DENVER -- Toward the end of his career, Floyd Little's name was routinely prefaced with the words "future Hall of Famer.''He hasn't shaken it. The former Denver running back is still waiting for an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.The only thing is, Little doesn't care anymore. He's not stumping for himself -- as much -- any longer. Little has another cause -- his former team."Forget about Floyd Little, the [Hall of Fame] has already forgotten about me,'' he said. "But how do you go to six Super Bowls and only have one representative? That's disrespectful to overlook our players. My concern today is Denver.''The only Broncos player in the Hall is quarterback John Elway.The Broncos had three players -- running back Terrell Davis, linebacker Randy Gradishar and left tackle Gary Zimmerman -- make the list of the final 25 nominees this past week. The list will be whittled down to 15 in January and a final vote will be taken the day before the Super Bowl to see who gets enshrined.Little, who rushed for 6,323 yards and went to three Pro Bowls in his nine-year career, thinks Davis should be a lock. Davis is Denver's all-time leading rusher with 7,607 yards in a career cut short by knee injuries."Terrell was a great player,'' Little said. "The reason why he [might not] get in is because he played for the Broncos. If he played for the New York Giants -- if I played for the New York Giants -- and had these numbers, there would be no question. I think it's horrible we don't have more in there.''Denver isn't alone, of course. Some teams have no players -- who've played a majority of their careers for the franchise -- in the Hall (including the Falcons, Ravens, Jaguars and Panthers) and others have only one (Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Cincinnati and Seattle). Chicago has 26.Little, who runs a Ford dealership in Seattle, will have to wait at least another season for his opportunity. In August, the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Seniors Committee recommended Cleveland Browns guard Gene Hickerson and Detroit Lions tight end Charlie Sanders as finalists for possible election with the Class of 2007.Not that Little pays much attention."I'm done with it,'' said Little, who played for Denver from 1967-75.That's to be expected, though."What happens is you get to that point -- you can't care every year or it would drive you nuts,'' said former Oakland Raiders coach and current commentator John Madden, who was inducted last summer. "Floyd was a great player and a Hall of Fame-type guy. I think [he'll get in].''Little used to be consumed by not being among the immortals of the game. He wrote letters to the voters saying, "People ask me why I'm not in the Hall of Fame. I've run out of answers. I'm writing to you for an answer.''The ones who responded basically said he belonged in, which further irritated him.But then he went to Syracuse University last season for a retirement ceremony. The Orange were honoring those football players who wore No. 44 -- players like Ernie Davis, Jim Brown and Little -- by retiring the number. Sitting at a table with Brown, a fan came up to Little and said, "You should be in the Hall of Fame, too.''Brown had a chat with his friend."Jim said, 'Look, anyone who's played against you and with you and watched you play knows you're a Hall of Famer,''' Little recalled. "For now, leave it at that.''But Little can't. Not with only Elway in the Hall to represent Denver.Denver receiver Rod Smith is with Little on his crusade."I didn't realize it until John was inducted that he was the first Broncos player,'' Smith said. "I was shocked. I was like, 'Wait a minute, hold up, with history of Broncos no one else is in? That's a travesty. Guys like Little, Dennis Smith, Karl Mecklenburg, they should be in. A lot of guys should be. That's hard to swallow for me. Hopefully John getting in will open the door.''Little hopes so, too."The life expectancy of a running back who's played in the NFL is 58,'' said Little, who just published a book on his time with the Broncos. "I'm 64. If I go into the Hall, I want to be in while I'm alive and can celebrate. I don't want to be elected posthumously.''He paused."All the articles used to say future Hall of Famer,'' Little said. "What changed? The answer is I played in Denver. They [voters] don't respect our players. Had I played anywhere else we would not be having this conversation.''Copyright 2006 by The Associated Presshttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2666957He makes a ton of good points. How can Chicago have 26 people in the Hall of Fame and Denver only have 1?TD deserves to get in and he better.
The problem is Terrell Davis doesn't deserve to get in IMO. Yes, He had 4 great years, but in order to be a Hall-Of-Famer you have to be able to put up more then 4 great years IMO. The problem is if you let Terrell Davis in the hall-of-fame then you have to let players like Tiki Barber and Priest Holmes who did nothing for half of their careers, but because they had a great 4 year span they are Hall-Of-Famers?!? I just dont agree with it when there are players who have been excellent for over a decade and are still not in the Hall-Of-Fame like Art Monk. As for Floyd Little, he needs to Shut the fuck up and stop embarrasing himself, because his crying to the media on how the NFL Hall-Of-Fame voters 'discriminate against Broncos' is laughable.
He really does need to stfu... especially with the BS like, "if me or Terrell played on another team we'd be a HOF LOCK!!!, It's just cuz we're former Broncos that we aren't in"Yeah, I'm really sure that's why.Davis should be in the Hall of Fame, not just for the sake of the numbers he put up but because if you truly know that guy's story he just belongs in there. He was practically blind in the damn Super Bowl and still was the best guy on the field.
