In the storied history of the National Football League, hundreds of thousands of players have worn an NFL uniform. Since the Hall of Fame’s inception in 1963, a total of only 350 players, coaches and administrators have been honored with induction into the Hall of Fame.

While there is a large group of “near miss” candidates, there is a much shorter list of players whose absence from the Hall of Fame can only be called an injustice. This article will take a close look at that list and propose the top 5 candidates that absolutely, positively belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

CHUCK HOWLEY,  OLB,  DALLAS COWBOYS

Career Stats:
Played 15 Seasons: Chicago Bears 1958-59; Dallas Cowboys 1961-73
Was voted to 6 Pro Bowls, 5 All-Pro teams, 4 Consensus All-NFL teams
Played in 16 Playoff games, 2 Super Bowls and has 1 Super Bowl Championship ring.
Super Bowl MVP in 1970.
Recorded 25 career interceptions and 17 fumble recoveries.

A member of the the Dallas “Doomsday” defense in the 1960s, Chuck Howley was a speedy, ball hawking outside linebacker that seemed to be everywhere on the field. Displaying a nose for the ball, Howley intercepted 25 passes in his career and seemed to be in on every tackle. He scored a touchdown on a 97-yard fumble return in 1966 and had 18 fumble recoveries during his career. He was selected to six Pro Bowls and earned first team All-Pro honors on five occasions.

Originally a first round draft choice in 1958 by the Chicago Bears, he retired in 1958 after what appeared to be a career-ending knee injury. The Cowboys took a chance on his comeback in 1961, and it paid off handsomely. Despite the knee injury, Howley still had great speed and was a tremendous overall athlete. Tom Landry has said that Howley could have been successful in the NFL as a running back if he wasn’t as valuable as a linebacker.

Chuck Howleywas the type of player you could count on to play his best when it meant the most. In 1970, despite Dallas losing the game, he was named Super Bowl MVP after picking off two passes and recovering a fumble. He was the first defensive player to win the award, and the only player on a losing team to be name MVP. Howley refused the award because the Cowboys lost. In the following year’s Super Bowl, Howley contributed another interception and fumble recovery in Dallas’ Super Bowl win.

During his time on the Cowboys, Dallas finished in the top seven in the NFL in scoring defense and fewest yards allowed 10 times. They also made the playoffs in his last 8 years with the team, missing the playoffs the first year after Howley retired.

In 1977, Howley was inducted into the Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium. Howley was the fourthplayer honored, after Dallas legends Bob Lilly, Don Meredith and Don Perkins. Howley is still surely the greatest linebacker in the history of the Dallas Cowboys.

Despite his success, credentials and awards, Chuck Howley has incredibly never even been on the list of finalists for Hall of Fame induction. He is a player that has been consistently ignored first by the Hall Selection Committee and now the Veterans Committee. The other players on my list have at least been considered, at least made the finalist list, but not Chuck Howley. It’s hard to fathom.

A Tom Landry quote when Howley retired says it all: “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anybody better at linebacker than Chuck Howley.”

Chuck Howley belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

CHARLIE CONERLY,  QB,  NY GIANTS

Career Stats:

Played 14 Seasons: NY Giants, 1948-1961
Played in 3 League Championship game. One Championship ring.
Was named to 3 Pro Bowls and was name NFL MVP in 1959
173TDs, 19488 yards passing, 13.7YPC average.

A World War II marine combat veteran, Chuckin’ Charlie Conerlywas a football legend at Old Miss who played 14 years in the  NFL with the NY Giants. The early Giants teams he played on were awful — for example, the Philadelphia Eagles once sacked him 17 times in a game.

Because of this, despite being a finalist seven times, his career stats did not measure up for some Hall of Fame voters. There is a lot more, however, to Charlie Conerly’s story  than just stats.

Charley Conerly grew up as a poor kid in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Football was his ticket to a better life. He enrolled at the University of Mississippi in 1942, but World War II disrupted those plans. Conerly was a combat Marine and fought in the South Pacific before returning to Ole Miss and becoming a star quarterback.

