Oakland Raiders Not Quite Hall of Famers

In a recent article titled What about these guys?, Sports Illustrated writer, Peter King wrote about players who are not in the Hall of Fame that should be. I noticed that not a single Raider made his list.

Let's take a look at former Raiders who are not in the Hall of Fame that should be.

Should Be In

Ray Guy
The NFL named Guy the punter on its all-time team because he was a key to the Raider's Super Bowl winning teams of 1976, 1980, and 1983. In 14 seasons , he punted 1,049 times for 44,493 yards and averaged 42.4 yards. Guy played in 207 consecutive games, had 210 punts inside the 20, had 619 consecutive punts before having one blocked, and in the 1981 season, he had five punts over 60 yards. Guy is the standard bearer for how all punters are evaluated yet he is not in the Hall of Fame.

Current Raiders Punter, Shane Lechler has the highest punting average in NFL history

Cliff Branch
Branch caught 501 passes for 8685 yards and 67 TDs in his 14 year career. More importantly, he was with the Raiders for their three Super Bowl wins and caught 14 passes for 176 yards and 3 TDs in his championship appearances. Branch was named to four Pro Bowls and in 1974 he lead the NFL in receiving yards and receiving TDs.

Ken Stabler
"The Snake" completed 2270 of 3793 passes for 27,938 yards and 194 TDs in his NFL career. He was the AP NFL MVP in 1974 and led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl win in 1977. He is known for his late game comebacks like "The Ghost to the Post" in the 1977 AFC Playoffs.

Jim Plunkett
This Heisman trophy winner completed 1943 of 3701 passes for 25,882 yards and 164 TDs in his NFL career. In 1980 he was voted the NFL's comeback player of the year and led the Raiders to win Super Bowl XV. He threw for 261 yards and 3 TDs and was named the Super Bowl MVP. Plunkett also played in "Black Sunday," which was the Raiders 38-9 defeat of the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVII.

Jack Tatum
The "Assasin" was one of the NFL's most viscious hitters. He is responsible for some of the most famous hits in the NFL. In Super Bowl XI, Tatum blasted Vikings receiver Sammy White knocking his helmet off but Tatum's most famous hit took place during a preseason game against the Patriots. Tatum hit receiver Darryl Stingley and damaged his spinal cord, causing him to be paralyzed from the chest down. Tatum was also named to three Pro Bowls and finished his NFL career with 37 interceptions.

Another player, who is not yet eligble, but should be a first ballot hall of famer is "Mr. Raider" himself, Tim Brown. Brown was another Heisman Trophy winner. In his NFL Career, Brown caught 1094 passes for 14,934 yards and 100 TDs and was named to 9 Pro Bowls. He also holds the franchise mark for punt returns. The only other receivers that compare to him is the legendary Jerry Rice and former Viking Chris Carter. Brown was unable to win a Super Bowl ring but played in the Super Bowl XVIII loss to Tampa Bay.

Not in but deserve Recognition

Greg Townsend
Townsend played 13 NFL seasons and finished with 109.5 sacks which puts him at 15th all time. He was the 1983 Rookie of the Year and was selected to two Pro Bowls.

Terry McDaniel
McDaniel intercepted 35 passes and returned 6 for TDs in his 11 NFL seasons.

Steve Wisniewski
Wisniewski was an Offensive Gaurd for the Raiders who played 12 NFL seasons and was named to the Pro Bowl 7 times. He is on the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team.

Rich Gannon
In his 18 year career, Gannon completed 2533 of 4206 passes for 28,743 yards and 180 TDs while only throwing 104 INTs. He was the NFL MVP in 2002 and led the Raiders to the Super Bowl. Gannon has set some NFL single season records like Most passes completed(418) and most 300 yard passing games (10).


You're all HOFers in my book
These players may not have Hall of Fame credentials yet, but they are all a major part of the history of the greatest franchise in the NFL and they are all honored members of a team that doesn't need hall of fame honors to realize how great their careers really were.

EXTRA
I read on the HOF website that any fan can nominate a player by simply writing in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so I looked up the address.

Pro Football Hall of Fame
2121 George Halas Dr NW
Canton, OH 44708-2699

If you want to see some of these players get what they deserve, write in and nominate the yourselves. The more that write in, the more seriously they have to take the nomination.