Home > News > Michael Irvin makes it to the final 15

January 15, 2004

Michael Irvin is one step closer to immortality. Irvin has made it to the final 15 in the selection for the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Forgive me if I don't hold my breath, but I have seen this dog and pony show before. The selection committee will dangle a Dallas Cowboy on the line for a few selection process' just to say, 'see, were not biased' before dumping them near the home stretch. Not this time. Your not going to fool me into thinking you will be adding a Dallas Cowboys to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I'm not falling for it this year. You tricked me last year when 3 former Dallas Cowboys made it to the final 15, and then 2 made it to the final 6, but none were inducted. Typical day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame voters meeting, Cowboys get close, but no cigar.

Yea I know, Michael Irvin deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and likely will some day. Some day when the old guard of Hall of Fame voters have retired and taken their bias butts somewhere else. Sure they won't deny the obvious choices like Emmitt Smith & Troy Aikman. They will go 1st ballot, but guys like Michael Irvin, Too Tall Jones, Harvey Martin, Lee Roy Jordan, Chuck Howley, Drew Pearson, Rayfield Wright, Cliff Harris, and Bob Hayes, who are deserving but not head and shoulders above others who are deserving can expect a heavy dose of maybe next year.

Take a look at some teams that are about the same age as the Cowboys and the # of players they have in the Hall of Fame;

The Cowboys have 5
Buffalo Bills - 4
Baltimore (Indianapolis) Colts - 10
Kansas City Chiefs - 5
Miami Dolphins - 7
Minnesota Vikings - 6
Oakland (Los Angeles) Raiders - 11
San Diego Chargers - 6
Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans) - 5

These are teams that are relatively the same age as the Cowboys (give or take 10 years). There is NO WAY any of these teams should have an equal number of more hall of famers than the Cowboys. Maybe the Colts, but the other teams.. please. The Cowboys should have a number closer to the Raiders.. maybe somewhere between the Raiders and Dolphins. How can the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers, Houston Oilers and Kansas City Chiefs have more than the Cowboys.. how can that be. The Vikings, honestly. Chargers? Take all this in, really think hard and then try and tell me the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee doesn't have a bias against Dallas Cowboy players.

So excuse me if I don't sit in anticipation of Michael Irvin's induction. If the past has anything to do with it, (see last years induction), then I don't expect Michael Irvin to be making travel accommodations to Canton, Ohio anytime soon.

Here are some numbers from Michael Irvin's career (not that it matters). Irvin was part of three NFL Championship teams for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990's. During his 12 year career in Dallas, he caught 750 passes for 11904 yards and 65 touchdowns and was instrumental in leading the Cowboys back to the top of the National Football League. In the playoffs, Irvin caught 87 passes for 1314 yards and eight touchdowns.

The other 14 players on the list are as follows;

Dan Marino; (Miami Dolphins) - Shoe in. Now the Dolphins will have 8 (still only 2 Super Bowls and the Cowboys beat them in Super Bowl VI yet half the Dolphins from that team are in the HOF and only 5 from the Cowboys)

Steve Young; (San Francisco 49ers) - deserving, got a good chance. I expect Steve to go, if not this year then fairly soon.

Derrick Thomas; (Kansas City Chiefs) - another deserving player whose life was cut short by an automobile accident. I don't expect Thomas in this year but eventually. If he does go this will give the Chiefs 1 more player in the HOF than the Cowboys have... How many Super Bowls did the Chiefs win? 1

Fritz Pollard; (senior committee selection). One of Pioneers of Pro Football, played in the teens and 20's. Also was the first black to coach an NFL team.

Benny Friedman; (senior committee selection) played in the 20's and 30's. Member of the Bulldogs, Wolverines, Giants, and Brooklyn Dodgers. Considered the NFL's 1st great passer. When he retired, Friedman held the career Touchdown passing record of 66.

Harry Carson; (NY Giants). Harry was a great player, not sure he was HOF material but what do I know. Harry played for the Giants in the 1970s and 1980s and was a member of the 1986 NFL champions.

Richard Dent; (Chicago Bears) Dent was dominant but only for a short stint. He was the MVP for the Bears in the Super Bowl after the 1985 season. I can't imagine why Richard Dent would go and Harvey Martin wouldn't.

L. C. Greenwood; (Pittsburgh Steelers) I'm surprised he's not in yet. You can probably bet he makes it this year. I expect the HOF selection committee will not stop until all the Pittsburgh Steelers from that 70's team in the HOF.

Russ Grimm; (Washington Redskins), a member of Washington's famed Hogs offensive line from the 80's. Grimm has a good chance, too many offensive linemen are overlooked.

Claude Humphrey; (Atlanta Falcons) borderline, but still a good choice. A well deserving player but I can't imagine why Claude is more deserving that say Too Tall Jones.

Bob Kuechenberg; (Miami Dolphins) played on Miami's 1972 undefeated champions, likely another shoe in. The committee has to get all those '72 Dolphins in.

Art Monk; (Washington Redskins) I'm a little surprised Monk has not made it yet, when he retired he had all the receiving records, plus he was a member of three Super Bowl winners with the Redskins. Numbers aren't everything and receiving numbers started to explode about the time Monk entered the league. Monk is deserving no doubt but more so than Drew Pearson?

Roger Wehrli; (St. Louis Cardinals) a cornerback for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1969 to 1982; Wehrli although deserving suffers from being a member of a bad team.

George Young; (NY Giants), GM. I expect George to go, if not this year, soon.

If I a were a gambling man, and I'm not. I would bet these are your 2005 NFL Hall of Fame inductees;

Dan Marino
LC Greenwood
Benny Friedman
Russ Grimm
Bob Kuechenberg.

I reserve the right to update this list when the committee narrows the list down.

I'm not saying that any of the players in the Hall don't deserve to be there, they do. If I were in charge there would be more players in the Hall. I just can't imagine why so many deserving Cowboys have been shunned. When you try to understand how 6 Minnesota Vikings are in the Hall of Fame and only 5 Cowboys the only answer is voter bias.