Conerly was a college All-American at Ole Miss and set several NCAA records. Entering the NFL draft at age 27, he was considered too old for a rookie, and was bypassed until the NY Giants took a chance on him in the seventh round. He would prove to be one of the all-time draft steals.

Conerly immediately won the starting job for the Giants and was named rookie of the year. Unfortunately, Conerlywould soon become bruised and battered, as the woeful Giants offered him little protection. He suffered broken noses, separated shoulders and other injuries, but played through them all. His roommate with the Giants, Frank Gifford, has said he often felt like he should have taken Conerly to the hospital himself, but Conerly would just get up the next day and play through whatever injuries he had.

Eventually the Giants teams started to improve and in 1956, at the age of 35, Conerly would lead the Giants to the NFL Championship. He would lead them back there in 1958 and 1959. In1958, it was Conerly who took his team to the edge of victory in the 1958 NFL Championship against the Colts, often called the “Greatest Game Ever Played.” In 1959, Conerly was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.

Conerly was a three-time Pro Bowler who retired as the Giant’s leader in completions (1,418), yards (19,488) and TDs (173). He held those records until Phil Simms surpassed him as a giants QB.

Even with all his accomplishments, Conerly played in an era where Otto Graham and Norm van Brocklin were recognized as the great quarterbacks of that era. While Conerly was close behind, he was also overshadowed by some of the players on his own team, such as Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Kyle Rote and Roosevelt Brown. But there weren’t many NFL players that could match Conerly’s toughness and grit.

Conerly was a Hall of Fame Finalist 7 times, and came within a vote or two a few times, but never quite climbed that mountain. Frank Gifford has said, “When I got voted in, I was embarrassed to be there when Charlie wasn’t. I got most of the accolades in those winning years, but we all knew who got us there.”

The NY Giants have retired his number. He is one of only a handful of quarterbacks who have won league championships—and an MVP award—but are not enshrined in Canton.  Wellington Mara once called him the greatest player not in the Hall of Fame.

Charley Conerly deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

JOHNNY ROBINSON,  S,  KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Career Stats:
Played 12 Seasons: Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs, 1960-1971
Was voted to 7 Pro Bowls, 6 All-Pro teams
Won 3 League Championships and 1 Super Bowl.
Recorded 57 career interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries.
Twice lead the league with 10 interceptions in a season.

Johnny Robinson was drafted 3rd overall  by the Detroit Lions in the 1960 draft as a running back. He was also selected by the Dallas Texans of the brand-new American Football league (AFL), and decided to give the new league a try.

A great all-around athlete, Robinson had a fantastic all-purpose rookie year. As the #2 running back, he rushed for 458 yards at a 4.7 YPC average with 4 TDs. He returned 14 punts at a 14.8 average and caught 41 passes for  a 14.9 YPC average. Not a bad rookie year!

In 1961, withthe Chiefs #1 running back Abner Haynes taking the bulk of the running snaps, Robinson saw his carries cut in half. He was still a pass-catching threat, however, with 35 receptions at a 17 YPC average. Hank Stram knew he had to find a way to get Robinson on the field more often.

Much like Vince Lombardi moved Hall-of-Famer Willie Wood from RB to DB, Stram did the same with Robinson in 1962. It would turn out to be a brilliant move. Over the next 10 years, Robinson established himself as the best safety in the entire AFL and would go on to intercept 57 passes, which still ranks as 11thall-time in football history. He twice intercepted 10 passes in a season, leading the league both times. The Chiefs had a 35-1-1 record in games where Robinson had an interception.

During his time on the Chiefs, Kansas City won eight division titles, three league championships and were the winners of Super Bowl IV. Robinson played in that game with 3 broken ribs, suffered in the AFL championship game vs Oakland during a collision with, of all things, a game official. He didn’t practice at all before the Super Bowl. The only way he was able to play was by convincing the New Orleans Saint’s team surgeon to shoot him up with an entire bottle of Novocaine. The Chiefs had the surgeon sit on their bench the entire game.

