The Hall of Fame Case of Bob Hayes, Revisited
By Matt Cordon (kh). Filed in Bob Hayes |
The Seniors Committee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame has, for a second time, nominated Bob Hayes for the Hall of Fame. He is one of several players that Cowboys fans have argued for years should be inducted. In fact, the video below produced for NFL Network puts Hayes among the ten deserving players who have not been inducted.
Here is more from the press release issued today:
Wide receiver Bob Hayes and defensive end Claude Humphrey have been selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee as finalists for election into the Hall of Fame with the Class of 2009.
Hayes and Humphrey will join 15 still-to-be-named modern-era candidates on the list of finalists from which the Class of 2009 will be selected. The Hall of Fame selection meeting will be held on January 31, 2009, the day before Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida. To be elected, Hayes and Humphrey must each receive the same 80 percent voting support that is required of all finalists. The Hall’s Board of Selectors can elect a maximum of two senior candidates and five modern-era candidates for a class no smaller than four or larger than seven during next January’s meeting.
Both of the senior nominees have been finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the past. Hayes was the seniors committee’s candidate in 2004 while Humphrey was a modern-era finalist three times (2003, 2005 and 2006).
Hayes, who earned the label “World’s Fastest Human” during his gold medal-winning performances in track during the 1964 Summer Olympics, took the NFL by storm upon joining the Dallas Cowboys a year later. As a rookie, Hayes led the NFL in 1965 with a 21.8 yards per catch average and scored a league-best 12 touchdown receptions. He recorded 1,000-yard seasons in both of his first two years in the NFL.
A three-time All-NFL pick, Hayes amassed 371 career receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns during his 11-season career with the Cowboys (1965-1974) and the San Francisco 49ers (1975). He also returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns; and had 23 kickoff returns for 581 yards.
Hayes, who passed away on September 18, 2002, played in six NFL/NFC championship games and started in two Super Bowls.
Of 26 players in the Hall of Fame who played (or are listed as) wide receiver, flanker, or end, nine were contemporaries of Hayes. These include the following players, listed with their years of service and their career stats:
Charlie Joiner (1969-1986): 750 rec., 12146 yards, 16.2 ave., 65 TDs
Fred Biletnikoff (1965-1978): 589 rec., 8974 yards, 15.2 ave., 76 TDs
Charley Taylor (1964-1977): 649 rec., 9110 yards, 14.0 ave., 79 TDs
Paul Warfield (1964-1977): 427 rec., 8565 yards, 20.1 ave., 85 TDs
Tommy McDonald (1957-1968): 495 rec., 8410 yards, 17.0 ave., 84 TDs
Bobby Mitchell (1958-1968): 521 rec., 7954 yards, 15.3 ave., 65 TDs
Lance Alworth (1962-1972): 542 rec., 10266 yards, 18.9 ave., 85 TDs
Don Maynard (1958-1973): 633 rec., 11834 yards, 18.7 ave., 88 TDs
Raymond Berry (1955-1967): 631 rec., 9275 yards, 14.7 ave., 68 TDs
Here are Hayes’ numbers:
1965-1975: 371 rec., 7414 yards, 20.0 ave., 71 TDs.
As this list shows, only one of the current Hall of Famers can match Hayes’ career average-per-catch total of 20.0 (Paul Warfield). Moreover, though most have more total touchdowns that Hayes, only Warfield (19.9%) caught a higher percentage of touchdowns based on their receptions. In Hayes’ case, he 19.1% of his receptions were touchdowns.
If Hayes falls noticeably short, it is due to his career totals in receptions and yards. However, his numbers are considerably better than a recent inductee in Lynn Swann, who finished with 336 receptions, 5462 yards, and 51 TDs. And similar to Swann, the best reason for Hayes’ induction is based on more than numbers. It is instead based on how he changed the game thanks to his speed and playmaking ability.
Thursday, August 28th 2008 at 3:24 pm
Swann’s resume is padded with 4 rings and being named All Pro several times in the 70s.
Much as I love him, Hayes never led his team to a championship (yes, he played in SB VI but he wasn’t instrumental in the Cowboys victory). I hope he gets in, but saying his stats compare to Swann’s is a weak argument, in my opinion.
Maybe weak enough that HOF voters won’t be swayed.
Thursday, August 28th 2008 at 4:28 pm
You didn’t find the percentage of touchdowns argument any more persuasive?
In addition to his stats and reputation for dropping passes, it does not help him that the likes of Del Shofner, Gary Collins, and Boyd Dowler aren’t in the Hall of Fame and probably never will be.
Take Collins, for instance: 331 rec., 5299 yards, 16.0 ave., 70 TDs. All-Decade Team for the 1960s. He caught three touchdown passes in the NFL Championship Game in 1964 as Cleveland beat Baltimore 27-0. He only made two Pro Bowls, but otherwise, his overall performance was much like that of Hayes. And he will most likely never make the Hall of Fame.
So…I hate to acknowledge that there are plenty of other arguments against Hayes, but few players can boast that they changed the game quite like he did.
Personally, I’d rather argue in favor of Cliff Harris.
Saturday, August 30th 2008 at 12:06 am
I agree with you that Hayes’ % of TDs is impressive, but my opinion doesn’t matter — the question is, will it sway the HOF voters? My guess is, if they had it to do over again, Swann wouldn’t have gotten in (I understand it took 15 tries for Swann to make it?).
Since they cannot correct that wrong, they will do the next best thing by keeping Hayes out, proving you can’t use their mistaken admission of Swann as an argument to admit another marginal (in their opinion) candidate.
Saturday, August 30th 2008 at 12:18 am
My comment was kind of a half-hearted joke– I agree with you. If Hayes gets in, it will be because of a number of intangibles. It will also be in spite of his numbers, which just aren’t very impressive (unless you try to characterize them in a positive light, which is tough).
The Swann numbers come up more frequently in the debate over Drew Pearson. Swann isn’t in there because of stats, which are largely inferior to Pearson’s. Yet the biggest argument against Pearson is that he doesn’t have numbers. I was extending some of this analysis to Hayes’ case, but it’s still pretty weak.