then he got another 14 in a third season. Led the NFL in TDs two out of three seasons and the third was the year he broke Jim Brown's record. We're talking 14-game regular seasons here and he scored 51 TDs over three years.

Most of the guys he gets compared with are halfbacks.

The Vikings don't get to 3 SBs without him, IMHO. In his six straight years of exceptional production from a fullback perspective, he made 5 Pro Bowls, got POY awards from two different groups and they were in different years. He was named NFC POY a completely different year from those two.

Terrell Davis had 4 years of greatness. Scored 49 TDs in back-to-back-to-back 16 game seasons. Excellent receiver, still not quite as productive as Foreman.

Foreman, without injury, would have likely been in the HOF already. In fact, he might have gotten a lot more recognition if one of the greatest running backs of all time wasn't playing in the same division.

Good call Jackson ... Foreman has the same injury argument as Davis, without the championships. I don't believe Tarkenton makes the HOF without him, much less three NFC championships in four seasons.*

*Counting postseason, Foreman averaged over 10 Tds per season

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 1:12 pm Chuck Foreman to me, is HOF. No question HOVG and I was stunned when I learned he wasn't in there.

His grouping himself in Simpson's category is likely because he and Simpson broke Jim Brown's single-season TD record the same season. Simpson ended with 23 TDs, Foreman 22.

This is also where differentiating between running back positions is important. It is very difficult to find a FULLBACK who led the league in receptions. It's very difficult to find any player in history at any position to score at least 15 TDs in back-to-back seasons.

My first thought is that he's not a HOFer based on his career, but the HOF has gotten pretty watered down now. He's definitely a HOF talent. He was a fairly big RB who did a lot of inside running based on Minnesota's scheme. He's one of my favorite RBs of all-time from a purely aesthetic standpoint. I think, technically, Foreman tied Gale Sayers for the single-season TD record only to have Simpson break it later in the game. Foreman was the definition of 'gamebreaker'.

Someone mentioned Lydell Mitchell, but I think Foreman was significantly superior. Mitchell was the workhorse while Foreman was a unique talent. Mitchell is getting 7-8 yards per reception, while Foreman is getting 10-11 yards per reception by making catches downfield and scoring TDs. My 'dream backfield' would be Billy Sims and Chuck Foreman in their primes.