*wolfieBot Reports: Hall of Fame Analysis (QBs and RBs)

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Analyzing the Players In and Out of the ISFL Hall of Fame - QBs and RBs

Making it to the Hall of Fame is the pinnacle of any player’s athletic career - and the same is true here in imaginary internet dot football. As of the start of this past season, there have been 62 lucky players to be immortalized in the Hall out of many hundreds who have graced an ISFL field - but how worthy are they of being in? And has anyone been unfairly snubbed? As the ISFL Hall of Fame Commissioner, I thought it would be interesting to take a bit of a dive into this subject.

The Selection Process
From Season 10 through Season 22, entry into the Hall of Fame was decided by a vote by ISFL General Managers. The barrier for entry was set at two-thirds approval, while obtaining a one-thirds approval would allow you to remain on the ballot for another season. Players originally had to be retired for one full season before being eligible, though this was changed to three seasons in the Season 13 Rules Summit. Players also have to have played five full seasons in the league to be considered for voting.

In the Season 23 Rules Summit, the league voted to create a Hall of Fame Committee made up of league boomers users with a long presence in the league. The goal of this committee was to consider not only the accomplishments of players on their own but to measure it against both league history and the nature of the league at the time the player was active. Much of the support for this committee came from General Managers being concerned about not knowing the context of previous eras in league history, and so the creation of the committee passed by a vote of 18 to 1. This committee is made up of nine members and maintains the previous induction process.

The Hall of Fame Committee has largely been seen as a positive development in league history, but it is worth asking if they (and the General Managers before them) got the Hall of Fame selections right. In this article, I will be going from position to position analyzing enshrinees and their accomplishments - as well as notable players who either failed to reach the two-thirds approval or have not become eligible yet.

Quarterbacks
QB is by far the most high-profile position in football, and so we are going to tackle this issue first. There are 12 players in the Hall of Fame who spent a significant* amount of their career at the Quarterback position - King Bronko, Mike Boss, Avon Blocksdale, Micycle McCormick, Childish Gambino, Borkus Maximus III, Joliet Christ, Gus T.T. Showbiz, Cooter Bigsby, Corvo Havran, Franklin Armstrong, and Wolfie McDummy.
*Significant in this context means at least five seasons, the standard of eligibility for a player. Except for Childish Gambino - he’s special.

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Listed above are abbreviated resumes for each player in the Hall - which I will do for each position group from here on out. Each player has the number of championships, Pro Bowl selections, and awards listed next to their names. Then, their career ranking in relevant statistics is shown. Finally, if the player appears in the top 20 of any relevant statistic in a season, it will also be listed.

Let’s take a deeper look at them by splitting them into categories.

GOATs
Mike Boss, Franklin Armstrong

I don’t think either of these two players need an explanation. Three time Most Valuable Players, three time league champions. Boss’ trophy case is a bit more full, and his bulk statistics by far the greatest this league has ever seen, but he also played in a significantly pass-happier era of the league’s history (just look at his single-season records). Armstrong was known more for his ruthless efficiency both through the air and ground, which we can see reflected in his still top-ranked season passer rating.

Generational Talents
Borkus Maximus III, Cooter Bigsby

I was tempted to sneak Borkus into the GOAT category, but Cooter actually has more MVP awards than him. Both of these players fulfill both having Most Valuable Player awards as well as being top 5 in bulk statistics. While Borkus has been long considered the second-best QB in league history, I think time has withered his ranking. He is still by far one of the best QBs to play the game, being second in both passing yards and touchdowns. Cooter Bigsby is also by far considered one of the best, and isn’t far behind Borkus at fourth in both rankings. No one can argue that they don’t deserve to be in.

Best of their Eras
Childish Gambino, Corvo Havran, Joliet Christ

None of these three impress too much in terms of their career statistics, but they all have full trophy cases that signify their dominance over their era of the league. Gambino, who switched to QB for the last few seasons of his career, was by far the best quarterback of the time. He won two MVPs and three QB of the Year awards, and still has one of the best career passer ratings in league history. Corvo has an MVP to his name, as well as an Offensive Player of the Year and three QB of the Year trophies. Finally, Christ is both an MVP (though it was split three ways) as well as a two-time Offensive Player of the Year and QB of the Year.