The surgeon met me at the game and deadened it again,” Robinson has been quoted as saying. “I looked like a pin cushion. I went and sat right next to him every time I came off the field in case my ribs came loose and punctured my lungs.” Despite the broken ribs, Robinson had an interception and a fumble recovery to help lead the Chiefs to an upset of the heavily-favored Minnesota Vikings.

Johnny Robinson is considered by many as the player who redefined the position of strong safety in the NFL. He was named to seven Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro six times. Robinson is one of only 20 players who was in the AFL for all 10 years of its existence. Robinson was selected to the ALL-Time AFL team and the 1960s team of the Decade by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Naturally, he is a Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame member and Chiefs All-Time team Selection.

Johnny Robinson was a six-time finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but was never elected.  The Veterans Committee needs to right this wrong.

GINO CAPPELLETTI, WR/K, BOSTON PATRIOTS

Career Stats:
Played 11 Seasons: Boston Patriots, 1960-1971
Was voted to 5 AFL All-Star Games
AFL Most Valuable Player in 1964
All-time AFL Scoring leader
Averaged 30yards per reception in playoff games

The career of Gino Cappelletti was built upon the foundations of hard work, versatility and persistence. Growing up in a small town in Minnesota, Cappelletti was taught the principles of hard work by his father. Cappelletti’s father made his own wine, and Gino was the grape stomper. Capelletti would wear heavy rubber boots and be expected to crush every grape, under the watchful eye of his father. Cappelletti hated doing it, because it meant time away from playing football, but he credits his strong legs and perfectionist work ethic to those grape crushing sessions.

When he was allowed to play football, Cappelletti excelled, winning High School State Championships and leading the University of Minnesota football team to several winning seasons. But the NFL showed little interest, so Cappelletti played Semi-Pro football, joined the Army and then played in the CanadienFootball League.

Five years out of college, Cappelletti tracked down Lou Saban, head coach of the Boston Patriots of the fledgling American Football League. Saban was on a recruiting trip to Minnesota, and agreed to let Cappelletti try out, along with 125 other players. Cappelletti not only survived the cuts to make the team, he was an instant starter at defensive back, special teams and placekicker.

Gino’s versatility that first season is legendary. He is the only AFL or NFL player to run for a 2 point conversion, throw a 2 point conversion pass, catch a pass, intercept a pass, return a punt & return a kickoff in the same year. Add in kicking field goals and extra points, and you can safely say that feat will NEVER be repeated.

The following season (1961), Saban switched Cappelletti to receiver, and an All-Star career was born. In his first season as a receiver, Cappelletti would catch 45 passes, score 8 touchdowns, kick 17 field goals and knock through 48 extra points. He also threw a touchdown pass and was named to the Pro Bowl the first of his five times. Cappelletti was the runner-up to Hall of Famer George Blanda for Player of the Year honors.

While Cappelletti was considered to have only above-average speed and hands in his early receiving career, his dedication to perfection allowed him to become an elite pass-catcher. He would practice his route-running non-stop, until he could run the exact same meticulous pattern every time. His receivers coach at the time said, “I’ve never seen an athlete work harder than Gino did to learn his new position; he wanted it so badly he approached it as if it were almost a matter of life or death.”

For six straight seasons, Cappelletti would score more than100 points, averaging 132 points per season during that span. He is tied with Don Hutson for most seasons as the league scoring leader, at 5. Cappelletti is the AFL’s all-time leading scorer and is one of only 20 players to have never missed a game during the league’s existence.

In addition to the above, Gino Cappelletti also…

Was an AFL All Star in 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966 & 1967.
Accounted for at least 34 % of his teams points scored in a season for 8 consecutive years
Holds the AFL and the Patriots Team Record of scoring 28 points in a game.
Averaged (an AFL/NFL best) 7.5 pts per game over his 11 year career.
Holds the AFL record with the most points scored in a game with 28.
Holds the AFL record with the most career points scored with 1,130.
Is one of only 12 players who have scored 18 points or more in a game at least 10 times.
Scored at least 20 points in a game 8 times, as well.

