February 25, 1964: Muhammad Ali Becomes Heavyweight Champion of the World

February 25, 1964, 60 years ago: The Miami Beach Convention Center hosts a fight for the Heavyweight Championship of the World.

Neither fighter is popular. The Champion is Charles "Sonny" Liston, who had won the title in 1962, by knocking out the popular Floyd Patterson in the 1st round, then doing it again in the rematch. Liston was big, moody, nasty-looking, had served 2 years in prison for armed robbery, and wasn't exactly friendly with the media, or with anyone else.

The challenger is Cassius Clay. On the surface, the 22-year-old Clay seemed like the perfect antidote. He had won a Gold Medal for America at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He was a stylish fighter, already known for "dancing" in the ring. He made himself accessible to the media, predicting the round in which he would knock out his opponent (and frequently turning out to be right), and reciting poetry made up on the spot. He may have been the original battle-rapper.

And he was a good-looking guy. As he said himself, comparing himself to Liston, "He's too ugly to be the world's champ! The world's champ should be pretty, like me!"

Still, a lot of people didn't like Clay. They saw him as a young upstart, a braggart, an egomaniac. The native of Louisville, Kentucky was nicknamed the Louisville Lip. If he'd been white, they might have called him "the Mouth of the South." Being black didn't help: Lots of white people didn't like that a black man was talking so big. Liston was also black, so bigots didn't like either man.

An interviewer asked Clay what percentage of the fans were coming to see him, as opposed to coming to see Liston. He said, "Well, 100 percent are coming to see me, but 99 percent are coming to see me get beat. Because they think I talk too much."

Liston was 35-1 as a professional fighter, his only loss a split decision 10 years earlier. His last 3 fights, including his dethroning of Patterson and a rematch with him, had all ended in 1st-round knockouts. Twice, he had beaten rising contender Cleveland Williams, in a total of 5 rounds. He had knocked out rising contender Zora Folley in the 3rd round. Of his last 8 fights, only 1 had gone beyond the 4th round.

The Las Vegas oddsmakers posted 8-1 odds in Liston's favor. Hardly anybody was willing to publicly say that Clay would win.

But Clay was sure he could. He had been trained to believe that by his trainers, Angelo Dundee and Drew Brown. Brown -- whom Ali always called "Bodini," a variation on his middle name, Bundini -- gave the boxing starlet his first big quote:

Float like a butterfly,
sting like a bee!
The hand can't hit
what the eye can't see!

Sometimes, to psych Clay up, Brown would look him in the eye, and, together, they would yell, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! Ahhhh! Rumble, young man, rumble! Ahhhh!" Clay was telling people, "I am the greatest!" Brown was telling him, "Born the champ in the crib!" Dundee wasn't yelling or creating quotes, but he and Brown were both getting him ready.

So when the fight with Liston for the title came, everyone wanted to know when he was going to knock out Liston. He said:

For those of you unable to watch the Clay-Liston fight, here is the 8th round, exactly as it will happen:

Clay comes out to meet Liston, and Liston starts to retreat!
If Liston backs up any further, he'll end up in a ringside seat!
Clay swings with his left! Clay swings with his right!
Look at young Cassius carry the fight!
Liston keeps backing, but there's not enough room!
It's just a matter of time: There! Clay lowers the boom!
Liston crashes through the roof with a terrible sound!
But the ref can't start counting until Sonny comes down!
Liston disappears from view! The crowd is getting frantic!
But our radar stations have picked him up: He's somewhere over the Atlantic!
Who would've thought when they came to the fight
that they'd witness the launching of a human satellite!
The crowd did not dream when they put down their money
that they would see a total eclipse of the Sonny!

Like Star Wars character Han Solo, this was a man you would never tell the odds. He'd tell anyone who would listen, especially Liston, "If you'd like to lose your money, be a fool and bet on Sonny!"

Clay was in Liston's head, citing his appearance, his courage, and his age: "You're 40 years old, if a day, and you don't belong in the ring with Cassius Clay!" (Like Archie Moore, whom Clay had demolished in 4 rounds, 2 years earlier, nobody really knew how old Liston was. Officially, he was 31, but nobody believed he was that young.) Sportswriter Bert Sugar, who knew more about boxing than any man alive, said, "Liston could handle anything except crazy people. And Clay, then his name, struck Liston as a crazy person."

In the 1st 4 rounds, Clay danced around the ring, and Liston hardly laid a glove on him. With advantages in height, reach and speed, Cassius messed Sonny's face up. Liston knew he was in trouble, and that cheating might get him out of it. In the 5th, he got his glove into Clay's eye, and suddenly, Clay started blinking. He couldn't see. And Liston finally started landing punches.

When Clay got back to his stool, he was, for the first time in his boxing career, scared. He told Dundee, "I can't see! Cut the gloves off!"

History -- that of boxing, and that of American culture -- hung in the balance at that moment. Everything this boxing contender would become, and everything he would come to mean to anyone, might not have happened.

Dundee saw a white powder on Clay's glove, from where he'd wiped it out of his eye. Dundee washed Clay's eyes out, and, acting as "bad cop" to Brown's "good cop," told him that he was too close to winning the title to give up now. He told Clay to use his great footwork to stay out of Liston's way until his eyes cleared, and then go after him again.

He did. The film shows Clay pretty much dancing away from Liston's blows in the 5th and 6th rounds. Late in the 6th, Clay's eyes cleared, and he resumed his methodical demolition of Liston's face.

The bell rang for the 7th round, and Clay was ready to finish the job. Liston decided that, his cheating unsuccessful, the job was finished. He quit on his stool. Cassius Clay was the Heavyweight Champion of the World.

On the surviving TV broadcast, he can be heard yelling, "I just knocked out Sonny Liston, I don't have a mark on my face, I just became the world's champ, and I'm only 22 years old! I must be the greatest! He wanted to go to heaven, so I knocked him out in seven! I am the king of the world! I'm pretty! I'm a bad man! I shook up the world! I shook up the world! I shook up the world!"

Certainly, he'd thrilled the world. But the shakeup was yet to come.

"I'm young, I'm handsome, I'm fast, I'm pretty, and can't possibly be beat!"

As it turned out, there was one man who could beat Cassius Clay. He even wiped him out of existence. And his name was Muhammad Ali.

Over the next 10 years, the world would change tremendously, and Ali would be one of the reasons why. He would become perhaps the most hated man in America, including by many people who would have been expected to be among his biggest fans. But times would change, and the general perception of him changed with them. When he won the title for the 2nd time, on October 30, 1974, he would be the most popular man in the world.

February 23, 2014: Jason Collins Becomes the 1st Out U.S. Athlete

February 23, 2014, 10 years ago: The Brooklyn Nets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-102 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. Jason Collins played 10 minutes and 37 seconds for the Nets, and he didn't score any points. He did, however, have an offensive rebound, a defensive rebound, and a steal.

This appearance made Collins, who, in the off-season, publicly revealed that he is gay -- also known as "coming out of the closet," or "outing yourself," and was not, at the time, signed to any team -- the first openly gay athlete in major league sports in North America.

Presuming, of course, that you do not include MLS, Major League Soccer, as "major league." Robbie Rogers had already played for the Los Angeles Galaxy since coming out. So far, the reaction to him has been positive. But in the traditional "Big Four" North American sports, Collins was the first. And it appeared that, on that night, the L.A. fans -- presumably, many of whom have cheered Rogers -- treated Collins no worse than they treated any other opposing player.

A few other athletes have come out after retirement. Collins, knowing that he could still have a shot at signing with a new team, but also that teams might shy away from signing him if they knew, chose to be honest, and let them know. The Nets decided that it didn't matter, that it wasn't an indication of bad character, and that he might still be able to help them win, and they signed him.

Born on December 2, 1978 in Los Angeles, Collins was an All-American center at Stanford University. He had previously played with the New Jersey Nets from 2001 to 2008, before their 2012 move to Brooklyn. He played the 2nd half of the 2007-08 season with the Memphis Grizzlies, 2008-09 with the Minnesota Timberwolves, 2009-12 with the Atlanta Hawks, most of 2012-13 with the Boston Celtics, and the end of that season with the Washington Wizards. He ended up playing 22 games for the Nets, starting only 1, and never played again.

In that 1st game for the Nets, he wore Number 46. For his remaining games with the Nets, he wore 98, as he had with the Celtics and the Wizards. He wore it in memory of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was murdered for being gay in 1998. Having proven his point, he announced his retirement on November 19, 2014.

Glenn Burke, who played baseball in the 1970s, didn't "come out" while he was playing, because, in his own mind, he was never "in." Baseball fans at large didn't know he was gay, but his teammates knew, and most of them didn't care. Unfortunately, he played for 2 bigoted managers, Tommy Lasorda and Billy Martin. Lasorda ordered him traded away from the Los Angeles Dodgers; and Billy Martin, with the Oakland Athletics, had him sent down to the minors, burying him and prematurely ending his career.

One day, people who are gay will not have to face the choice of announcing it, or keeping themselves in the closet because they're afraid of repercussions. One day, we will hear that someone is gay, and we'll say, "So what? It doesn't make a difference. It's his (or her) business, not ours."

