Tag Archives: players who should be in the NFL HoF

AFL

Cannon, Billy “Legend”

udlg97 cannonCard: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: 11/23/2012, Fiterman Autograph Event
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

LSU’s sensational halfback and future Heisman Trophy winner, who led the Tigers to their first national championship, walked off the field of his final game for LSU to see a beaming madman in a prim suit standing in the end zone, named Bud Adams. With that Billy Cannon was signed with the AFL’s Houston Oilers in front of a televised national audience, effectively firing a warning shot towards the choppy waters the NFL was about to sail into. Before Cannon could get his legs under him in the upstart AFL, Pete Rozelle of the NFL and the Los Angeles Rams, (who drafted Cannon #1 overall in the NFL’s common draft,) sued him for breach of contract. You see Cannon had also signed a deal with the NFL in secret, but Adams, (who had arranged this whole scheme,) knew that if the NFL admitted that they had signed Cannon before his college eligibility had ended, would be essentially embarrassing themselves, based on the invalidity of their contract.

Billy Cannon gave the upstart league immediate viability and credibility as an alternative to the stodgy NFL. Along with quarterback George Blanda, and wide receivers Bill Groman, and Charlie Hennigan, Cannon led the Houston Oilers to the first two AFL championships in 1960, scoring on an 88 yard pass, in the team’s 24-16 victory over the LA Chargers. He’d then repeat again in 1961, scoring the only touchdown in the rematch between the two.  In that season he led the AFL in rushing with 948 yards (4.7 ypc), rushing for a team record 212 yards in one game, and overall with 2043 from scrimmage, but lost out to Blanda for the league MVP honors. In that season he set the league record for YFS in a game with 373 against the New York Titans, -a record that stood for almost 30 years, and had 5 TDs in that same game.  After the Oilers failed to win the championship game in 1963, Billy signed with the Oakland Raiders in 1964. It was there that Al Davis had the crazy idea of converting Cannon to a tight end. – And why not? With his soft hands, great speed, and size, Cannon was a perfect fit for the position and the downfield passing game that Davis employed. He played the next 5 seasons with the Raiders where he built an impressive resume at the position and won another title with the Raiders becoming one of the AFL’s greatest players at the position. Billy then played one final season with the Chiefs in 1970 and retired.  Cannon is one of only a handful (20) players who played the entire 10 year lifetime of the AFL in the league.

Billy has had some missteps since his career ended, and got in deep with the wrong people. In order to catch up he half-cooked up a counterfeiting scheme, and was sent to jail in 1983. After being released for good behavior, he went back to work in the medical field as a dentist, but had a difficult time finding work. Cannon was reviled now by the people who used to admire him who now would rather celebrate at seeing him fall further. It’d be in the most unlikeliest of places that Cannon, “The Legend” found his redemption. The prison system had need for a dentist, and Cannon came in and cleaned up the LSP dental department. In fact the Warden liked Billy’s work so much, that he promoted him to run the whole medical wing. It was in this perhaps, that Billy saw a glimmer of happiness in his work, and slowly over the next few years, took baby steps into the world again and began to make appearances at LSU functions. With time all wounds heal, and Billy was again praised for those svelte moves that earned him a place in school history for a play simply known as “The Punt Return”.  Cannon still works at the prison today and is referred to by the inmates simply as “Legend”.  He also enjoys raising and breeding horses.  Billy Cannon is the only player to have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame twice. He earned the recognition in 1983 but it was taken away due to his conviction, and then again was inducted in 2008. His number has also been retired by LSU.

G 133     Rush  602     Yds   2455     Avg   4.1    Td  17   Lg  64
Rec  236    Yds 3656   Avg  15.5     Td  47      Lg  88
Kr  67   Yds  1704      Avg  25.4    Td 1   Lg  88
Pr  14      Yds  178      Avg 12.7      Td 0   Lg  51

The punt return: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIHdlAg4Uic

NFL, University of Texas

Nobis, Tommy “Mr. Falcon” (1943-2017)

udlgd97 nobis to78 nobis

Cards: Topps 1971, Topps 1977, Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 1/2    Received : 3/6 (58 days)

Tommy Nobis is considered one of the greatest linebackers in the University of Texas’ history winning the Outland and Maxwell trophies in 1965 as the best all around linebacker in the country. (What was even more amazing was that Nobis also was the offense’s starting guard as well.) A proven star against big name talent, Nobis helped the Longhorns win the 1963 Cotton Bowl for the college’s first College Football National Championship against Roger Staubach and Navy. Nobis later helped the Longhorns defeat famed quarterback Joe Namath and Alabama in 1965 in the Orange Bowl.