Hank Stram has called Cappelletti “one of the greatest clutch performers of professional football.” Many Hall of Fame players, including George Blanda, Len Dawson and Jan Stenerud have petitioned for Gino Cappelletti to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. In his own 2001 Hall of Fame induction speech, Nick Buoniconti made it a point to declare, “Gino should be up here.”

Gino Cappelletti is a man that came from humble beginnings and achieved football greatness by sheer will. That type of spirit deserves to be rewarded, and Gino Cappelletti deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

JERRY KRAMER, G, GREEN BAY PACKERS
Career Stats:
Played 11 Seasons: Green Bay Packers, 1958-1968
Played in 4 League Championship games and two Super Bowls
Has 5 Championship rings.
5-TimeAll-Pro and 3 Pro Bowls

While Hall-of-Fame membership has eluded Jerry Kramer, fame itself has not. In the famous Ice Bowl, Kramer threw the most famous and recounted block in the history of the NFL, giving Bart Starr just enough room to score the winning TD. Kramer also appeared in one of the most famous Sports Illustrated covers ever, the classic photograph of Kramer carrying Vince Lombardi off the field after the Packers’ Super Bowl II victory.

Kramer was famous for his physical ailments, injuries and multiple operations.Kramer underwent 22 surgeries in 11 seasons, his many  scars earning him the nickname “Zipper”. Despite all of these obstacles, Kramer made it onto the field to play in 129 regular season games in his 11 years. As Bart Starr once said, “When Jerry wasn’t on his deathbed, he was making life miserable for defensive tackles.”

A fourth round draft pick in 1958, (selected after Jim Taylor and Ray Nitschke), Kramer started immediately. As a rookie, the 6′ 3″, 250-lb Kramer quickly gained the reputation as a tenacious player that could hold his own against the best defensive tackles. In 1959, a new coach came to town and soon recognized Kramers talent. Vince Lombardi would later say of Kramer, “He didn’t know how good he was…”

Lombardi helped develop Kramer into an All-Pro NFL guard.  Kramer became the key blocker to the success of the famous Green Bay Packer sweep. Along with fellow guard Fuzzy Thurston, it was Kramer’s job to provide the inside “seal” Vince Lombardi famously talked about, keeping the middle linebacker away from Jim Taylor and other Packers running backs.

Kramer also filled in as kicker for two seasons. His three field goals helped the Packers win the 1962 championship game against the New York Giants, 16-7. He scored 65 points in 1962 and was the team’s leading scorer with 91 points in 1963.

In addition to his playing career, Jerry Kramer gained fame off of the football field. He became a best-selling author, with his first book, Instant Replay. a diary of the 1967 Packers season. He would go on to write three more books, “Farewell to Football”, “Lombardi: Winning is the Only Thing”, and “Distant Replay”. Kramer is also the original founder of Gridiron Greats, the non-profit organization Mike Ditka is associated with, dedicated to offering financial assistance to old-time NFL players with physical disabilities and difficult lives.

Kramer earned the respect of teammates and opponents alike, and was named All-Pro 5 times. If not for the Packers having so many other All-Pro players on their team, Kramer would have certainly been named to more Pro Bowls. But his playing career was not short on accolades. Kramer was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 1960’s. He was named  a starting guard in “The Ultimate Super Bowl 40 Man Roster”, the 40th anniversary all-time Super Bowl team. And most impressively of all, he was the only guard selected for the NFL’s 50th Anniversary all-time team. Incredulously, Kramer is the only player selected for that team that is not a member of the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame.

Jerry Kramer is a10-time Hall of Fame finalist and the only player named 10 times or more that has not been inducted. Many former teammates and competitors have come out and accused the voting writers of being jealous of Kramer’s success as an author. Joe Horrigan, Hall of Fame Vice President has said that 25% of the mail that the Hall receives on a daily basis is about Jerry Kramer. Clearly, it seems that almost everyone except the Hall of Fame voters recognize that Jerry Kramer belongs. It’s beyond ironic that Kramer has earned so much fame, yet can’t get acknowledged by the Hall of Fame. The Seniors committee needs to nominate him every year until this wrong is righted.

Al Bracco is a Staff Op/Ed Writer for PackerChatters.com.

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