Until then, anyone facing the choice that Jason Collins and Robbie Rogers have made -- not being gay, but revealing it -- will need more Collinses and Rogerses, to move people's hearts and minds forward. Such people will advance our society in the same way that Jackie Robinson did on race, to the point where the only thing that matters is, "Can he play?"

If a player is a good player and a good teammate, then I don't care if he's a purple Buddhist from Mars in a ménage-a-trois with a college kid and a teddy bear: His personal life doesn't matter, and he can play on my team. If a player is exactly like I was as a young man, except with talent, but not enough to make it at the major league level, then I'd cut him.

I'd rather have a gay player on my team than an anti-gay player. 

February 21, 1974: Tim Horton Is Killed In a Car Crash

February 21, 1974, 50 years ago: Hockey star Tim Horton is killed in a car crash. It was the only thing that could stop him from playing hockey.

Miles Gilbert Horton was born on January 12, 1930 in Cochrane, in northern Ontario. He grew up in Sudbury, Ontario, and was signed as a defenseman by the Toronto Maple Leafs. That team was in a dynasty, having won the Stanley Cup in 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948 and 1949. They would win another in 1951.

But Tim Horton would not be a part of it: He would play 1 regular-season game on March 26, 1950, and a Playoff game on April 9, but would remain in the Leafs' minor-league system, with the Pittsburgh Hornets, whom he would help to win the 1952 American Hockey League Championship.

He was called up for good for the start of the 1952-53 season, but this would be a transition period for the Leafs, as their 1940s dynasty had aged, and it took a while for a new great team to be built. For a while, Horton was their best player.

Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks explained: "There were defensemen you had to fear because they were vicious, and would slam you into the boards from behind, for one, Eddie Shore. But you respected Tim Horton, because he didn't need that type of intimidation. He used his tremendous strength and talent to keep you in check."

In 1958, George "Punch" Imlach was named head coach and general manager. He built a veteran team that reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1959 and 1960, and then won it in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. Horton was key for this team, appearing in 486 consecutive games between February 11, 1961 and February 4, 1968. This remains the Toronto franchise record, and was an NHL record for defensemen until 2007.

In the meantime, in 1964, Horton co-founded the Tim Hortons restaurant chain, featuring baked goods and coffee. In 1967, he took on investor Ron Joyce, who ran Canada's Dairy Queens. Joyce was able to turn Tim Hortons into an icon of Canada.

After the 1967 Stanley Cup, knowing that internal politics within the Leafs organization meant that money needed to be saved, Imlach began to break up the dynasty. In 1970, he traded Horton to the New York Rangers. He remained with them through the end of the 1970-71 season. He was claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the intra-league draft.

After 1 season with them, he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres, who, by then, were being run by Imlach. As Rick Martin of the "French Connection Line" (also including Gilbert Perreault and René Robert) was already wearing Number 7 for the Sabres, Horton was given Number 2. In 1973, though he was 43 years old, Horton helped the Sabres reach the Playoffs in only their 3rd season of play.

On February 20, 1974, the Sabres played their 55th game of the season. Horton, now 44 years old, played in it, and in all 54 games before it. The game was at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, The Leafs won, 4-2.

A few hours later, early on the morning of February 21, Horton was trying to make the 100-mile drive from Toronto back to Buffalo, in his De Tomaso Pantera sports car, on the Queen Elizabeth Way (named for the widow of King George VI, not her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II).

On the way, he stopped at his office in Oakville, Ontario, and met with Joyce. While there, he phoned his brother Gerry, who recognized that Tim had been drinking, and tried to persuade him not to continue driving. Joyce also offered to have Horton stay with him. Horton chose to continue his drive to Buffalo.

At around 4:30 AM, Horton approached the Lake Street exit in St. Catharines, Ontario, and lost control, crossing onto the center grass median. His tire caught a recessed sewer, causing him to flip onto the Toronto-bound lanes. In addition to being drunk -- which was not publicly revealed until 2005 -- he also had several drugs in his system, including Dexedrine, a stimulant, and Amobarbital, a sedative. To make matters worse, he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He was found 123 feet from his car. He never had a chance.

After Tim's death, Joyce offered his widow, Lori, $1 million for the shares of Tim Hortons that she inherited. She accepted, and Joyce became the sole owner. Lori lived until 2000. The Hortons had 4 children, all daughters. One of them, Jeri-Lyn, married Ron Joyce Jr., so some shares returned to the Horton family.

The Sabres retired Number 2 for Horton in 1996. The Leafs retired Number 7 for him and 1930s star King Clancy in 2016. A statue of Horton now stands outside the original store in Hamilton, Ontario, about halfway between Toronto and Buffalo. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977. In 1998, The Hockey News ranked him 43rd on their list of the 100 Greatest Players. In 2017, he was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.

February 16, 2004: The A-Rod Trade

February 16, 2004, 20 years ago: The biggest trade in baseball history -- in terms of money and hype, if not in terms of number of players -- is announced.

The Texas Rangers got Alfonso Soriano, age 28, one of the most exciting talents in baseball, who had mainly been a 2nd baseman, but could also play shortstop and 3rd base; and a player to be named later, who, on April 23, turned out to be Joaquin Arias, 19, a minor-league infielder who ended up playing 474 games in the major leagues, including winning 2 World Series rings as a backup with the 2012 and 2014 San Francisco Giants.

The New York Yankees got Alex Rodriguez, a shortstop, soon to be 29, accepted by some as the best player in baseball, and the last 7 years of the biggest contract ever signed in professional sports to that point: $252 million.

I had to explain about Arias. But we know what happened to the 2 big names. Soriano bounced around, including back to the Yankees at the end, finishing with 412 home runs and 289 stolen bases, including (as far as we know, he was clean) the 1st honest season in MLB history with at least 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases, with the 2006 Washington Nationals.

And yet, he got traded again, not because the Nats no longer wanted to deal with him, but because the Chicago Cubs were going for broke, and he did help them reach the postseason in 2007 and 2008.

These are all the players, through the 2023 season, who have exceeded Soriano's totals in both home runs and stolen bases, in chronological order: Willie Mays (660 HRs and 338 SBs), Andre Dawson (438 and 314), Barry Bonds (762 and 514, the only man to have 400 of each, let alone 500), Carlos Beltrán (435 and 312)... and Alex Rodriguez.

(So, really, only Mays and Dawson.)

As for A-Rod: The Yankees were able to make the trade because their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, had already tried and failed to trade their All-Star shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra, to the Rangers for him. On July 31, 2004, as part of a 4-team deal, the Sox sent Nomar to the Chicago Cubs, getting Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins and Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos.

The Yankees made the trade because he was, right up there with their own All-Star shortstop, Derek Jeter, one of the biggest stars in baseball; and team owner George Steinbrenner was in one of his "I want it now!" phases that many people thought had stopped after his 1990 suspension, but really hadn't.

A-Rod moved to 3rd base, because Jeter had earned the right to keep playing at shortstop for the Yankees. A-Rod ended up helping the Yankees reach the postseason 7 times, but won only 1 Pennant, in 2009, also winning the World Series. His regular seasons were solid, sometimes spectacular. His postseasons, 2009 excepted, were horrendous.

He seemed to be personally responsible for the Yankees' failures to "show up" in the 2005 American League Division Series, the 2006 ALDS, the 2007 ALDS, the 2010 AL Championship Series, the 2011 ALDS, the 2012 ALCS, and the 2015 AL Wild Card Game. And it all seemed to start with his stupid "Slap Play" in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS.

He finished his career with 14 All-Star berths, 3,115 hits, 696 home runs, 2,086 RBIs, 329 stolen bases, a batting title (before he was a Yankee), 2 Gold Gloves (both before he was a Yankee), 3 AL Most Valuable Player awards (2 as a Yankee)... and 1 World Championship, the category that Yankee Fans should care about.

And he frequently embarrassed the Yankees, both on and off the field. If it was just little things, like the various manifestations of his huge ego, I could have lived with it. After all, my favorite player of all time is Reggie Jackson, and I lived with his similar issues.

But Reggie never cheated, as far as we know. A-Rod got caught cheating. Twice. And that was on top of his many postseason failures, and his single postseason success.

No player in the history of baseball has ever polarized fans more. If that's incorrect, then, certainly, none has ever done so within the fandom of his own team.

He retired in August 2016. The Yankees did not give uniform Number 13 back out until 2021, to Joey Gallo, who, at the least, was only an embarrassment in terms of his performance. They probably won't officially retire it for A-Rod, and he may never get a Plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.

And, while he is now eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, don't count on him being elected. Ever. Meanwhile, David Ortiz, who cheated, lied about it, got caught, and still lies about it, became eligible at the same time, and, oh-so-predictably, got in on his first chance.

So, who won the trade of Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano to the Rangers? The Boston Red Sox, of course.

The Republican Party Is Now Donald Trump's Personal Slush Fund

Since 2016, I've been saying, "Donald Trump did not take over the Republican Party, he fit right in." Well, he makes a liar out of everyone else, starting with himself. I suppose my time was bound to come.

