Forgotten Greats

[Big Sexy]

A few days ago an all time great basketball talent passed away. He didn't get some huge story on Sportscenter and a lot of you will be hearing about him for the first time in this thread. His name was Sherman White. He was a 6'8 210 pound player for Long Island University in the late 40's early 50's and he was well on his way to a more then likely successful NBA career. As a senior at LIU he averaged 27.7 points per game and was just 77 points shy of being the NCAA's all time leading single season scorer when his career came to an abrupt end. White was involved in a point shaving scandal with some fellow teammates as well as other players around the country. Because of this scandal his senior year was over with a few games still left on the schedule and he was permanently banned from ever playing in the NBA.

The New York Knicks have stated that they were ready to make White their territorial pick in the 1951 NBA Draft and that would have been the beginning of what more then likely would have been a great NBA career. White had the size and talent to be an all time great in the league but never received that opportunity.

Forgotten greats don't have to be guys who were almost completely unknown. Take, for example, Sterling Sharpe (my other inspiration for this thread). Sterling Sharpe played 7 NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers and was in the middle of what would have been a HOF career. During his final season in 1994 he suffered a neck injury and because of that injury he retired at the end of the season. In just those 7 seasons Sharpe put up career numbers of 595 receptions, 8134 receiving yards, and 65 receiving touchdowns. He was 3 seasons of close to that same consistency away from being a lock for the HOF and being a Super Bowl Champion (his last year was 1994 and the Packers won the SB in the 1996 season).

15 years ago if you asked a football fan who Sterling Sharpe was then they would tell you he was one of the best receivers in the game until he was forced to retire. Nowadays if you ask the same question football fans will tell you he is either "that analyst from the NFL Network" or "Shannon Sharpe's brother." Those answers do not do his talents and his career justice. Shannon Sharpe said it best in his HOF induction speech, "I'm the only guy in the Hall of Fame... who is the second best player in his own family."

Who are some of your "Forgotten Greats?"

 

[Davi323]

Well, for me, the biggest forgotten great is the guy that was doing everything Marshall Faulk did, 20 years ago, Roger Craig. First Running Back ever to have 1,000 each in running and receiving yards in the same season. He was the 1988 NFL Offensive player of the year, multiple Super Bowl winner, 4 time Pro-Bowler, and a member of the NFL All-80s team. One of two running backs ever to lead the league in receptions, and he did it on a team that had the greatest WR of all time, in his prime.

Without him, there would have been no Marshall Faulk. No Curtis Martin. No dual threat RBs, who are just as good receiving as they are running.

The fact that he isn't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a crime.

 

[Megatron]

The first guy that came into my head when I entered this thread was the once-great Tiger Denny McLain. McLain did only pitch until he was 28 for a handful of reasons (the main being his arm was basically falling off of him; he was also involved in some gambling rings which caused him a broken foot in 1967). He's probably most remembered for being the most recent man to win 30 games in a season (during the year of the pitcher - 1968) but for a 5 year period with the Tigers (1965-69) he was one of the top pitchers of the era. He won back to back Cy Youngs, won an MVP in 68, was a 3 time all-star, had 3 seasons with ERA's under 3, and 88 CGs in those 5 years (about 17.5 a year). Was he an all-time great? No. But he did help the Tigers bring home their 3rd world championship and is one of only 2 Tigers to win a Cy Young. And during that 5 year stretch it'd be tough to find many better pitchers.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

This guy isn't totally forgotten and he is my incredibly biased pick but I have to go with Bo Jackson.

He was the only guy that was not on one of my favorite teams that I had to watch any chance I got. I've always belived his hip injury was because no human body could handle his level of speed and strength. I went as far as buying the book Bo Knows Bo by Dick Schaap. I repeat he got me to buy a book, hard cover.

I wish he didn't get injured or would have just picked one sport. He would have provided so many memorable moments. If you get a chance check out the recent documentary on him.

 

[Big Sexy]

I'm going to go to my Lions roots for my next choice, Billy Sims. He was the first overall pick by the Lions in the 1980 draft out of Oklahoma and he had the abilities to be an all time great running back. In his rookie year he had 313 rushes for 1303 yards and 13 tds. He also had 51 receptions for 621 yards and 3 tds. That was the only one of his 5 NFL seasons that he was able to play all 16 games. The next year in 14 games he had 296 rushes for 1437 yards and 13 more rushing tds. He also had 28 receptions for 451 yards and 2 tds.

His career numbers after just 60 games in 5 seasons were extremely impressive. 1131 rushes for 5106 yards, a 4.5 ypc average, and 42 rushing tds. On top of that he had 186 receptions for 2072 yards and 5 tds. A knee injury ended his career midway through his 5th season. Although unfortunate that his career ended prematurely, if it wasn't for that knee injury then 5 years later the Lions most likely would not have been in position to take the greatest running back of all time in Barry Sanders. With that said, Sims still had a great, albeit short, career that many people forget about.