The future HOF thread got me thinking.

[Joe Realist]

He will and he will look younger than today. LOL.

 

[DallasEast]

His resume is more than strong enough. His impact on the overall league has been quite measurable. Most importantly, he's in very good health. His acceptance speech should be very memorable, filled with plenty of 'umms' and smacks.

Then again, it takes just one crazed, 'Fire Jerruh!" billboard investor on a Blues Brothers mission from [strike]the Prozac voices in the head[/strike] you know who to end that dream.

 

[CowboyDan]

Absolutely.

The only question is who would his presenter be?

He'd probably try to present himself.

Jimmie Johnson? :laugh2:

Barry Switzer? :laugh2:

Quincy Carter? :laugh2:

The Triplets?

 

[Big Dakota]

What did Bidwill do to be in the HOF?

His HOF Bio:

Class of 1967
Owner-Administrator
(Loyola of Chicago)
1933-1947 Chicago Cardinals
Charles W. Bidwill, Sr. . .Purchased Cardinals' franchise, 1933. . . Staunch faith in NFL stood as guiding light during dark depression years. . .Dealt AAFC most stunning blow with $100,000 signing of Charley Trippi, 1947. . .Built famous "Dream Backfield" but died before it could bring him a Cardinals championship. . .Financial help saved Bears' ownership for George Halas, 1932. . .Born September 16, 1895, in Chicago, Illinois. . . Died April 19, 1947, at age of 51.

 

[the kid 05]

The only question is who would his presenter be?

Prob Stephen

 

[THUMPER]

His HOF Bio:

Class of 1967
Owner-Administrator
(Loyola of Chicago)
1933-1947 Chicago Cardinals
Charles W. Bidwill, Sr. . .Purchased Cardinals' franchise, 1933. . . Staunch faith in NFL stood as guiding light during dark depression years. . .Dealt AAFC most stunning blow with $100,000 signing of Charley Trippi, 1947. . .Built famous "Dream Backfield" but died before it could bring him a Cardinals championship. . .Financial help saved Bears' ownership for George Halas, 1932. . .Born September 16, 1895, in Chicago, Illinois. . . Died April 19, 1947, at age of 51.

People don't realize just how unpopular the NFL was in the 20 & 30s. Baseball was far and away the "National Pastime" with college sports right behind them. Professional football was seen on a par with professional wrestling (which was very popular back then), fun to watch at times but not something you would do all the time. It was considered much less entertaining than college football.

Men like Guy Chamberlain, George Halas, Charles Bidwell, etc. (and even that scumbag George Preston Marshall), did a lot to give the NFL credibility by keeping it alive through the depression. There were a number of other pro football leagues and franchises that failed during those early years.

After WWII the NFL & AAFC were much more exciting games and people were into a more active game than baseball. The NBA also got going around that time.

Those early owners were true pioneers and most of them lost enormous amounts of money to keep the league afloat. It wasn't until the 50s before most teams started to make money on a consistent basis and not until the 60s when Pete Rozelle got the big TV contract that they made the big money.

Also, the Cardinals did have a couple of good teams in the 20s and again in the late 40s. Bidwell died the year his team finally won the championship.

 

[Big Dakota]

People don't realize just how unpopular the NFL was in the 20 & 30s. Baseball was far and away the "National Pastime" with college sports right behind them. Professional football was seen on a par with professional wrestling (which was very popular back then), fun to watch at times but not something you would do all the time. It was considered much less entertaining than college football.

Men like Guy Chamberlain, George Halas, Charles Bidwell, etc. (and even that scumbag George Preston Marshall), did a lot to give the NFL credibility by keeping it alive through the depression. There were a number of other pro football leagues and franchises that failed during those early years.

After WWII the NFL & AAFC were much more exciting games and people were into a more active game than baseball. The NBA also got going around that time.

Those early owners were true pioneers and most of them lost enormous amounts of money to keep the league afloat. It wasn't until the 50s before most teams started to make money on a consistent basis and not until the 60s when Pete Rozelle got the big TV contract that they made the big money.

Also, the Cardinals did have a couple of good teams in the 20s and again in the late 40s. Bidwell died the year his team finally won the championship.

You are 100% right! There was a "Most underserving HOFer" thread a couple weeks ago and a guy contended, with another agreeing that Jim Thorpe shouldn't be in the HOF. Without these early guys there would be no NFL. Curly Lambeau didn't have much for stats but he's in the inaugural class for a reason. I won't argue history with people that don't know history.

 

[THUMPER]

You are 100% right! There was a "Most underserving HOFer" thread a couple weeks ago and a guy contended, with another agreeing that Jim Thorpe shouldn't be in the HOF. Without these early guys there would be no NFL. Curly Lambeau didn't have much for stats but he's in the inaugural class for a reason. I won't argue history with people that don't know history.

Red Grange helped to give the NFL some credibility and put a lot of butts in the seats!

If you are comparing Thorpe's production on the field in the NFL then he probably doesn't belong in the HoF because he just didn't play in enough games and in several he just made an "appearance". But when you look at the influence Thorpe had on fans when the NFL was just getting started his impact was huge! Also, he played a long time prior to 1920 when the league started. He was past his prime when the NFL began and he wasn't the dominating player he had been earlier in his career.

This is from Wiki...

Back in 1915, Thorpe had signed with the Canton Bulldogs. They paid him $250 ($5,248 in current dollar terms) a game, a tremendous wage at the time. Before Thorpe's signing, Canton was averaging 1,200 fans a game; 8,000 showed up for his debut against Massillon. The team won titles in 1916, 1917, and 1919. Thorpe reportedly ended the 1919 championship game by kicking a wind-assisted 95–yard punt from his team's own 5-yard line, effectively putting the game out of reach. In 1920, the Bulldogs were one of 14 teams to form the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which would become the National Football League (NFL) two years later. Thorpe was nominally the APFA's first president; however, he spent most of the year playing for Canton and a year later was replaced by Joseph Carr. He continued to play for Canton, coaching the team as well. Between 1921 and 1923, Thorpe played for the LaRue, Ohio, (Marion County, Ohio) Oorang Indians, an all-Native American team. Although the team went 3–6 in 1922, and 1–10 in 1923, Thorpe played well and was selected to the Green Bay Press-Gazette's first All-NFL team in 1923 (the Press-Gazette's team would later be formalized by the NFL as the league's official All-NFL team in 1931).

Thorpe never played on an NFL championship team. He retired from pro football at the age of 41, having played 52 NFL games for six teams from 1920 to 1928.

It is hard to gauge the impact of players/coaches/owners from the early days of professional football and you can't simply look at what they did on the field. There would be no NFL without those guys.

They played in front of pitiful crowds, on days when no one else was playing, in crappy weather, made peanuts, had next to nothing in terms of medical care, played double-headers, played a couple times a week in some cases. There were times when the players didn't get paid because not enough fans showed up. The owners lost money almost every year. Everyone involved had a "regular" job outside of football.

Some teams were well organized and funded while others were thrown together at the last minute and were lucky to get train fare home. Some tams played 17 games in a season while others played only 3 or 5, some only one! I remember reading about a game once where one team didn't have enough players so they asked some high-school kids if they wanted to play and they filled out their roster with 4-5 17 year-olds.

I could go on but you get the idea. You just can't compare players from that era with those from today and come up with their true impact on the game.