Effective February 24, after the South Carolina Primary, Mitt Romney's niece, Ronna Romney McDaniel, is out as Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. Lara Trump, Eric Trump's wife, is in.

This is typical of Dumb Donald's Mob-boss mentality. But it's also loaded with the potential for electoral disaster for the Republicans. Not just because she's totally unqualified for the job, but because of what would happen if she did her job exactly the way her father-in-law wants.

In an interview with right-wing propaganda website Newsmax, Lara said, "Every single penny will go to the number one and the only job of the RNC," namely the election of Donald Trump to another term in the White House.

The only way that happens is if he avoids criminal conviction. The only way that happens is if he can delay his trials until after the election on November 5.

Trump isn't running for President to do what's best for the country. He's running to do what's best for himself: First, stay out of prison; second, to be a dictator.

And, by the way, he doesn't look like Elvis Presley. Even the 1977 version of Elvis was thinner. He was probably sweating less than Trump is now, too. We knew Trump wanted to be America's king, but we didn't know he wanted to be the King of Rock and Roll.

He said he was high-class. Well, that was just a lie. He ain't nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all the time. Well, he ain't never caught a rabbit, and he ain't no friend of mine.

Anyway, Trump's way has always been to take money meant for things he was promoting, and spend it on himself. He's going to hijack the RNC's funds to pay his legal bills. That's not a crazy prediction, it's what he does. It's a new variation on what he's always done.

"No one tell her the RNC is supposed to be in charge of assisting the entire party at the federal, state and local level. Not just Trump’s personal slush fund," quipped attorney Bradley Moss.

Republican strategist Bobby Trivett, a self-acknowledged supporter of the last remaining other Republican candidate in the race, former Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, argued that Lara Trump has "no interest in Republican Victory up and down the ballot, she just wants Trump legal fees paid."

How many Republican candidates for office in 2024 are going to lose their races by 3 percent or less -- races they could win, given the right spending, the right message, and maybe also a lucky break -- because they didn't have the campaign funds they needed, either because they didn't kiss his ass, or his ring, enough?

How many candidates are going to lose based on not having enough money, because he looted the campaign fund to pay his legal bills?

The chickens are coming home to roost, and Trump is Colonel Sanders. And that is the closest he should ever again be allowed to being commander-in-chief.

Actually, if Trump were the Colonel, he'd have given the Russians the recipe, with all 11 herbs and spices.

February 14, 1934: The Ace Bailey Benefit Game

A colorized photo of Ace Bailey, included in a composite photo

of a Maple Leafs' Centennial Team, 2016

February 14, 1934, 90 years ago: One of the greatest moments in National Hockey League history occurs. But it was brought on by perhaps its ugliest game.

On December 12, 1933, the Boston Bruins were hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Boston Garden. The Bruins still had most of the players who had led them to the 1929 Stanley Cup, including 2 of the greatest defensemen the game has ever known, Eddie Shore and Aubrey "Dit" Clapper. The Leafs, winners of the Cup in 1932, had another, Francis "King" Clancy.

This game, which the Leafs would win 4-1, was in the 2nd period. The Leafs had taken 2 quick penalties, and sent Clancy, defenseman George "Red" Horner, and right wing Irvine Wallace "Ace" Bailey out to defend the 5-on-3 Bruin power play.

Shore, who helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 1929, rushed up the ice. Clancy, charitably listed at 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, and a winner of the Cup with the Ottawa Senators in 1922, '23 and '27, and with the Leafs in '32, followed him, and checked him into the boards.

Shore got up, and, in his daze, he figured the closest Leaf player to him must have been the one who did it. He guessed wrong: The closest Leaf player to him was Bailey. Shore hit him from the side, and he landed head-first on the ice.

Horner skated over, knowing full well that it wasn't Bailey who had checked Shore, and yelled, "What did you do that for, Eddie?" Shore, not realizing the enormity of what he had done, gave Horner a big grin. What happened next is in dispute: The first source I saw on the story said that Horner hit Shore over the head with the blade of his stick. Another source said that Horner punched Shore, knocking him out in an instant.

Whatever the truth was, Shore was also out cold. The Boston crowd booed the hell out of Horner, who was already known as one of the dirtiest players in the game. But so was Shore, who, with his attitude, his receding hairline, and the fact that he was admired but not especially liked, was practically the Ty Cobb of hockey.

But it quickly became apparent that Bailey was hurt worse. Both men regained consciousness, and were carried off the ice together. Shore apologized. Bailey seemed to forgive him, saying, "It's all part of the game," and then passed out again.

Bailey was taken to Boston City Hospital. He was diagnosed with a fractured skull and an extradural clot on the brain. His father, listening to the game on the radio in Toronto, packed a gun, and immediately boarded a train for Boston, intending to kill Shore.

Leafs owner Conn Smythe found out about this, and talked to his general manager, Frank Selke. Selke had a friend working with the Boston Police, who met Bailey's father at the hotel, and talked him out of the murder plot.

Nevertheless, the BPD said they would charge Shore with manslaughter if Bailey died. Within 24 hours, he underwent 2 spinal taps to relieve intracranial pressure. There was at least one news report that Bailey had died. But, through several procedures, he came out of his coma after 10 days. He hung on, through Christmas and New Year's. In mid-January 1934, he was released from the hospital.

NHL President Frank Calder suspended Horner for 6 games, and Shore indefinitely. Once he was confident that Bailey was going to live, Calder set Shore's suspension at 16 games, or 1/3rd of the season at the time (48 games). Bailey never played again.

Walter Gilhooly, sports editor of the Ottawa Journal, recommended that a benefit game be played, to offset Bailey's loss of income. Calder agreed. The Leafs would host the game, and put their team out against a team made up of players from the rest of the League, 2 from each of the other 8 teams then in it.

The game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens on February 14, 1934. Here were the lineups:

* From the Toronto Maple Leafs, coached by Dick Irvin, once a great player, and the father of eventual Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Irvin Jr.: Number 1, goaltender George Hainsworth, formerly a star with the Montreal Canadiens; 2, defenseman Red Horner; 3, defenseman Alex Levinsky; 4, defenseman Clarence "Hap" Day; 5, center Andy Blair; 7, defenseman King Clancy; 8, left wing Harold "Baldy" Cotton; 9, right wing Charlie "the Bomber" Conacher; 10, center Joe Primeau; 11, left wing Harvey "Busher" Jackson; 12, left wing Hector "Hec" Kilrea; 14, center Bill Thoms; 15, right wing Ken Doraty; 16, right wing Charlie Sands; 17, left wing Frank "Buzz" Boll.

NHL All-Stars, coached by Lester Patrick of the New York Rangers, also once a great player:

* From the Chicago Black Hawks: 1, goaltender Charlie Gardiner; and 7, defenseman Lionel Conacher, brother of Charlie.

* From the Boston Bruins: 2, defenseman Eddie Shore; and 9, center Nelson "Nels" Stewart, better known as a Montreal Maroon.

* From the Ottawa Senators: 3, right wing Frank Finnigan; and 17, defenseman Al Shields.

* From the Montreal Canadiens: 4, left wing Aurele Joliat; and 16, center Howie Morenz. Morenz, known as "the Babe Ruth of Hockey" -- like Ruth, he had several nicknames -- normally wore 7, but Lionel Conacher was considered the greatest all-around athlete in Canada, and had priority.

* From the Detroit Red Wings: 5, left wing Herbie Lewis; and 14, right wing Larry Aurie.

* From the New York Rangers: 6, defenseman Ivan "Ching" Johnson; and 15, right wing Bill Cook. Somebody decided that the Irish-Canadian Johnson looked Chinese, and nicknamed him Ching. He had seniority over Aurie, who also wore 6; but Lewis had seniority over Cook, who wore 5 with the Rangers.

* From the Montreal Maroons: 10, center Reginald "Hooley" Smith; and 18, right wing Jimmy Ward.

* From the New York Americans: 11, center Norman Himes; and 12, defenseman Norman "Red" Dutton.

Before the game, the other teams' players posed at center ice in their regular sweaters. Then they were given white jerseys with "NHL" on them. And the Leafs had special jerseys, too, with "ACE" on them.

The selection of Shore was controversial. When he skated up to receive his Number 2 jersey, the crowd of 14,074 was silent. Then he skated over to the Leafs bench, where Bailey was sitting in a suit, long coat and fedora. Shore offered his hand, and Bailey shook it. The crowd roared, and the players tapped their sticks on the ice, in what was already a long-established hockey salute.

The ceremony concluded with Smythe giving Bailey his Number 6 jersey, and announced that it would be retired.

Bailey dropped a puck for a ceremonial faceoff, and the game began. Charlie Conacher already had an injured knee, and left the game early. Other than that, there wasn't much hitting, and no penalties were called. Cotton and Jackson scored to put the Leafs up 2-0, before Stewart scored to make it 2-1 Leafs at the end of the 1st period.

Jackson scored again early in the 2nd period. Morenz and Finnigan scored to tie it up. But it was all Leafs the rest of the way: Day scored halfway through the 2nd, and Kilrea, Doraty and Blair scored in the 3rd. The Leafs won, beating the entire rest of the NHL, 7-3.