Tommy was wooed by both the NFL and the AFL after the 1965 season. In one of his more grander schemes during the AFL’s renegade days, Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams courted Nobis on board an airplane flight over Texas. Nobis was the #1 overall pick of the NFL Atlanta Falcons, and the #5 pick overall of the AFL Houston Oilers. Tommy opted to sign with the Falcons, becoming their first ever draft choice and earning his nickname, “Mr. Falcon”.

to71 nobisNobis immediately made an impact for the team, recording an unofficial and unprecedented, 294 tackles his rookie season, and earning NEA NFL Rookie of the Year honors.  A lone bright spot on a very lousy team, Tommy had a motor that just wouldn’t quit, and he anchored the Falcons defense down almost single-handedly in those early years. He actually understood and could call defensive formations, covered the run or pass with ease, and hit like a Mack truck. Tommy finished his NFL career with 5 Pro Bowl nominations and one AP nod. He retired after the 1977 season. Tommy’s numbers are all the more impressive considering that he had 2 seasons fairly marred by knee injuries.  Very few football fans talk about Nobis on the measure of the other greats of the late 60s, but during that time, he was considered one of the best in the business. What guys like Butkus had over Nobis was big market exposure, and despite Mr. Falcon’s efforts, he has never gotten into the NFL Hall of Fame. In fact Butkus and Nobis had very similar numbers, and played for astonishingly equal bad teams. Punishing runningback Larry Czonka once even stated, “I’d rather play against Dick Butkus, than Tommy Nobis.”

Nobis’ number 60 is officially retired at the University of Texas alongside Earl Campbell‘s number 20. It comes out of retirement semi-periodically when the team has had an outstanding talent at the position that they wish to honor, such as Britt Hager during the late 80s and Derrick Johnson more recently during the early 2000’s. A member of the NFL All-1960s team, Tommy has also been honored by the Atlanta Falcons as well, and worked in their front office for many years.

Tac  1183      Sac N/a     Fum 13       Int 12     Yds 182   Avg     Td 2    Lg  41

UPDATE 12/13/17- Tommy Nobis passed away today at the age of 74. No immediate cause of death was provided.

College Football HoF, NFL

Jackson, Keith “Boomer Sooner”

Cards: ProSet 1990, Action Packed Rookies Update 1992, GameDay 1992, Action Packed All Madden Team 1990.
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o P.A.R.K.*
Sent: 8/28        Received: 9/10  (12 days)
*Autograph Fee $5 per card.

Keith Jackson was the highest rated tight end off the board in 1988 after a prolific career for the University of Oklahoma. A complete package at the position, Jackson had soft hands, and just about the right size, speed, and blocking ability to handle just about every duty assigned to him. Over his career at Oklahoma he racked up 1407 yards on 62 receptions- a whopping 23.7 yards per catch. He’d earn the appropriate nickname ‘Boomer Sooner’ from his teammates for his penchant to show up in big games, making big plays, leading the Oklahoma Sooners to a National Championship in 1986. During the National Championship game against Penn State, Keith caught a spectacular 71 yard touchdown pass.

He was selected in the first round of the 1988 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Buddy Ryan, who was head coach of the time eschewed receivers, but loved the all around ability of Jackson and quickly put him to work.


It didn’t take long for Keith to become a fan favorite of the Eagles and Randall Cunningham, as he set the team mark for yards by a rookie with 869, to go along with 80 catches, and 6 touchdowns earning Keith his first Pro Bowl and AP nods. In a final accolade that season he won NFC Rookie of the Year Honors. 1988 was his best season statistically, but by no means did it represent the end of his career, as both in 89 and 90, he’d also be named AP and to the Pro Bowl for his solid seasons with 63 and 50 receptions respectively. After catching 49 balls his final season with the Eagles in 1991, Keith signed with the Miami Dolphins in 1992.

With the dawn of Free Agency and the Dolphins looking to add new weapons for Dan Marino, Keith quickly stepped right into the starting lineup for Miami, staying there for 3 seasons. Along the way Jackson scored 18 touchdowns on 146 receptions. Another ProBowl was in store for him in 1992, with 594 yards and 5 touchdowns. Keith moved on to the Green Bay Packers and became a nice redzone target for quarterback Brett Favre. Although his 1995 season was marred by injury, Keith recovered in time for 1996 scoring 10 touchdowns on 40 receptions. This earned Keith his final Pro Bowl nomination and culminated in the team’s victory over the New England Patriots in SuperBowl XXXI. He’d retire after the season.

Keith is a player who really hasn’t gotten his due, as he has never been considered for the Hall of Fame. Although the passing game has mutated into what it is today with tight ends that behave like wide receivers, Keith was an anomaly out of time. One surely wonders what sort of damage he would have done if he was playing during the current pass happy era of the NFL. Surely he would have posted some gaudy stats if things were different. Still when you look at the final count, in 9 seasons he was a 6 time Pro Bowler on 3 different teams, and a 3 time All Pro from his 3 seasons in Philadelphia. I had been long interested in adding Keith to my collection- as far back as 2009, but kept kicking the can down the road on this one. Wish I had sent out for this one sooner as it was a lighting fast reply c/o his charity P.A.R.K. He does color commentary on the radio currently for the Razorbacks, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

I really liked all these cards. Pro Set actually liked the 1990 card they produced so much that they used it frequently for promotion. I can see why with the way the light perfectly hits Keith’s pads, lighting up the green in contrast to the black background. It provides quite a silhouette. I was never really a fan of the ‘All Madden Team’ Action Packed cards that were produced, although this shot in particular is a good one. The GameDay 1992 cards were superior and unique cards, and along with the Action Packed, made great cards to get autographed due to their look.
G/Gs 129/105     Rec 441    Yds 5283    Avg 12.0    Td 49    Lg 73t