Tag Archives: players who should be in the HoF

NFL

Lloyd, Greg (Sr)

to91 lloyd sco90 lloyd
Cards: Topps 1992, Score 1990
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent:  4/2/13      Received: 6/12/15    (801 days)

Greg must have liked the Action Packed and Skybox cards I sent him, because he switched them out for these cards-  not that I am totally complaining. I was happy to get back these two anyway since it took over 2 years.

Greg Lloyd was another one of these sneaky defensive prospects who went to Fort Valley State.  A 3rd round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1987, Lloyd lost his entire rookie season after a devastating knee injury. It was so bad, he took the field for only 9 games (starting 4) in 1988.  In 1989 he was entrenched as a starter at right outside linebacker. A well balanced defender, Lloyd could tackle, blitz, or cover a receiver out of the backfield- evidenced by his 92 tackles, 7 sacks, and 3 interceptions. He continued to build a head of steam through his career, beginning in 1991, when he earned his first ProBowl honor with 76 tackles, 8 sacks, and a whopping 6 forced fumbles.

In 1993 former LA Ram Kevin Greene joined the Steelers, turning the Pittsburgh defense into Blitzburgh. Greene ran rampant on opposing team’s defenses, thanks to Lloyd who had to always be accounted for. Greg earned his first AP nomination after the season, a year in which he had a career high 111 tackles, to go along with 5 FF and 6 sacks. Greg got the nod again in 1994, when he had a career high 10 sacks, and finally in 1995, when he accounted for 3 intereceptions and 88 tackles.  He tore his patella in the season opener against the Jags in 1996- ending his season.  In 1997 he returned to form but suffered a serious ankle injury that turned into a staph infection- essentially ending his career as a Steeler.  He finished his career playing for the Panthers in 1998 adding another 48 tackles and a sack to his impressive resume.  A Pittsburgh legend, and an intense competitor, Greg has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and loves to teach the martial discipline.

G/GS 147/139      TAC 707       SAC 54.5       FUM 35
INT 11         YDS 189      AVG 17.1    TD 0       LG 52

Arena, NFL

Boselli, Tony

udmvp02 tboselliCards: Upper Deck 2002 MVP, Upper Deck Inaugural Houston Texans 2002
Acquired: 2012, C/o Home
Sent:   3/25/2012      Received: 7/28/16  (1586 days)

Wow. Tony Boselli really made me wait on this one, signing 2 cards in almost 1600 days.  You have to hand it to the mailman. Just as you think they are stealing your mail, you get a long shot wait like this one.

Tony Boselli was the anchor of the Jacksonville Jaguar franchise at left tackle. He was their first draft choice in 1995, and quickly established a reputation as one of the finest linemen in the NFL. A very popular player during his tenure in Jacksonville, he provided a much needed face and leader to the young franchise as it matured under Tom Coughlin’s watch. A 5 time Pro Bowler from 1996-2000, and 3 time All Pro from 1997-1999, Boselli was named to the 1990’s All Decade NFL Team. He’d sign a massive, new contract with the Jaguars, but by 2001 the injuries and weightlifting had caught up with him.  It was possible that Tony’s bad shoulder might end his career.

Facing salary cap hell, the Jaguars made Tony available for the Houston Texans Expansion Draft in 2002. The deal was, if the Texans took Boselli’s massive contract hit, they’d leave NT Seth Payne and DE Gary Walker on the table for the Texans to draft as well.  For the Texans, the risk was Boselli might never be able to return form and Houston  would have to absorb his salary cap hit.  It seemed that the benefits outweighed the risk, so the Texans selected Boselli first overall during the expansion draft. He’d be the first and only player in the history of the league selected first by two expansion franchises.  The Texans immediately trotted Tony out as an ambassador of the franchise. He’d appear in numerous photoshoots and in pads touting the young Texans franchise, but as time and seasons passed, it became more and more obvious that Boselli was not going to see the field again.

He’d retire from football in 2004 or 2005,  and sign a one day contract to retire as a Jaguar in 2006, and joined the Pride of the Jaguars Hall of Fame. While Tony has been nominated numerous times as a preliminary candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he never made it past the first round until 2016 where he made it to the final round.  Perhaps due to his injury history, short career, playing for a smaller market, and at a relatively unglamorous position, has kept Boselli out of the Hall at this point, but in the meantime that has not slowed him down any.

A humanitarian at heart, Tony has his own charitable organization, and gives back to the community primarily in the Jacksonville area. He coaches football and does color commentary as well and was a minority owner at one point of the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League.  A savvy businessman, he owns some local Whataburger franchises, and a marketing company.

G/GS   91/90

AFL, NFL, NFLE, WLAF

Taylor, Lionel

Card: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 6/4/14  Received: 8/13/16  (801 days)

Lionel Taylor had an amazing career that began in 1959 playing for the Chicago Bears.  He didn’t record a reception for the team during his rookie year and opted to join the upstart American Football League during its inaugural season in 1960 for the Denver Broncos. Taylor went on to endear himself as one of the most dominant receivers in the history of the league, leading the AFL in receptions 5 of the next 6 years.  In 1961 he set a modern era record with 100 receptions (which was broken in 1964 by Charlie Hennigan at 101). He played for the Broncos through 1966- joining the Oilers for the 1967 and 1968 seasons.  Lionel retired from the gridiron in 1969.

Taylor established himself quickly as an up and coming assistant coach with the Steelers as a receivers coach in 1970.  He’d remain there through 1976, cultivating a reputation as a Super Bowl winning positional coach.  He joined the Rams from 1977-1979, where he was offensive coordinator in 1980 and 1981.  Lionel then applied his trade at the college level for Oregon State, and then as head coach at Texas Southern through 1988.  Returning to the NFL in 1989, Taylor worked with the Cleveland Browns tight ends and as a pass coordinator.

Taylor joined the World League of American Football in 1995 as offensive coordinator to the London Monarchs. As the league rebranded to the NFLE, he’d take over as head coach of the franchise in 1996 and shepherd the franchise through to become the England Monarchs. It was a tough run for Taylor as head coach at the end, as his team was a vagabond franchise playing all over England looking for a new home. Since there was no established fan base, this gave the Monarchs no home field advantage.  The Monarchs finished with a 3-7 record during their swan song season.

Taylor has fully retired from the sport and lives in New Mexico.  At a clip over 800 days, I had fully given up on getting a response from Lionel, so this one came as quite a surprise to get back. It’s a shame, as with many American Football League players, Lionel has gotten little to no traction in Hall of Fame circles, despite his impressive numbers.

AFL
G/GS 121/NA      REC 567     YDS  7195    AVG 12.7   TD 45    LG  80T

NFLE
W  11     L 17       PCT .393