Statistical Locks
King Bronko, Avon Blocksdale, Gus T.T. Showbiz, Wolfie McDummy

All four of these players finished in the top 10 of career passing yards and passing touchdowns - though each has their own little extra oomph to really confirm their HOF selection. King Bronko was the lead of the great (and scandalous) Arizona Outlaws dynasty at the beginning of the league. He put up the second best single-season touchdown mark and also has a top 10 passer rating. Blocksdale, while missing individual accolades, was selected to an impressive 8 Pro Bowls as a QB (as well as one as an offensive lineman), and also has the third-beste career passer rating in league history. McDummy not only finished in the top five in passing yards and top 10 in passing touchdowns, but he also has an MVP and QB of the Year award to his name. Finally, Gus Showbiz has an impressive statistical record and a QB of the Year award, and he can also claim to be part of four Ultimus winning squads - although of the four in this list he may have the weakest resume since some of those titles came with him at cornerback.

Not HOF-Worthy
Micycle McCormick

Look - Micycle was a solid QB (he was the last player to put up a 5,000 yard season for 10 whole years!) - but if we’re being real he wasn’t inducted for his QB play. He did spend five seasons at the position though, so he makes the list.

Other Notable Quarterbacks
Adriana Falconi*, Easton Cole, Colby Jack, George O’Donnell
*Failed to be inducted to the HOF.

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Of these players, Adriana Falconi is the only one who failed to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (2/9, S24 Ballot). On the surface, she has top 10 placements in both career passing yards and career passing touchdowns - but she falls short of players in the Statistical Lock category due to her lack of Pro Bowl selections, poor passer rating, zero Ultimus titles, and/or lack of individual awards. Had she won a QB of the Year award, I would argue she has a solid case to be reconsidered for the Hall of Fame, but without one of those things I think she falls just short of the Hall.

I believe Easton Cole falls in the category of statistical lock - while he too lacks individual awards and has few Pro Bowl selections, he does have a ring and is also third all-time in passing yards and passing touchdowns. Leaving out someone that high on the career boards, I think, would be pretty disrespectful. Cole is on the ballot this season (S30).

Finally, Colby Jack is probably going to be the next great quarterback in league history. Riding off the new emphasis on passing in the league (coinciding with the sim switch), Jack has been able to collect two Ultimus titles, two MVP trophies, two QB of the Year awards, and he also holds the top spot in single-season passing yards. With some more years left to go in his career, he can easily soar into the top 5 at the end of this season, and possibly even threaten the top spot if he can manage to keep this pace through Season 32. If Jack retired today, his two MVPs would probably already be enough to warrant induction into the Hall.

Running Backs
The workhorse of the offense - the league has seen running backs rise and fall in strategic importance over the years, but no matter the era having a good back has always been key. There are currently seven running backs in the ISFL Hall of Fame - Boss Tweed, Reg Mackworthy, Darren Smallwood, Owen Taylor, Marquise Brown, Apollo Reed, and Mako Mendonca.

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GOATs
Owen Taylor, Marquise Brown

If you had to come up with a list of greatest historical running backs (we’ll get to the latest generation soon), these two would be the quickest answers. Owen Taylor and Marquise Brown ran the show, both having gone to over seven Pro Bowls, having statistical dominance, and a full awards cabinet. Owen Taylor is the owner of some of the most dominant seasons in league history, twice having put up 23 touchdowns in a single season and having the second most rushing yardage gained in one year. He also is fourth place in career rushing yards and first overall in touchdowns, while playing less games than modern RBs. Marquise Brown still holds the single season rushing record and is second in career rushing yards, second in scrimmage yards, and fourth in rushing touchdowns. Five of the top ten single season rushing performances belong to Brown. It is unreal the level of dominance these two players had over other RBs of the time.

Generational Talents
Darren Smallwood

Had Smallwood played running back his whole career, he would probably be up there with the GOATs - but alas he originally started in the league as a wideout for the Sabercats. It was his highly anticipated free agency decision to join the Second Line that really solidified his status as one of the best of all time - garnering an MVP, OPotY, and RBotY in the highest scoring season the league has ever seen. Despite only being 16th all time in career rushing yards, Smallwood is third in career rushing touchdowns. He was clinical in getting the ball to the endzone.

