Judging someone’s Hall of Fame credentials, much like assessing a defendant’s guilt or innocence, requires that all evidence be taken into consideration. The sheer numbers are certainly important, but another factor is the overall impact of an individual, both on the field and on the future of the league. A great many players have a distinguished record of performing at a consistently high level, but few can actually be credited with helping to redefine their positions.
The Cold, Hard Football Facts are here today as advocates for two men who fit that very description. Like former Cincinnati quarterback Ken Anderson, they have been victims of a rush to judgment, falsely branded unworthy of their sport’s highest honor. Putting our faith in gridiron jurisprudence, we present the cases of Harold Carmichael and Andre Tippett. Our arguments make it clear that they are just as deserving of a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as those who were enshrined on Sunday.
Harold Carmichael played wide receiver in the NFL for 14 seasons, all but one of them with Philadelphia. He holds that franchise’s career records for games played, receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and total touchdowns. He was selected to four Pro Bowls.
In 1973, his first year as a full-time starter, Carmichael led the league with 67 receptions, eight better than his closest competitor. He was even more dominant in the yardage category, as no player was within 200 yards of his total. Carmichael’s 1,116 receiving yards that season were the most by any receiver since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970. His mark wasn’t surpassed until five years later, when the regular-season schedule was expanded to 16 games in 1978.
Standing 6’8”, Carmichael possessed the rare combination of tremendous size and game-breaking ability. He presented a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses, who often had to roll coverage his way and try to bracket him with a pair of much shorter defensive backs. More than twenty years after he last played, Carmichael remains the embodiment of what teams most covet in the passing game, particularly in the red zone. Consider that, of the best “big receivers” who have followed – Al Toon, Herman Moore, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss – none have been taller than 6’4”.
Carmichael was remarkably consistent and durable. Over a 12-year stretch between 1972 and 1983, he played in 162 straight games, an Eagles team mark that still stands. During that time, he also established an NFL record by catching a pass in 127 consecutive games. His average full season, from when he entered the lineup until the strike-shortened 1982 campaign, was 53 receptions, 818 yards and eight touchdowns…and five of those nine years there were just 14 games.
Several of Carmichael’s contemporaries have made it to the Hall of Fame with career statistics that are inferior to his. For instance, just eight wide receivers who played in the last 30 years have been enshrined, and Carmichael has more receiving yards than four of them. What is most striking, however, is how incredibly similar his numbers are to those of Fred Biletnikoff, a member of Canton’s Class of 1988:
|
|
Games |
Rec. |
Yards |
Avg. |
TDs |
|
Harold Carmichael |
182 |
590 |
8,985 |
15.2 |
79 |
|
Fred Biletnikoff |
190 |
589 |
8,974 |
15.2 |
76 |
In eight fewer games, Carmichael put up virtually identical stats, surpassing Biletnikoff by one catch, 11 yards and three touchdowns. It should also be pointed out that Biletnikoff had the benefit of playing against the allegedly weaker competition of the pass-happy AFL for his first five seasons (1965-69), during which time he posted three of his top four yardage totals.
Biletnikoff has better postseason numbers (and a Super Bowl XI MVP award), but they are largely attributable to more opportunity. His 19 playoff appearances are 12 more than Carmichael, who scored six touchdowns in his seven career playoff games. Despite the recent success of the Eagles, who have played in four straight NFC championships and reached the Super Bowl last year, Carmichael still holds the team record for postseason receiving yards with 465.
Andre Tippett played outside linebacker in the NFL for 11 seasons, all of them with New England. He holds that franchise’s career record for sacks with 100 and shares the mark for fumble recoveries with 17. He was selected to five straight Pro Bowls.
In 1984, Tippett was a one-man wrecking crew. He registered 118 tackles – a phenomenal total for an edge defender – and finished second in the NFL in sacks with 18.5. He continued to be an irresistible force the following season, when he recorded 97 tackles (65 solos), forced three fumbles and recovered three as well. His 16.5 sacks were tops in the AFC, and he powered the Patriots to an unprecedented three playoff victories on the road.
Tippett helped revolutionize the outside linebacker position, bringing a tenacity and athleticism that struck fear in the hearts of opponents. To try to contain his extraordinary pass-rushing abilities, offenses were forced to adjust their blocking schemes. The tight end was frequently kept in to double-team him, and backs were then asked to pick him up. Still, Tippett relentlessly chased down quarterbacks like California law enforcement officials pursuing a suspicious white Ford Bronco.
Making direct comparisons between Tippett and existing Hall of Famers is difficult because of a lack of representation among the new breed at the position. Only one outside linebacker who played in the last twenty years has made the Hall, and he was arguably the best the game has ever seen: Lawrence Taylor.
Likening Tippett to Taylor is similar to comparing every backcourt star to Michael Jordan or every great goal scorer to Wayne Gretzky. If those men represent the standard by which all players are judged, then the Halls of Fame would be rather empty.
Yet Tippett was the AFC’s answer to LT for over a decade. Tippett averaged 10 sacks a season for the 10 years he played between 1983 and 1993 (Tippett played sparingly in his rookie year of 1982). Unfortunately, a ruptured muscle in his shoulder cost him an entire year in his prime. He spent all of 1989 on injured reserve, and his string of consecutive Pro Bowl appearances ended at five.
For the sake of comparison, here’s a look at how Tippett stacks up against Taylor:
|
|
Games |
Tackles |
Sacks |
INTs |
Fumb. Recs |
TDs |
|
Lawrence Taylor |
184 |
1,088 |
132.5 |
9 |
11 |
2 |
|
Andre Tippett |
151 |
778 |
100 |
1 |
17 |
2 |
Taylor’s sack total would be even more impressive if it included the 9.5 that he had in 1981, when sacks were not yet an official statistic. LT was clearly in his own class, but Tippett was the second-best outside linebacker of his day. There is a sizable discrepancy in some numbers, certainly in INTs, but not in all of them:
- Taylor averaged 5.91 tackles per game. Tippett averaged 5.15.
- Taylor averaged 0.77 sacks per game (including his “unofficial” 9.5 in 1981). Tippett averaged 0.66 sacks per game.
- Taylor produced 20 turnovers. Tippett produced 18.
- Each player scored 2 defensive touchdowns.
When Tippett retired after the 1993 season, he ranked seventh in career sacks, trailing only Taylor among those who exclusively played linebacker.
It could actually be argued that Tippett had a better single season than Taylor ever did. LT’s best year was 1986, when he was named the NFL’s MVP on the strength of 20.5 sacks and 105 tackles. In Tippett’s spectacular 1984 campaign, he had two fewer sacks but registered 13 more total tackles. Of course, Taylor played under the bright lights of New York City, on a 1986 team that went on to win the Super Bowl. Tippett played in the relative obscurity of New England, on a team that went 9-7 and missed the playoffs.
The playing days of Ken Anderson, Harold Carmichael and Andre Tippett all followed similar paths. With the exception of Carmichael, whose ill-fated swan song with the Cowboys was mentioned here previously, each man spent his entire illustrious career with one team. All three suffered through numerous losing seasons and appeared in a limited number of playoff games (either six or seven). Every one of them advanced to a Super Bowl – only to lose and never return. Their teams’ lack of success, however, should take nothing away from their individual greatness.
Another commonality for these three men is that they were among the 89 names on the preliminary list of nominees for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2005. Yet when the list was pared to 25 semifinalists, none made the cut.
We beseech the court to reopen each case. A close inspection of the Cold, Hard Football Facts reveals that Anderson, Carmichael and Tippett deserve much stronger consideration in 2006. Anything less is a grave injustice.