The game raised $20,909 for Bailey's family, about $494,000 in 2024. Bailey applied to the NHL to be a referee, but was turned down. Smythe hired him to work in the team's front office. He worked there in one capacity or another until a later owner, Harold Ballard, already perhaps the most hated man in the history of Canadian sports, fired him in 1986. Bailey lived until 1992, ironically becoming one of the game's last surviving players.

A later player, Garnet Bailey, no relation, played in the NHL from 1969 to 1978, and was known as Ace Bailey. (An athlete receiving the same nickname as an earlier player with the same surname has happened a few times.) He was working as a scout for the Los Angeles Kings when he died in the destruction of United Airlines Flight 175 at the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Shore continued to play with the Bruins through their 1939 Stanley Cup win. In 1940, he bought the minor-league Springfield Indians of Massachusetts, and remained their owner until his death in 1986. Both he and Bailey were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Bailey wanted the benefit game to become an annual event, for injured players. That didn't happen. But additional benefit games were held for the families of Morenz, who died of heart trouble in 1937, and the Canadiens' Albert "Babe" Siebert, who drowned in 1939. Both of those games were played at the Montreal Forum: The former was a combined Montreal team, Canadiens and Maroons, against the rest of the NHL. The Maroons folded in 1938, so it was just the Canadiens against the rest of the NHL in Siebert's benefit. Both times, the NHL All-Stars won. In 1947, the NHL finally established an annual All-Star Game.

Charlie Gardiner and Lionel Conacher led the Black Hawks to win the Stanley Cup, 2 months later. But, just 2 months after that, with antibiotics not yet available, Gardiner died of a tonsil infection. Conacher also died young, suffering a heart attack while playing in a charity softball game on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 1954.

Howie Morenz of the Canadiens broke his leg in a 1937 game, and never left the hospital, suffering a pulmonary embolism. George Hainsworth was killed in a car crash in 1950. Larry Aurie of the Red Wings suffered a stroke while driving in 1952. And Charlie Sands died in 1953.

Nels Stewart in 1957; Normie Himes in 1958; Hooley Smith in 1963; Bill Thomas in 1964; Busher Jackson in 1966; Charlie Conacher in 1967; Hec Kilrea in 1969; Al Shields in 1975; Andy Blair in 1977; Ching Johnson in 1979; Ken Doraty in 1981; Baldy Cotton in 1984; Eddie Shore in 1985; Bill Cook, Aurèle Joliat and King Clancy in 1986; Red Dutton in 1987; Joe Primeau in 1989; Buzz Boll, Hap Day, Jimmy Ward and Alex Levinsky in 1990; Herbie Lewis and Frank Finnigan in 1991; and Red Horner was the last survivor from this game, living until April 27, 2005.

February 13, 1999: The Last "Original Six" Arena Closes

February 13, 1999, 25 years ago: The last National Hockey League game is played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, after 67 seasons. The host Toronto Maple Leafs lose to the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-2.

The Hawks had also been the opponent, and a victorious one, in the Gardens' 1st game, on November 12, 1931, 2-1. The Leafs' Charlie Conacher scored the 1st goal, but it wasn't enough.

For the 1999 finale, a member of each team that played in that 1st game was on hand for a ceremonial puck drop: George "Red" Horner of the Leafs, and Harold "Mush" March of the Hawks. (March died in 2002, Horner in 2005.) Derek King scored the Leafs' last goal, while Bob Probert, better known for his fighting and his drug abuse, scored the last goal overall.

The Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup while playing at the Gardens in 1932, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967 -- clinching on home ice in '32, '42, '47, '49, '51, '63, '64 and '67. In addition, the New York Rangers clinched the Cup by beating the Leafs at the Gardens in 1933 and 1940, the Detroit Red Wings in 1937, and the Montreal Canadiens in 1959 and 1960.

Leafs player Irvine "Ace" Bailey had been injured by Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins in a game in Boston in 1933, and never played again. On February 12, 1934, the Gardens hosted a benefit game for him: The Leafs against a team of players from all the other teams in the League. When Shore skated over to the Leafs' bench, where Bailey was in street clothes, and shook hands with him, the Gardens erupted in cheers. The Leafs won the game. In 1947, the Leafs beat an All-Star team from the rest of the League again in the 1st official NHL All-Star Game.

The Gardens became known as "The Shrine of Hockey," with CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, broadcasting Hockey Night in Canada from the building on most Saturday nights, first on radio, and then, starting in 1952, on television. It helped to make the Gardens -- even more than Parliament Hill in Ottawa or the Montreal Forum -- the most famous building in Canada.

On November 1, 1946, the Gardens hosted the 1st game in the league that would become the National Basketball Association. But the Toronto Huskies lost it to the New York Knicks, and only lasted that 1 season before folding. Pro basketball would return, briefly: From 1971 to 1975, the Buffalo Braves (the team now known as the Los Angeles Clippers) played 16 "home games" there, and the Toronto Raptors played 6 home games there in 1997, '98 and '99 when the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) was unavailable.

Also due to a scheduling conflict, the Rangers played their 1950 Stanley Cup Finals games at Maple Leaf Gardens, possibly costing them the Cup, as they lost to the Red Wings. In the World Hockey Association, the Ottawa Nationals had to move their 1973 Playoff games there, and the Toronto Toros played the 1974-75 and 1975-76 seasons there, before being forced to a smaller arena by the onerous rent charged by Leafs owner Harold Ballard, who, because of his presiding over the declines of both the Leafs and the CFL's Toronto Argonauts, became the most hated man in Canada.

Ballard was cheap, he was evil, and he was crooked. Smythe wasn't flat-out evil, but he was imperious, and he was certainly cheap. At one end of the Gardens was a large portrait of Canada's head of state, the British monarch. From 1931 to 1936, this was King George V. For much of 1936, it was King Edward VIII. Then, until 1952, it was King George VI. Finally, it was Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1968, the seating capacity at the Gardens was raised from 13,718 to 16,316. This was done through installing narrower seats, and removing the Queen's portrait so that more seats could be installed. Smythe, who had sold the team to a consortium including his son Stafford Smythe and Ballard, said of the new seats, "Only a young man could sit in them, and only a fat old rich man could afford them."

As for the removal of the portrait of the woman to whom Canadian citizens still paid a share of their taxes (and still pay them to the British Crown, to this day), Ballard pointed out that, in spite of a visit to the building in 1951, before she became Queen, she didn't pay admission to games: "She doesn't pay me. I pay her. Besides, what the hell position can a queen play?"

Maple Leaf Gardens hosted Game 2 of the 1972 "Summit Series" between Canada and the Soviet Union, a 4-1 win for Canada. It also hosted minor-league hockey: The Toronto Lions of the Ontario Hockey Association, 1931-39; the Toronto Marlboros (or "Marlies") of the OHA and its successor, the Ontario Hockey League, 1931-89; the Toronto Young Rangers of the OHA and the OHL, 1937 to 1948; the Toronto Knob Hill Farms of the Metro Junior A League, in the 1962-63 season; and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors (or "St. Mike's") of the OHL, 1997-2000.

Lacrosse is not considered a major sport in America. In Canada, where it was invented, it is considerably bigger. Canada's National Lacrosse League had the Toronto Tomahawks playing at the Gardens in 1974, and the Toronto Rock in the 1999-2000 season. The Gardens also hosted professional indoor soccer, the "pinball" version of "the beautiful game": The Toronto Blizzard in the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons, and the Toronto Shooting Stars in 1996-97.

The Gardens was 1 of 16 buildings to have hosted both Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Because Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was an illegal immigrant from the Netherlands, a fact not known during Elvis' lifetime, Elvis could only leave the North American continent to fulfill his U.S. Army obligation from 1958 to 1960. He sang at the Gardens on April 2, 1957. It was the only building to host The Beatles on all 3 of their North American tours: September 7, 1964; August 17, 1965; and August 17, 1966.

It also hosted boxing and "professional wrestling," with Killer Kowalski making that "sport" popular in his native Canada. On March 29, 1966, Muhammad Ali defended the Heavyweight Championship of the World there, defeating Canada's heavyweight champion, George Chuvalo.

Conn Smythe, who had served in the Canadian Army during both World Wars, and enjoyed being called "Major Smythe," resigned from the Gardens' board of directors over the decision to host a fight featuring a man who had already been making statements about how he would refuse to accept being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. Smythe said of the owners, including his son, that they had "put cash ahead of class."

They could do that because the Leafs were a gold mine. From 1946, when the boys came back from World War II, until 1999, the Leafs never played to an unsold seat. This was in spite of the fact that, after the closing of the dynasty coached and managed by George "Punch" Imlach on May 2, 1967, the Leafs never appeared in another Stanley Cup Finals game at the Gardens -- and still haven't. The building, whose address was 60 Carlton Street, became known as the Carlton Street Cashbox.

