Tag: NFL Hall of Fame

City Champ to the Hall of Fame

Lets divert from insurance and finance to football and one of my all time favorite players, Rickey Jackson aka City Champ. The Miami Herald has a story on Rickey today that is very good. Here is a snippet:

Standard issue football pants in the NFL come with pockets sewn inside the legs. That’s where the pads go. That’s where Rickey Jackson stuffed sponges.

Jackson played in the NFL for 15 years. He didn’t wear sponges the whole time. That would be crazy. No, usually, Jackson didn’t wear anything. The sponges just came in handy when he needed to trick the NFL in order to avoid a fine.

“Pads — I wasn’t about all that,” Jackson said. “The only time I wore pads was when the NFL made me.”

What were you about, Rickey?

“Hurting people,” Jackson said……..

Jackson wore shoulder pads designed for quarterbacks and receivers for most of his career. He never saw the point of wearing too many pads. They just slowed him. Pads were for the other people. The people Jackson hurt. Continue reading “City Champ to the Hall of Fame”

My partner Nowdy says she is a justice blogger……

Well then, here is an injustice that is literally crying out for her considerable talents, the travesty that former New Orleans Saints linebacker extraordinaire Rickey Jackson has not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. John Deshazier has the sports story for the Times Picayune:

Another NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend has passed.

Silently, again, in New Orleans for Saints fans, who by now should have celebrated the induction of former Saints linebacker Rickey Jackson to the Hall, but continue to watch the selection committee overlook “City Champ” as if Jackson never existed.

That’s not so much a slap at the credentials of the players and contributors who’ve been voted in since Jackson became eligible five years after his last season, 1995. The most recent class included former Bills defensive end Bruce Smith, former Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas, former Steelers defensive back Rod Woodson and former Cowboys receiver Bob Hayes. You wouldn’t win an argument in favor of any one of them being overlooked in favor of Jackson.

But certainly, you can argue that he can stand alongside them.

Somehow, the obvious perception is that Jackson was less of a player than everyone who has been selected since he became eligible. Somehow, the ultimate honor continues to elude a player whose numbers – and impact – merit inclusion.

“It’s not even a question,” said former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert, who played all seven of his Saints seasons (1985-89 and 1991-92) with Jackson (1981-93). “To me, it’s not even a question. Continue reading “My partner Nowdy says she is a justice blogger……”