A History of Hall of Fame Wide Receivers

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has been criticized for many perceived injustices in the past. Defensive players are woefully under-represented. Linemen in particular have gotten the shaft in the voting process - despite making up nearly half the offensive players on the field at one time, there are nonetheless fewer than two offensive linemen in the hall of fame for each QB, RB, or WR. Kickers and Punters are almost entirely unrepresented, even though special teams can have an unbelievably significant effect on the outcome of games, and even seasons, in the NFL.

But one injustice that often goes unnoticed is the Hall of Fame's questionable record in inducting wide receivers. First, compared to quarterbacks and running backs, wide receivers are under-represented - there are fewer receivers in the hall of fame than QBs or RBs, despite more wide receivers seeing the field at any given time than either QBs or RBs. Stranger still is the relative dearth of wide receivers who played the bulk of their careers after the explosion of the passing game in 1978. There are just six wide receivers from that era in the hall of fame (and two of them - Stallworth and Swann - built the majority their hall of fame resumes in the 70s), compared with 7 RBs and 8 QBs in that same era. Perhaps even more astounding that that is that only 3 WRs currently in the Hall of Fame played even one season in the 1990s, while 8 QBs and 4 RBs. The fact is, there is a backlog of deserving WRs, and this decade has shown us that WRs have to wait significantly longer following their retirements to be inducted. Lets compare average number of years from retirement to induction among WRs, QBs, and RBs inducted in the last 10 Hall of Fame classes (since 2000):

WR: 13
QB: 6
RB: 6.33

And the number of players at those positions who were first ballot inductees:

WR: 0 of 5
QB: 7 of 7
RB: 2 of 3

Which brings us to Cris Carter. By any measure, he should have been a first ballot hall of famer. But when he did not even make it on the second ballot, it became apparent that something was wrong. Jerry Rice will almost certainly be the first first-ballot hall of fame WR since Steve Largent was inducted in 1995, but aside from Carter who else is deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame? Let's take a statistical look at wide receivers, reaching back to the start of the AFL in 1960.

1960-1977 HOFers

Name	Seasons	Rec.	Yds	Yds/Rec	TDs	Rec/Game	Yds/Game	Pro Bowls	All-Pro
Lance Alworth	11	542	10266	18.9	85	4.0	75.5	7	6
Charlie Joiner	19	750	12146	16.2	65	3.1	50.8	3	1
Bob Hayes	11	371	7414	20.0	71	2.8	56.2	3	2
Fred Biletnikoff	14	589	8974	15.2	76	3.1	47.2	6	2
Don Maynard	15	633	11834	18.7	88	3.4	63.6	4	1
Paul Warfield	13	427	8565	20.1	85	2.7	54.6	8	2
Tommy McDonald	12	495	8410	17.0	84	3.3	55.3	6	0
Raymond Berry	13	631	9275	14.7	68	4.1	60.2	6	3
Charlie Taylor	13	649	9110	14.0	79	3.9	55.2	8	1

1960-1977 Non-HOFers

Name	Seasons	Rec.	Yds	Yds/Rec	TDs	Rec/Game	Yds/Game	Pro Bowls	All-Pro
Harold Jackson	15	579	10372	17.9	76	2.8	49.9	5	1
Jimmy Orr	13	400	7914	19.8	66	2.7	53.1	2	1
Harold Carmichael	14	590	8985	15.2	79	3.2	49.4	4	0
Art Powell	9	479	8046	16.8	81	4.1	68.8	4	2

First, we look at wide receivers who played the majority of their careers between 1960 (the first season of the AFL) and 1977 (the year before the passing game exploded). Each of the four non-HOFers listed is statistically comparable - or, in many cases, superior - to several of those in the hall.

Harold Carmichael's stats, for instance, are virtually identical to Fred Biletnikoff's - Carmichael has 1 more reception, 11 more yards, and 3 more TDs, with slightly better averages and 2 fewer pro bowls. Biletnikoff led the league once in a major category, Carmichael led the league twice. And yet, Biletnikoff was inducted 10 years after he retired, while Carmichael has been ignored for 25 years. One reason may be that Biletnikoff was voted to the pro bowl two more times than Carmichael, and Carmichael was never an all-pro. Biletnikoff has a Super Bowl ring, while Carmichael was on the losing end of the only Super Bowl he played in (though their individual performances in those games were similar). Perhaps the biggest reason Carmichael has not been inducted, however, is unfortunate timing. Carmichael played roughly half his career in the 70s, during the NFL's passing drought, and the other half in the 80s. Thus, despite the fact that Carmichael was 30 by the time 1980 rolled around, and likely had most of his productive years behind him, he is nonetheless measured against the receivers who came after him, since he was not eligible for induction until 1990, and by that time, the face of the passing game in the NFL and the perception of "good" statistics for a wide receiver had changed.

For Art Powell's part, he suffers from a lack of volume and a career of only 9 seasons. Each hall of fame receiver on that list played at least 11 seasons. Powell, however, had averages that matched or beat nearly all of the receivers in the hall of fame. His individual seasons were outstanding, though he was not always sufficiently recognized - in 1962, despite catching 64 balls for 1130 yards and 8 TDs, he was not picked for the pro bowl, though one of the pro bowl wide receivers that year, Willard Dewveall, had just 33 catches for 576 yards and 5 TDs. Of the hall of fame receivers from this era, only Raymond Berry matched Powell's receptions per game, and only Lance Alworth racked up more yards per game. Powell also scored 81 TDs, better than half those hall of famers despite playing fewer seasons, and his yards per reception were also better than roughly half. If Powell had played 2 or 3 more years, he would almost certainly have been a hall of famer.