The Gardens outlasted the somewhat enlightened despot Smythe, and the tyrant Ballard. It outlasted the Great Depression, World War II, and the high tide of the conflict between the Canadian federal government and Quebec nationalists. It outlasted the League of Nations, the Third Reich, the British Empire and the Warsaw Pact.

It outlasted 20 Mayors of Toronto, 12 Premiers of Ontario (equivalent to the Governor of a State), 10 Prime Ministers of Canada, and 1 Flag of Canada. (The current Maple Leaf Flag replaced the old "Red Ensign" in 1965.) It outlasted Maple Leaf Stadium (home of the minor-league baseball team that gave the NHL Maple Leafs their name), the Mutual Street Arena, the original Varsity Stadium, and Exhibition Stadium.

It outlasted the Montreal Maroons, the New York Americans, the California Golden Seals, the Cleveland Barons, the Atlanta Flames (now the Calgary Flames), the Kansas City Scouts and the Colorado Rockies that they became (now the New Jersey Devils), the Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars), the Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche), the original version of the Winnipeg Jets (now the Arizona Coyotes), the Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes), and the entire World Hockey Association.

It outlasted the NHL's other "Original Six" arenas, some by plenty: New York replaced "the old Madison Square Garden" with "the new Madison Square Garden" in 1968, Detroit replaced the Olympia Stadium with the Joe Louis Arena in 1979, Chicago replaced the Chicago Stadium with the United Center in 1994, Boston replaced the Boston Garden with the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in 1995, and Montreal replaced the Montreal Forum with the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in 1996.

While not home to "Original Six" teams, the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and the St. Louis Arena were contemporaries, and they were also replaced before 1999. Considerably newer arenas were replaced in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Vancouver, Atlanta, Ottawa, Tampa and the San Francisco Bay Area. (And the ones in Minnesota and Atlanta were demolished before the Gardens closed.)

But nothing lasts forever. The ownership group for the NBA's Raptors didn't like playing in the huge SkyDome, and wanted to build their own arena, the Air Canada Centre, next to Toronto's Union Station. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Leafs and the Gardens, knew that there was only so much that could be done to modernize the Gardens, and increasing seating capacity, including adding more luxury boxes, was operationally impossible.

So they bought the Raptors, giving their owners shares in MLSE, and had the plans for the ACC to be altered so that it could host hockey as well. Both teams moved in a few days after their last game at the Gardens in February 1999. (In 2018, the ACC was renamed the Scotiabank Arena.)

The Gardens didn't close immediately. It still hosted amateur hockey and professional lacrosse, and the British rock band Oasis gave a concert there in 2000. The last "sporting event" there came in 2004, a re-creation of prizefights of eventual Heavyweight Champion James Braddock for the film Cinderella Man, taking advantage of the Gardens' old-time appearance.

But MLSE didn't want to own a dormant building, and they also didn't want to sell the old arena to anyone who would use it as a competing arena. (There has long been talk of putting a 2nd NHL team in Toronto, and the Maple Leafs have thus far managed to shoot it down.) In 2000, after a massive renovation, the Montreal Forum reopened as a mall, with stores, a movie theater, and other entertainments. It was suggested that the same be done with the Gardens. But a feasibility study showed that it couldn't be done: If the bowls of seating were removed, the exterior walls would collapse.

In 2004, Loblaw Companies, Canada's largest food retailer, bought the Gardens for $12 million. In 2009, they made a deal with Toronto's Ryerson University to renovate the building, to make the playing area a rink with 2,796 seats, while the rest of the building would host retail space.

The famed marquee, following the renovation

In 2011, the new Loblaw's store finally opened, with a red dot on the floor marking the original location of centre ice. In 2012, the Mattamy Athletic Centre at the Gardens opened, and has been home to Rynearson's hockey team ever since. From 2013 to 2017, it also hosted the Toronto Predators of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League.

The Chiefs' "Eras Tour"

For all the fuss over Taylor Swift, it's worth mentioning: Oh yes, there was a game last night. For the 1st 2 quarters, and most of the 3rd, it was kind of dull. Then it got really good.

It turned out to be the longest Super Bowl ever, only the 2nd to go to overtime, and the 7th-longest in NFL history. Under current overtime rules, the San Francisco 49ers kicked a field goal, but it would not be enough, as the Kansas City Chiefs would get a chance to at least tie the game, and scored a touchdown, a 3-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes, who won his 3rd Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award, to Mecole Hardman. Final: Kansas City 25, San Francisco 22.

The Chiefs have now won 3 titles in 4 appearances in 5 years. It's not quite a "dynasty," but, as Taylor might say, it's quite an "era." So, like Taylor, the Chiefs have their own "Eras Tour."

Andy Reid joins Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs as coaches who have won 3 Super Bowls. Mahomes joins Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning as quarterbacks who've done it. And the Chiefs became the 1st back-to-back Super Bowl winners since the 1998-99 Denver Broncos.

(Note: Proven cheaters not included, so don't tell me about the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady New England Patriots.)

The winning touchdown was caught by Mecole Hardman -- who, like Aaron Rodgers, began the season with the New York Jets. For some people around here, Ouch.

Travis Kelce got a big hug from Taylor at the end, but, other than that, he was the one Chief who ended up not looking better. His antics on the victory stand didn't help. And getting caught yelling at Reid on the sideline was bad. He's already a meme.

Yeah. He's going to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as are Reid and Mahomes, but this is not a good look.

One more thing, for all the Trump fans: We might not be in the mess we've been in for the last 50 years if Frank Sinatra hadn't switched parties, and endorsed first Richard Nixon, then Ronald Reagan.

At least Frank hated Trump, as do his kids, who've spoken well of Taylor.

It's also worth noting that Elvis Presley didn't endorse Adlai Stevenson over Dwight D. Eisenhower. But he did get the polio vaccine, on live TV, right before the 1956 election! (Of course, both Ike and Adlai supported the vaccine.)

February 12, 1999: President Bill Clinton Is Acquitted

February 12, 1999, 25 years ago: President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the U.S. Senate in an Impeachment trial.

There were 4 Articles of Impeachment drawn up by the House's Committee on the Judiciary, and 2 of them passed the full House, with a 2/3rds' majority, of the Senate, 67 out of 100, required to vote "Guilty" in order to remove him from office:

* Perjury before a grand jury: 55 Nay, 45 Yea. All Democrats voted Nay. Republicans voting Nay: Ted Stevens of Alaska, Richard Shelby of Alabama, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, John Chafee of Rhode Island, Fred Thompson of Tennessee, Jim Jeffords of Vermont, John Warner of Virginia, and Slade Gorton of Washington. 

Specter had been a Democrat until switching parties as a young prosecutor in 1965, and would switch back in 2009. Shelby had been a Democrat until 1994, when the Republicans won the Congressional majority, and he cowardly joined them. Chafee died later in the year, and was succeeded by his son, Lincoln Chafee, who later switched parties. Jeffords switched parties in 2001.

* Obstruction of Justice: 50 Yea, 50 Nay. All Democrats voted Nay. This time, Stevens, Shelby, Thompson, Warner and Gorton voted to convict, while the other Republicans stayed consistent.

The case was based on Clinton's attempt to hide the fact that he had an extramarital relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. It had nothing to do with using the power of his office to commit election fraud, as was the case with Richard Nixon, who resigned in 1974 before the full House could vote on Articles of Impeachment; and with Donald Trump, who was impeached in 2019 and acquitted early the next year.

The evidence against Clinton was so ridiculous, the Republicans, who held the majority, could not get a majority, 51 votes, to say that he had done it. Surely, there were some Senators who knew he was innocent, but voted "Guilty" anyway, because, like the leaders of the impeachment movement in the House, they hated him so much.

And yet, with Speaker Newt Gingrich having resigned before the impeachment, once the trial was over, things calmed down considerably. Over the last 2 years of Clinton's Administration, the White House and the Congress worked together much better, got some things done, and kept the good economy going. It can be argued that, by the end of the year, decade, century and millennium, America had never been in better shape. Maybe, it still hasn't.

Of the 50 Republican Senators who voted "Guilty" on at least 1 Article of Impeachment, 3 are still serving in the Senate, 25 years later:

* Chuck Grassley of Iowa, elected with the "Reagan Robots" Class of 1980, now the last remaining member of that class, and the longest-serving active Senator.

* Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, elected in 1984, the 2nd-longest-serving active Senator, and the Republicans' longest-serving Senate Leader, in that post 2007.

* And Mike Crapo of Idaho, who had been elected to the Senate just before the Impeachment vote, and thus voted to both successfully impeach Clinton in the House and unsuccessfully convict him in the Senate. (And that's pronounced KRAY-poh, not CRAP-o, although confusion would be understandable.)

Pro Football Hall-of-Famers By Team, 2024 Edition

Congratulations to the newly-elected members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. New members are annually announced on the day before the Super Bowl. This time, they did it on the preceding Thursday. This year's class is defense-heavy, and includes the righting of some longstanding wrongs. Here are the new electees, listed here in chronological order:

* Randy Gradishar, linebacker, 1974-83 Denver Broncos. Pro Bowls: 7. Appeared in Super Bowl XII, but the Broncos lost. The Broncos have elected him to their Ring of Fame. Although college achievements don't count toward the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Ohio State elected him to their Varsity O Hall of Fame, encompassing all sports. His coach, Woody Hayes said, "Randy Gradishar is the finest linebacker I have ever coached."