Statistical Locks
Reg Mackworthy

Mackworthy is a bit of an underrated running back, but is deservedly in the Hall of Fame. He never quite got the notoriety or awards that contemporaries like Owen Taylor received, but he put up a solid and lengthy career as the Outlaws back. Third in career rushing yards, fourth in scrimmage yards, and sixth in rushing touchdowns, Mackworthy’s statistical accomplishments give his bronze bust a solid ground to stand on.

Fringe HOF
Apollo Reed, Mako Mendonca, Boss Tweed

I should preface this by saying that I think all three should be in the Hall for their accomplishments as running backs, but they are definitely on a different level compared to the four players above. Part of this I think is the fact that newer running backs have taken their spots on the leaderboards, but it is also fair to say that these players did not win many awards either. Apollo Reed statistically is the best of the three, finishing 11th in career rushing yards and 13th in rushing touchdowns while also collecting a RB of the Year trophy and four Pro Bowl appearances. Reed was always outshined by players like Forrest Gump and Sam Torenson, but I think deserves his spot in the Hall. Mako Mendonca is 13th in rushing yards and 14th in rushing touchdowns, but also had nearly 4,000 receiving yards to tack on to his total to finish 12th all time in yards from scrimmage. While not well awarded, he is one of the premier receiving backs in league history and also deserves to be in. Boss Tweed is a bit of an outlier here, but I think he does deserve to be in the Hall as a running back simply due to his absolute carrying of the Colorado Yeti franchise. He was their offense, whether the team liked it or not, and while the team was quite bad and Tweed never saw any accolades for it, he was still well recognized by his peers as one of the best running backs of his era.

Other Notable Running Backs
Slim Shady*, Sam Torenson, Forrest Gump, Tatsu Nakamura, Mathias Hanyadi, Marcella Toriki, Ashley Owens, Chizuru Ichinose
*Failed to be inducted to the HOF.

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There’s a lot of players on this list because after the great /r/NFL recruiting success, a lot of users made RBs who lasted the test of time. I won’t go over them all in great detail, but I will definitely give each a cursory outlook.

But first, we have to talk about Slim Shady. He failed to get in on the S24 Ballot (2/9), which I think is a shame (for the record, I did vote YES in this one). Shady doesn’t have any awards, but neither does Mako Mendonca. Shady only went to four Pro Bowls, but so did Apollo Reed. At the time of voting, Shady was an astonishing FOURTH all time in career rushing yards, and tied for seventh in rushing touchdowns. He’s fallen a bit since then, but I think he deserved to be a statistical lock. He also has two of the seven best rushing seasons in league history, and has more yards from scrimmage than Apollo Reed. In fact - if you compared him just to Apollo Reed there is a case to be made that Shady is in fact the better player. If there’s one player in this article who should get a second look, it’s Shady.

I think for the remaining backs on this list, many of whom are either still active or recently retired, it may be best to categorize them by what category I think they belong in:

• Generational Talents: Tatsu Nakamura, Mathias Hanyadi, Ashley Owens
  
• Statistical Locks: Sam Torenson, Forrest Gump
  
• Best of their Era: Chizuru Ichinose
  
• Fringe HOF: Marcella Toriki
  

Of the seven, Toriki definitely strikes me as the most fringe nominee. While she does have more rushing yards than Ichinose, she doesn’t really have the awards or Pro Bowls to show for it. A wonderful career, but I think she falls into the Hall of Very Good.

Hanyadi and Nakamura are each one of five running backs to win the MVP award (the only who has failed to get into the HOF is S1’s Bubba Nuck) and both are definite locks. Nakamura looks like he may still have time to move himself into the GOAT category if he keeps up the pace of the last few seasons. Ashley Owens may be a weird pick for the Generational Talents category, but he is not only arguably the best receiving back in league history but also the top all-purpose yardage player of all time, so I think it’s safe to say that he is in.

Sam Torenson and Forrest Gump both have insane bulk statistics and have quite a few awards and Pro Bowl nominations to go with them as well. While neither quite reached the level of stardom or dominance as Hanyadi, Nakamura, or Owens, they are both going to see their name called when the ballots are counted. Ichinose on the other hand has the awards but due to a shorter career never quite got the career numbers that others have, but their dominance over the league should be enough to warrant a spot as well.

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Next Time: Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

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