During the 1970s, some of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time played in the National Football League.
Without a doubt, franchise-type quarterbacks such as Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath, Roger Staubach, and Fran Tarkenton are today enshrined forever in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Each one of these quarterbacks did amazing things during their careers and rightfully deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Each one of them contributed greatly to the meteoric rise of the NFL during their era and are a large part as to why pro football in America remains so popular throughout the world.
What remains puzzling is why a certain quarterback named Ken Stabler remains on the outside of the Hall of Fame, waiting patiently to get in.
For a number of years, Ken "The Snake" Stabler and the Silver and Black of the Oakland Raiders were a force to be reckoned with in the AFC. The 1976 Raiders reached the mountain top by winning Super Bowl XI after going a miraculous 13-1 in the regular season.
One of the main reasons I truly believe that Stabler belongs in the Hall of Fame is because he guided his team to a Super Bowl victory. Although Stabler threw only one touchdown pass in Super Bowl XI, the Raiders crushed the mighty Minnesota Vikings, 32-14.
While I'm not trying to compare Stabler to Bradshaw, "The Snake" passed for only 61 yards less than Bradshaw during his career. According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Bradshaw is 46th in all-time passing yards, while Stabler is 47th. Shouldn't that account for something?
Another thing to consider when comparing Stabler's career passing yards to other quarterbacks of his caliber who are in the Hall of Fame is this: Namath is in the Hall of Fame, but didn't throw as many yards in his career as Stabler. The same can be said for other Hall of Fame quarterbacks that didn't throw as many yards as Stabler (George Blanda, Bobby Layne and Bob Griese). Even the great Bart Starr didn't throw for as many yards as Stabler, but is in the Hall of Fame.
Although several columnists throughout the years have written that Stabler isn't deserving because he threw too many interceptions, instead of touchdowns is a silly comparison. Namath is in the Hall of Fame, but also threw more interceptions in his career, too. When comparing Stabler and Namath for career passing touchdowns, guess who threw more? You got it, Stabler by 194 to 173.
As I previously wrote earlier this month when Al Davis passed away, Stabler was an icon for legions of kids playing sandlot football during the 1970s. Even though Stabler and the Raiders never had the squeaky clean image of Staubach and the Dallas Cowboys during the 1970s, it doesn't mean that Stabler didn't contribute greatly to the game.
Another interesting statistic about Stabler to consider for why he should be in the Hall of Fame is he was the fastest quarterback to win 100 games (in 150 games), even faster than Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas.
If you look up Stabler's career statistics at Pro-Football-Reference.com, you'll also notice a section entitled "similar players." Several Hall of Fame quarterbacks had similar careers, yet Stabler isn't in the Hall of Fame.
I could list other accomplishments of Stabler's, as well. Stabler was selected to play in four Pro Bowls and was selected first-team All-Pro in 1974.
Stabler had grit, poise, and that tremendous "just win, baby" attitude that shouldn't be ignored any longer. This man belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Period.
October 23, 2011
Adam Carter:
I wrote the following to the snake a couple of years ago “I grew up a huge fan of yours, while living in my birhth city of Washington DC. Though I was a right handed QB in the late 70’s (CYO, of cousre), I always wanted to be a lefty because of you. I was blessed to have a son, who was left handed and as soon as he could play, I wanted him to play QB. he began playing football but never got the opportunity to play the position”. He replied with encouragement and positivity. For any governing body that holds judgement on The Sanke’s intro into the Hall, your dealing with a special man, who during his era, was as cool and productive leader, ON THE FIELD, as anyone who played the position. You want to critique his “off field” existence, then reach out to FANS like me, who can still tell you a kind story of the man, whom touched many of us on and off the field. Good Luck Snake!
October 23, 2011
Marilyn:
I really enjoy the articles that you write, I find them very interesting and informative. I am looking forward to the next thing you write.
October 24, 2011
Fran:
This writer has all the facts right. I really like his style of writing. He is really deserving of some recognition himself. What do you say guys out there?
November 1, 2011
bachslunch:
Some thoughts here:
-comparing Stabler to Terry Bradshaw, Bob Griese, Bobby Layne, Bart Starr, Joe Namath, and George Blanda is misleading. While there may be a level of comparability in their regular season stats, Blanda’s case is helped greatly by his placekicking ability, Starr (arguably the best of these four) and Bradshaw and Griese and Layne were Hall of the Very Good QBs who got boosted in by winning multiple Super Bowls or NFL Championships, and Namath (who is arguably a HoF mistake anyway) has a high but short peak with significant off-field intangibles and quarterbacked arguably the most significant Super Bowl win in history. Stabler unfortunately doesn’t have any of these extras — and one regular Super Bowl win isn’t quite enough here.
-it’s not clear what, if any, significance the pro-football-reference.com “similar player” scores have. I personally find them puzzling and take them with a big grain of salt.
-while Stabler won damages against NBC because they couldn’t substantiate their report that he threw games when he played in Oakland, doubts may still remain in some quarters about this situation. See this article by longtime HoF panelist Paul Zimmerman, which may contain a reference to the issue:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dr_z/11/09/hall.of.fame/
Note where he says about Stabler, “In his prime, while it lasted, he was very accurate. Then he became consistently inaccurate. His teammates wondered why. That’s as far as I’ll take this one.”
-I’m not convinced Stabler is the worst QB HoF snub anyway. That would be Ken Anderson. I’ve always been of the opinion that one ought to talk about inducting Stabler after Anderson has been enshrined. Will explain in detail if asked.
October 23, 2012
Davan S. Mani:
He won a Super Bowl.