* Steve McMichael, defensive tackle, 1980 New England Patriots, 1981-93 Chicago Bears, 1994 Green Bay Packers. Pro Bowls: 2. Won Super Bowl XX with the Chicago Bears, who named him to their 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.

He has been stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease, and his wife has said she has 2 speeches ready for his induction at Canton, Ohio: One if he was still alive when he was elected, one if he wasn't, in which she would torch the voters for doing it too late. Now, she won't have to do that.

* Julius Peppers, defensive end, 2002-09 Carolina Panthers, 2010-13 Chicago Bears, 2014-16 Green Bay Packers, 2017-18 back with the Panthers. Pro Bowls: 9. Appeared in Super Bowl XXXVIII with the Panthers. The Bears named him to their 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.

* Dwight Freeney, defensive end, 2002-12 Indianapolis Colts, 2013-14 San Diego Chargers, 2015 Arizona Cardinals, 2016 Atlanta Falcons, 2017 Seattle Seahawks, 2017 Detroit Lions. Pro Bowls: 7. Won Super Bowl XLI and lost Super Bowl XLIV with the Colts. The Colts have elected him to their Ring of Honor.

* Andre Johnson, receiver, 2003-14 Houston Texans, 2015 Indianapolis Colts, 2016 Tennessee Titans. Pro Bowls: 7. Never played in a Super Bowl. The Texans have elected him to their Ring of Honor. Also won a National Championship at the University of Miami.

* Devin Hester, receiver, 2006-13 Chicago Bears, 2014-15 Atlanta Falcons, 2016 Baltimore Ravens, 2016 Seattle Seahawks. Pro Bowls: 4. Appeared in Super Bowl XLI, returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, although the Bears still lost the game. The Bears named him to their 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players, and he was named a return specialist on the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. Also elected to the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.

* Patrick Willis, linebacker, 2007-14 San Francisco 49ers. Pro Bowls: 7. Appeared in Super Bowl XLVII with the 49ers, who have elected him to their team Hall of Fame.

All are deserving. There are others who are deserving who didn't get in, but the deserving ones usually get in eventually.

*

Inductees are listed here with a team if they played, or coached, or were an executive, with them for at least 4 seasons.

I have divided moved teams accordingly (i.e., Johnny Unitas never took a snap for the Indianapolis Colts). "Sure future Hall-of-Famers" are not included, because, as we have seen in baseball, there is no such thing anymore. 

Tenure as a player, or a coach, or an executive is only counted if they were elected as such. In other words, Raymond Berry coached the Patriots into a Super Bowl, and Forrest Gregg did so with the Bengals, but they were elected as a Colts player and a Packers player, respectively, so those are the teams with which they're included.

Ties in the rankings are broken by more players, as opposed to other categories; and then by time in the league. So a team with 4 players is ahead of one with 3 players and 1 coach, and a team with 3 players in 50 years is ahead of one with 3 players in 80 years.

Figures are listed here as follows: Players in chronological order of their Hall of Fame service with the team (even if they had other functions with that team), then coaches, then executives, then broadcasters.

1. Chicago Bears, 34: George Halas (founder, owner, general manager, head coach, player), John "Paddy" Driscoll, George Trafton, Ed Healey, William "Link" Lyman, Red Grange, Bill Hewitt, Bronko Nagurski, George Musso, Dan Fortmann, Joe Stydahar, Sid Luckman, George McAfee, Clyde "Bulldog" Turner, Ed Sprinkle, George Connor, George Blanda, Bill George, Doug Atkins, Stan Jones, Mike Ditka (player & coach), Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Walter Payton, Alan Page, Steve McMichael, Jim Covert, Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary, Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, Devin Hester, Jim Finks (executive).

They have 6 from their 1985-86 "Super Bowl Shuffle" team (7 if you count Ditka as coach), as opposed to 4 from their 1963 NFL Champions, and 7 from their 1940s "Monsters of the Midway" team (8 if you count Nagurski's 1943 comeback).

Willie Galimore and Gary Fencik should be in. Thomas Jones is now eligible, and while he didn't spend 4 seasons with any team, his 3 years with the Bears were his most productive period, so I'd list him with them if he got in, and with over 10,000 career rushing yards, he should be in.

2. Green Bay Packers, 30: Earl "Curly" Lambeau (founder, owner, executive, head coach, player), Cal Hubbard, John "Johnny Blood" McNally, Mike Michalske, Arnie Herber, Clarke Hinkle, Don Hutson, Tony Canadeo, Bobby Dillon, Jim Ringo, Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Jerry Kramer, Ray Nitschke, Henry Jordan, Willie Davis, Willie Wood, Herb Adderley, Dave Robinson, James Lofton, Jan Stenerud, LeRoy Butler, Reggie White, Brett Favre, Charles Woodson, Vince Lombardi (coach & executive), Ron Wolf (executive), Ray Scott (broadcaster, later the main voice on CBS' NFL telecasts).

Nearly half of the Packer figures enshrined in Canton, 13, are from the Lombardi Era, including Lombardi himself. This doesn't count Emlen Tunnell, who played the last 3 seasons of his career with the Packers and retired after the 1st title of the Lombardi Era, 1961.

Now eligible from the Mike Holmgren era, and they would join White, Favre, Butler and Woodson, are Holmgren himself, Adam Timmerman and Gilbert Brown. Eugene Robinson could be considered, but he was only a Packer for 2 seasons, although both ended in Super Bowls, but only 1 won.

Sean Jones played 3 seasons for the Packers, and would qualify as a Raider and an Oiler if he got in. Donald Driver is the only figure from the Mike McCarthy era yet eligible and worthy of consideration.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers, 29: Walt Kiesling (also coach), John "Johnny Blood" McNally, Bill Dudley, Ernie Stautner, Jack Butler, John Henry Johnson, Bobby Layne, Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Mike Webster, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, Rod Woodson, Dermontti Dawson, Jerome Bettis, Troy Polamalu, Alan Faneca, Art Rooney (founder-owner), Dan Rooney (owner), Bert Bell (coach, later NFL Commissioner), Chuck Noll (coach), Bill Cowher (coach), Bill Nunn (scout), Myron Cope (broadcaster). 

While the Steelers were rarely competitive for their 1st 40 seasons, they did have a few players who were Hall-worthy, but note that 15 of the 29, more than half, including 11 of the 22 players, were involved with the club during their 1972-79 "Steel Curtain" dynasty.

Hines Ward is now eligible, and while that touchdown he scored on a kickoff return for the Gotham Rogues as the field collapsed behind him in The Dark Knight Rises does nothing to help his candidacy, if he does get in, you know that highlight will be played over and over again.

4. Dallas Cowboys, 23: Bob Lilly, Chuck Howley, Mel Renfro, Bob Hayes, Rayfield Wright, Mike Ditka, Roger Staubach, Cliff Harris, Drew Pearson, Randy White, Tony Dorsett, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Larry Allen, Charles Haley, DeMarcus Ware, Tom Landry (coach), Jimmy Johnson (coach), Bill Parcells (coach), Tex Schramm (executive), Jerry Jones (owner).

Parcells did coach them for 4 seasons, so that counts. Ditka is so identified with the Bears (with whom he practically invented the position of tight end and won an NFL Championship in 1963) that people forget he was a Cowboy, and won a Super Bowl each as a player and as one of Landry's assistant coaches -- as did Dan Reeves, although if he ever gets elected, it will be as a head coach, and therefore not as a Cowboy.

Don Meredith was elected as a broadcaster, but was never a broadcaster specifically for the Cowboys. A case can be made that he deserves election as a player. Charlie Waters and Herschel Walker also have their advocates.

5. New York Giants, 22: Steve Owen (elected as a coach, also a pretty good player for Giants), Ray Flaherty, Benny Friedman, Red Badgro, Mel Hein, Ken Strong, Alphonse "Tuffy" Leemans, Emlen Tunnell, Arnie Weinmeister, Frank Gifford, Roosevelt Brown, Sam Huff, Andy Robustelli, Y.A. Tittle, Fran Tarkenton, Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor, Michael Strahan, Tim Mara (founder & owner), Wellington Mara (owner), Bill Parcells (coach), George Young (executive).

Gifford has also been elected as a broadcaster. So has Pat Summerall, but as a CBS & Fox broadcaster, not as a Giants player or broadcaster, so he can't be included here. Tom Landry was the 1st great defensive back to be only a defensive back, after the early 1950s shift to two-platoon football, and was the defensive coordinator on the Giants' 1956-63 contenders. But was elected to the Hall based on his service as a head coach, and he only served as such for the Cowboys, and thus can't be counted here.

There are 6 from the 1956 NFL Champions, but only 3 from Parcells' Super Bowl-winning teams, 5 if you count Parcells himself and the newly-elected Young. Phil Simms has not yet been elected, and you can also make a case for Mark Bavaro (tight ends are in short supply in the Hall), George Martin and Leonard Marshall. I wonder if anyone will be willing to vote for Tiki Barber, who is now eligible.

