Like a concert hall that houses the finest symphony orchestra, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, is much more than a massive building. It endeavors to assemble the greatest gridiron talent that ever played – and Saturday marks the enshrinement ceremony for the Class of 2007.

 

The Cold, Hard Football Facts are less than surprised that only one of this year’s six inductees, former Cardinals cornerback Roger Wehrli, played defense. Our stance on this disparity is well-documented. In the pigskin philharmonic, offensive players are the string section; they have the largest representation and tend to draw the most attention.

 

And while an orchestra’s performers are all immensely talented, there is a clear hierarchy that exists. Violins, for example, are divided into two groups: first and second.

 

The same could be said for running backs in the Hall of Fame.

 

Over the last fifteen years, there have been five first-ballot ballcarriers: Walter Payton, Tony Dorsett, Eric Dickerson, Marcus Allen and Barry Sanders. Each ranks in the top 10 for career rushing yardage.

 

One of the men being honored on Saturday is Thurman Thomas, the longtime running back for the Bills during their string of AFC championships in the early 90s. He is being enshrined in his second year of eligibility – which seems only fitting.

 

Throughout his illustrious career, Thomas was relegated to playing second fiddle.

 

Although he was among the most productive players at his position for many years, currently ranking No. 12 on the all-time rushing list, Thomas never outran the competition. There was always another back (or two) who beat him out for the NFL rushing title.

In college, it had been the same song for Thomas. As a senior at Oklahoma State in 1987, he started over Sanders – then a sophomore – and ran for 1,613 yards. UNLV’s Ickey Woods won the rushing crown with 1,658 yards.

 

The next year, Sanders established still-standing NCAA records for rushing yards (2,628) and touchdowns (39) en route to winning the Heisman Trophy.

 

At the end of Super Bowl XXV – the first of Buffalo’s record four straight appearances in the championship game – Scott Norwood was infamously wide right on a 47-yard field goal attempt. The Giants held on for a 20-19 victory … and so began a legacy of futility for the Bills.  

 

Besides the kicker himself, perhaps no man was affected more profoundly than Thomas.

 

He had amassed 190 yards of offense (135 rushing and 55 receiving) in that game and was in position to be named the MVP – if only Buffalo had won. Instead, the award went to his counterpart, New York running back Ottis Anderson.

 

The Bills would never recover, losing three more Super Bowls in succession. Though Thomas did score once in each of them, his overall lack of production was a contributing factor to defeat.

 

The truth is, Thomas was frequently outplayed on the biggest stage. In Super Bowl XXVI, both of Washington’s running backs, Earnest Byner and Ricky Ervins, put up better numbers. Then, in consecutive title-game losses to the Cowboys, Smith was far superior – just as he had been during the regular season.

 

And while it’s one thing not to be the best back on the field, Thomas wasn’t even the leading rusher on his own team. Backup Kenneth Davis ran for more yards and had a vastly higher average per carry in each of those contests.

 

Here is a rushing comparison between Thomas and Davis for those three Super Bowls:

 

 

With a total of 69 rushing yards and a paltry per-carry average of 1.86 in the three games, Thomas failed to deliver. And as a consequence, the Bills were never able to become world champions.

 

On balance, Thomas is still very deserving of his place in Canton. He led the league in yards from scrimmage for four consecutive seasons (1989-92) and currently ranks eighth all-time in that category with 16,532 yards. He was instrumental in powering his team to four straight conference championships. And he turned in some virtuoso playoff performances along the way, catching 13 passes for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns in one game and rushing for 186 yards and 3 TDs in another.

 

But the fact that he wasn’t ushered into the Hall of Fame as quickly as his contemporaries reinforces the notion that his level of play was a notch below the best.