This is the first installment of a weekly contribution from Rob Janis. Rob is the lead blogger at the Redskins Fan Forum community on WashingtonTimes.com. – eds.
My name is Rob Janis. This is my first column for the-hogs.net.
Recently, I posted a blog at the Washington Times Fan Forum calling for the induction of Larry Brown and Jerry Smith into the Hall of Fame. Many of you made some sharp comments about this and pointed out that I had forgotten a few more Redskins who should also be in the Hall. As you say, those deserving are: Chris Hanburger, Jerry Smith, Pat Fischer, Gary Clark, Len Hauss, Russ Grimm and Joe Jacoby.
Now I know that every team has fans that believe that the Hall had slighted their former players. And that may be true. But no one, and I mean no one received the treatment that Art Monk got. He’s finally made it and will be inducted in August.
But because of what happened to Monk and because there are so many past Redskins who are deserving and whom the Hall could slight as well, I think it is necessary to campaign to the members of the Hall’s selection committees to make certain that what is right is not delayed.
We all say these guys deserve to be in the Hall and then we hoist another glass of Bud and forget about it. This time, let’s not forget about it.
I propose that we start off with Brown and Smith. That we all contact the members of the senior select committee, the group who is responsible for nominating players who played in the 1970s and we bury them with e-mails and snail mail explaining why Brown and Smith deserve to be in the Hall. I think we should set up threads at the-hogs.net and at the Redskins Forum at the Times that have links to sites that show films of Brown and Smith playing and alert the members of the selection committee to visit those sites. If there are no sites, then we develop our own.
Then we enlist the help of players who had played with and against Smith and Brown to submit their feelings on this issue. If Smith and Brown’s peers think they deserve to be in the Hall, shouldn’t that have an influence on the selectors?
Finally, we should link up our efforts with other Redskins fan forums. There is strength in numbers.
Let’s see what things we do work and then do it again for Hanburger, Grimm and Clark, then for Jacoby and Hauss, etc.
In my next column I will provide a list of the members of the senior select committee of the Hall of Fame and include their e-mail addresses so that we can get started.
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database. It was originally posted by Rob Janis