6. Washington Commanders, 22: Cliff Battles, Turk Edwards (also coach), Wayne Millner, Sammy Baugh, Bobby Mitchell, Sonny Jurgensen, Charley Taylor, Sam Huff, Paul Krause, Chris Hanburger, Ken Houston, John Riggins, Art Monk, Russ Grimm, Darrell Green, Bruce Smith (last 4 years of his career as a Redskin), Champ Bailey, George Preston Marshall (founder & owner), Ray Flaherty (elected as a Giants player, but coached Washington to 2 NFL titles, so I'm counting him as one of theirs), George Allen (coach), Joe Gibbs (coach), Bobby Beathard (executive).

Jurgensen and Huff have also been broadcasters for the team. Grimm is the only one of the "Hogs" yet elected, but Jeff Bostic and Joe Jacoby should also be elected. A case can be made for an earlier Washington lineman, Len Hauss.

None of the men who have thus far quarterbacked the team formerly named the Washington Redskins into a Super Bowl is in: Not Billy Kilmer, not Joe Theismann, not Doug Williams, not Mark Rypien -- and good cases can be made for all but Rypien, who just didn't play long enough. If Jan Stenerud got elected as a kicker (who didn't also play another position, as did Lou Groza and George Blanda), then why not Mark Moseley?

Oakland Raiders, 22: Jim Otto, Fred Biletnikoff, George Blanda, Ken Stabler, Gene Upshaw, Willie Brown, Art Shell, Cliff Branch, Dave Casper, Ray Guy, Ted Hendricks, Mike Haynes, Howie Long, Marcus Allen, Jerry Rice, Warren Sapp, Tim Brown, Charles Woodson, Richard Seymour, John Madden (coach), Tom Flores (coach), Al Davis (owner-coach), Ron Wolf (scout).

Madden has also been elected as a broadcaster. Rice and Sapp were both there for 4 seasons, so they count. Now that Guy is in, who's the most obvious Raider not in? I'd say Jack Tatum, if anybody's got the guts to elect a great cornerback who needlessly paralyzed a man in a preseason game. Also worthy of consideration are Ben Davidson and Lester Hayes.

Note that I'm making an exception to my one-city-only rule for the California-era Raiders, treating them as a continuous Oakland franchise, since they did return, even though their Los Angeles edition became a cultural icon (and not for good reasons). Counted separately, the Oakland Raiders have 19, and the Los Angeles Raiders have 4 (Haynes, Long, Allen, with Branch the only one qualifying for both).

7. San Francisco 49ers, 19: Bob St. Clair, Y.A. Tittle, Joe "the Jet" Perry, Leo Nomellini, Hugh McElhenny, John Henry Johnson, Dave Wilcox, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Montana, Fred Dean, Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Charles Haley, Bryant Young, Terrell Owens, Patrick Willis, Bill Walsh (coach), Eddie DeBartolo (owner).

Tittle, Perry, McElhenny and John Henry Johnson are the only entire backfield that all played together to all be elected to the Hall, and they were known as the Million Dollar Backfield. The Jimmy Johnson listed above was a black cornerback in the 1960s and '70s, and should not be confused with the white coach for the Cowboys -- although this Jimmy Johnson, unlike the coach, was actually born in Dallas.

Rickey Jackson only played 2 seasons for the Niners, but he did win his only ring with them. Deion Sanders played only 1 season for them, but got the same Super Bowl XXIX ring that Jackson did. So, due to insufficient longevity, I can't count either of them as 49ers HOFers.

From their 1980s champions, Dwight Clark, Roger Craig, Randy Cross, Guy McIntyre, Harris Barton and Ken Norton Jr. have not been elected, but all are worth consideration, and Craig absolutely should be in.

8. Kansas City Chiefs, 19: Bobby Bell, Len Dawson, Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Emmitt Thomas, Johnny Robinson, Curley Culp, Jan Stenerud, Derrick Thomas, Marcus Allen, Willie Roaf, Will Shields, Tony Gonzalez, Hank Stram (coach), Mary Levy (coach), Dick Vermeil (coach), Lamar Hunt (founder-owner), Bobby Beathard (executive), Charlie Jones (broadcaster, did Dallas Texans/K.C. Chiefs games before becoming the main voice for NBC's AFL and then AFC broadcasts).

Dawson has also been elected as a broadcaster.

9. Cleveland Browns, 18: Otto Graham, Marion Motley, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Bill Willis, Mac Speedie, Frank Gatski, Len Ford, Mike McCormack, Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell, Gene Hickerson, Leroy Kelly, Paul Warfield, Joe DeLamiellure, Ozzie Newsome, Joe Thomas, Paul Brown (coach-executive).

It says something about this franchise that Thomas is the 1st player who has played so much as a down for them since 1990 that can be called a Browns' HOFer -- and, additionally, only DeLamielleure and Newsome have played for them since 1977. Tom Cousineau hasn't made it, and neither has Clay Matthews Jr. (father of Packer linebacker Clay Matthews III and brother of Oliers/Titans HOFer Bruce Matthews -- Clay Sr. played for the 49ers in the 1950s, but wasn't HOF quality).

And yet, look at just what they produced in the 1940s and '50s. And that doesn't include players they let get away, like Doug Atkins, Henry Jordan, Willie Davis, Len Dawson, and (while they did both play long enough for the Browns to be counted with them) Mitchell and Warfield.

Maybe that's the real reason Art Modell isn't in the Hall: It's not that he moved the original Browns, and screwed the people of Northern Ohio, it's that he was a bad owner. (Though, to be fair, his firing of Paul Brown and installation of Blanton Collier in 1962 did bring the 1964 NFL Championship, Cleveland's last title in any sport until the 2016 Cavaliers.)

10. Detroit Lions, 16: Dutch Clark (also coach), Jack Christiansen, Bobby Layne, Doak Walker, Yale Lary, Alex Wojciechowicz, Lou Creekmur, Dick Stanfel, Dick "Night Train" Lane, Joe Schmidt (also coach), Alex Karras, Lem Barney, Dick LeBeau, Charlie Sanders, Barry Sanders (no relation to each other) and Calvin Johnson.

Although he played for their 1935 NFL Champions and coached them to the 1952 and '53 titles, Buddy Parker is not in the Hall. It took until this year, a little over 7 years after he died, for Karras to be elected. If Paul Hornung, a man whose morals were a lot looser than Karras', could be forgiven for his gambling charge that led to his suspension for the 1963 season and get elected, why not Karras, who was suspended at the same time for the same offense? Even though he's in now, the question still hangs there.

It says something about this franchise that there has been only 2 players (Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson) who have played so much as a down for them since 1977 that can be called a Lions' HOFer, although cases can be made for Herman Moore, Lomas Brown and Chris Spielman.

11. Minnesota Vikings, 15: Fran Tarkenton, Carl Eller, Alan Page, Paul Krause, Ron Yary, Mick Tinglehoff, Chris Doleman, Gary Zimmerman, Randall McDaniel, Cris Carter, John Randle, Randy Moss, Steve Hutchinson, Bud Grant (coach), Jim Finks (executive). Warren Moon was only there for 3 seasons. 

12. Los Angeles Rams, 15: Bob Waterfield, Tom Fears, Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Norm Van Brocklin, Les Richter, Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Tom Mack, Jackie Slater, Jack Youngblood, Eric Dickerson, Kevin Greene, George Allen (coach), Dan Reeves (owner, not to be confused with the Denver/Atlanta coach), Dick Enberg (broadcaster).

Joe Stydahar coached the Rams to their only NFL Championship in Los Angeles, 1951, but he was elected as a player, not a coach, and so he can't be counted as a Rams' Hall-of-Famer. Counting their St. Louis years, the Rams franchise has 19. Now that Greene is in, Henry Ellard is the most deserving former L.A. Ram not yet in the Hall, but he's a borderline case at best.

13. Philadelphia Eagles, 15: Steve Van Buren, Alex Wojciechowicz, Pete Pihos, Chuck Bednarik, Sonny Jurgensen, Tommy McDonald, Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Brown, Jim Ringo, Harold Carmichael, Reggie White, Brian Dawkins, Greasy Neale (coach), Dick Vermeil (coach), Bert Bell (founder-owner-coach, later NFL Commissioner).

Van Brocklin only played 3 seasons for the Eagles, but he was the quarterback on their last NFL Championship team before the Super Bowl era, 1960, and then he retired, despite being only 34 years old, so I'm bending the rule to count him. On the other hand, Claude Humphrey played 3 seasons for them, 1 being their 1st trip to the Super Bowl, but unlike Van Brocklin is not an Eagles icon, so I can only include him with the Falcons.

Art Monk, James Lofton and Richard Dent briefly played for the team, and cases could be made for Stan Walters, Jerry Sisemore, Bill Bergey, Randall Cunningham, Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner and Donovan McNabb. Ron Jaworski, however, only stands to be elected as a media personality, not a player. That is how Irv Cross was elected: While he made 2 Pro Bowls as an Eagle cornerback, he is not in the Hall as a player.