Unlike Powell, Harold Jackson DID have the volume stats. He had more yards than all but Joiner and Maynard, and had strong numbers in receptions, TDs, and yards per reception. His per game numbers, however, are what likely has kept him out of the hall of fame, and he has the same problem Carmichael had - retiring in 1983, Jackson was not eligible to be inducted until 1989, by which time his statistics were not as striking as they were when he retired.

Jimmy Orr was an explosive WR who was among the best in yards per reception. In his rookie season, he averaged an astounding 27.6 yards per reception on 33 catches, leading the league and setting the second highest yards per reception number in the history of the NFL. He was also tough - there is a story about him separating his shoulder during a game and going to a local hospital to be x-rayed, after which he ran the five blocks back to the stadium, went straight to the huddle, and caught a 22 yard TD pass on the next play. The reason he has not been voted in to the hall of fame, however, is likely because of his style of play - Orr was not a volume stats guy. He was a deep threat, and one of the best in history, but his receptions per game does not match up well with the list of hall of fame wide receivers.

1978-Today HOFers

Name	Seasons	Rec.	Yds	Yds/Rec	TDs	Rec/Game	Yds/Game	Pro Bowls	All-Pro
James Lofton	17	764	14004	18.3	75	3.3	60.1	8	1
Steve Largent	14	819	13089	16.0	100	4.1	65.4	7	1
Art Monk	16	940	12721	13.5	68	4.2	56.8	3	1
Lynn Swann	9	336	5462	16.3	51	2.9	47.5	3	1
John Stallworth	14	537	8723	16.2	63	3.3	52.9	4	1
Michael Irvin	12	750	11904	15.9	65	4.7	74.9	5	1

1978-Today Non-HOFers

Name	Seasons	Rec.	Yds	Yds/Rec	TDs	Rec/Game	Yds/Game	Pro Bowls	All-Pro
Cris Carter	16	1101	13899	12.6	130	4.7	59.4	8	2
Andre Reed	16	951	13198	13.9	87	4.1	56.4	7	0
Irving Fryar	17	851	12785	15.0	84	3.3	50.1	5	0
Henry Ellard	17	814	13777	16.9	65	3.6	60.4	3	2
Andre Rison	13	743	10205	13.7	84	4.0	54.9	5	1
Stanley Morgan	14	557	10716	19.2	72	2.8	54.7	4	0
Sterling Sharpe	7	595	8134	13.7	65	5.3	72.6	5	3
Mark Clayton	11	582	8974	15.4	84	3.7	56.8	5	0
Gary Clark	11	699	10856	15.5	65	4.2	65	4	1

Lynn Swann's inclusion in the hall of fame is debatable enough, but what is truly astounding is how many players with great volume stats have been snubbed (and often almost unnoticed).

First, lets look at Cris Carter, Andre Reed, and Irving Fryar. Among receivers who retired in 2003 or earlier, they sit 1st, 2nd, and 4th, repectively, in career receptions. Of all the hall of fame WRs, only Art Monk, who himself waited several years before being voted in, had more receptions than any of those 3. However, each has been snubbed multiple times for the hall of fame. Carter also scored 30 more receiving TDs than any other eligible player, and Reed and Fryar also had more TDs than most of the receivers in the hall of fame. Those three are also 2nd, 4th, and 6th in receiving yards among receivers who have reached eligibility. Henry Ellard, another receiver who sits on the outside looking in, is third. And Carter had more receptions per game than any player but Michael Irvin, who nonetheless only matched, and did not beat, Carter in that statistic.

But the arguments for hall of fame induction aren't limited to these "volume" players. Stanley Morgan, for instance, suffers from the same disadvantage that has plagued Jimmy Orr - his style of play. Morgan was perhaps an even more productive and explosive deep threat than Orr, but like Orr, his relatively low receptions and receptions/game numbers hold him back. But Morgan played the part of the deep threat better than almost any receiver in NFL history, and thus has a sound argument for hall of fame induction.

Finally, it's worth taking a look at Sterling Sharpe. It's common knowledge that Sharpe is not generally considered hall of fame material because his career ended prematurely due to a neck injury. But I would suggest that Sharpe has a hall of fame claim nonetheless. Not only did he have more receptions per game than any other player I listed in this article, and more yards per game than any of them except Lance Alworth, but his metrics are quite comparable to Jerry Rice's. 5 Pro Bowls in 7 seasons is a better ratio than anybody else I've mentioned in this article. While volume stats over the course of a career certainly are impressive, the hall of fame shouldn't be limited only to players with long careers - rather, the voters should consider inducting some players, like Sharpe, who beyond a shadow of a doubt played at a hall of fame level for a number of years, but due to extenuating circumstances, did not have the opportunity to continue racking up stats in the years after they had already passed their prime.

While few, if any, of these are clear-cut cases of snubs (excepting Carter), the number of players sitting on the outside of the hall of fame looking in who are statistically comparable or superior to those with busts in Canton is surprising, and perhaps somewhat disconcerting. There is a backlog of wide receivers, and the mindset of some of the voters who decided not to vote for Carter the past two years - that only players like Rice or Largent deserve to be first-ballot inductees - only serves to perpetuate the injustice by making it even harder for these deserving players to be inducted as others, like Rice and Tim Brown, reach eligibility. By denying Carter entry this year, the hall of fame voters may very well have put off his induction yet another year because he'll need to compete with Rice and Brown. The Pro Football Hall of Fame needs to take a look back, and recognize some of the outstanding wideouts who have thus far been overlooked.