Johnson didn't win as Dolphins' head coach, but he was there for 4 seasons, so he counts there. In spite of everything that happened in his career, Ricky Williams rushed for over 10,000 yards. He is now eligible, but I doubt he'll ever get in. If he does, he would qualify only as a Dolphin, not as a Saint.

14. Denver Broncos, 13: Willie Brown, Floyd Little, Randy Gradishar, John Elway, Steve Atwater, Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman, Terrell Davis, Champ Bailey, John Lynch, Peyton Manning, DeMarcus Ware, Pat Bowlen (owner). 3-time AFC Champion coach Dan Reeves has not been elected, but should be. So should Mark Schlereth, although, because of how many feathers he ruffled, I don't think you'll ever see Bill Romanowski get in. Ware was a Bronco for 3 seasons, but 1 was a Super Bowl season, so I'm bending the rule for him.

15. Miami Dolphins, 13: Larry Csonka, Nick Buoniconti, Bob Griese, Jim Langer, Larry Little, Paul Warfield, Dan Marino, Dwight Stephenson, Zach, Thomas, Jason Taylor, Don Shula (coach), Jimmy Johnson (coach), Bobby Beathard (executive).

16. Buffalo Bills, 12: Billy Shaw, O.J. Simpson (had to list him), Joe DeLamiellure, James Lofton, Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Marv Levy (coach), Ralph Wilson (owner), Bill Polian (executive) and Van Miller (broadcaster).

Shaw played his entire career in the AFL, making him the only man in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who never played a down in the NFL. (Remember, it's not the National Football League Hall of Fame, it's the Pro Football Hall of Fame.) So much fuss was made over the special-teams skills of Steve Tasker that I'm surprised that he's not in.

Houston Oilers, 11: George Blanda, Elvin Bethea, Curley Culp, Robert Brazile, Earl Campbell, Dave Casper, Ken Houston, Charlie Joiner, Warren Moon, Mike Munchak, Bruce Matthews. Since Matthews counts as both an Oiler and a Titan, if we combine the Houston years and the Tennessee years, their total rises to 12.

17. New England Patriots, 11: Nick Buoniconti, John Hannah, Mike Haynes, Andre Tippett, Curtis Martin, Ty Law, Richard Seymour, Junior Seau, Randy Moss, Bill Parcells (coach) and Don Criqui (broadcaster). This counts players from their AFL days, when they were officially named the Boston Patriots.

Cases could also be made for Jim Nance, Jim Hunt, Steve Nelson, Julius Adams, Irving Fryar, Drew Bledsoe and Tedy Bruschi, all eligible.

18. New York Jets, 11: Don Maynard, Winston Hill, Joe Namath, John Riggins, Joe Klecko, Curtis Martin, Kevin Mawae, Darrelle Revis, Weeb Ewbank (coach), Bill Parcells (coach-executive), Ron Wolf (executive).

Although the Big Tuna only coached the Jets for 3 seasons, he was an executive with them for 4 seasons, and thus meets my qualification for a Jet HOFer. Wesley Walker and Marty Lyons should be considered, although nobody seems to be willing to vote for Mark Gastineau. Vinny Testaverde is eligible, but not yet in. (He would also qualify as a Buccaneer.) No, you can't count Alan Faneca, as he was only a Jet for 2 seasons.

San Diego Chargers, 11: Ron Mix, Lance Alworth, Fred Dean, Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, Kellen Winslow, Junior Seau, LaDainian Tomlinson, Sid Gillman (coach), Don Coryell (coach), Bobby Beathard (executive).

Chicago Cardinals, 10: Jimmy Conzelman, Paddy Driscoll, Guy Chamberlin, Duke Slater, Ernie Nevers, Walt Kiesling, Charley Trippi, Ollie Matson, Dick "Night Train" Lane, Charles Bidwill (owner). Conzelman, Driscoll and Kiesling were also head coaches for the Cards. Counting all their cities, despite having been around for nearly a century, the Cards have only 14 Hall-of-Famers.

Baltimore Colts, 10: Art Donovan, Raymond Berry, Gino Marchetti, Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, John Mackey, Ted Hendricks, Weeb Ewbank (coach), Don Shula (coach). Counting their Indianapolis years, the Colts have 14.

19. Indianapolis Colts, 8: Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James, Dwight Freeney, Tony Dungy (coach), Bill Polian (executive). Reggie Wayne is now eligible. 

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7: Lee Roy Selmon, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Ronde Barber, Tony Dungy (coach), Ron Wolf (executive). Warrick Dunn is now eligible, and should be in, and would also qualify as a Falcon.

21. Seattle Seahawks, 6: Steve Largent, Kenny Easley, Cortez Kennedy, Walter Jones, Kevin Mawae, Steve Hutchinson. Rickey Watters is eligible, and while he only played 3 seasons each with the 49ers and Eagles, he played 4 with the 'Hawks, so if he goes in, he would qualify only for them. Tom Flores coached 3 seasons with the 'Hawks, so is not eligible here.

Canton Bulldogs, 6: Jim Thorpe, Guy Chamberlin, Joe Guyon, Pete Henry, William "Link" Lyman, Earl "Greasy" Neale.

St. Louis Rams, 6: Orlando Pace, Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Aeneas Williams, Dick Vermeil (coach). Torry Holt is eligible. Note that the St. Louis edition of the Rams is now italicized as a former team. Unlike the Raiders with their Oakland and Los Angeles eras, it doesn't really make sense to fold the St. Louis era in with Los Angeles.

22. Baltimore Ravens, 5: Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, Rod Woodson, Ed Reed, Ozzie Newsome (executive). Newsome was elected as a Cleveland Browns player, but has been a masterful executive for the franchise since the move, so I'm bending the rules to include him as a Brown and a Raven. Jamal Lewis is eligible, but isn't yet in.

23. Atlanta Falcons, 5: Deion Sanders, Claude Humphrey, Morten Andersen, Tony Gonzalez, Bobby Beathard (executive). I wonder how many writers voted for Michael Vick, now that he's eligible? Andre Rison, another controversial figure, is also eligible, and, while he played for 7 different teams (plus 1 in the CFL), on this list, he would qualify only for the Falcons.)

24. New Orleans Saints, 5: Rickey Jackson, Willie Roaf, Morten Andersen, Sam Mills, Jim Finks (executive). Mike Ditka was Saints coach for 3 seasons and Tom Fears for 4, but neither was elected as a coach, so they can't be included here anyway. Same for Hank Stram, who was elected as a coach, but only coached the Saints for 2 seasons.

St. Louis Cardinals, 5: Larry Wilson, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith, Roger Wehrli, Don Coryell (coach). Dierdorf has also been elected as a broadcaster, although not specifically with the Cardinals. Ottis Anderson should be elected as a Cardinal, although he achieved his greatest moment as a Giant.

25. Cincinnati Bengals, 4: Charlie Joiner, Ken Riley, Anthony Munoz, Paul Brown (founder-owner-coach). Reggie Williams and Corey Dillon should be in, but Boomer Esiason is a borderline case. Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson is both a borderline Hall of Fame case and a borderline mental case.

Duluth Eskimos, 3: Walt Kiesling, John "Johnny Blood" McNally, Ernie Nevers.

26. Tennessee Titans, 2: Bruce Matthews, Kevin Mawae. Matthews only played 3 years as a "Tennessee Titan," but counting 2 years as a "Tennessee Oiler," he qualifies for the Titans. Eddie George is eligible, and should be in.

27. Arizona Cardinals, 2: Aeneas Williams, Kurt Warner. Emmitt Smith wasn't with them long enough. Nor was Edgerrin James.

28. Carolina Panthers, 2: Sam Mills, Bill Polian (executive). Kevin Greene only played 3 seasons for them, so he doesn't count. Cam Newton, of course, is still active.

Frankford Yellow Jackets, 2: Guy Chamberlin, William "Link" Lyman. The 1926 NFL Champions should also have Russell "Bull" Behman and Henry "Two-Bits" Homan -- the former a big guy by the standards of the time, and the latter a little guy who was the NFL's answer to Wee Willie Keeler -- in the Hall.  But both died in the early 1950s, so neither was able to speak on his own behalf since the 1962 founding of NFL Films. Although the Eagles replaced the Jackets as Philadelphia's NFL team, the two teams are not the same franchise.

Providence Steam Roller, 2: Jimmy Conzelman (player & coach), Frederick "Fritz" Pollard.

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL 1930-1948), 2: Clarence “Ace” Parker, Frank "Bruiser" Kinard.

29. Houston Texans, 1: Andre Johnson. J.J. Watt will almost certainly be elected in his 1st year of eligibility, which will be 2028.

30. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1: Tony Boselli. Fred Taylor is also a possibility.

Rock Island Independents, 1: Duke Slater.

31. Las Vegas Raiders, none. Sorry, Mark Davis, but you dropped your team (nearly) to the bottom of this list when you screwed Oakland over, like your daddy did before you.

32. Los Angeles Chargers, none. Sorry, Dean Spanos, but you dropped your team to the bottom of this list when you screwed San Diego over.