10 NFL players who should not be in the Hall of Fame
Paul Hornung, RB, Green Bay Packers, 1957-62, 1964-66
Hornung was a case where factors outside of his NFL career may have helped him get elected to the Hall of Fame. The hype of being an All-American and Heisman Trophy winner at Notre Dame certainly didn’t hurt his chances.
Known as “The Golden Boy” on the famous Green Bay Packers teams of the early 1960s, Hornung was regarded as an excellent goal line back and team leader. It’s true he put together some very strong seasons, which included a league-leading 13 touchdowns in 1960 and an MVP award in 1961.
But Hornung was only very effective from 1959-61, and was named an All-Pro and Pro Bowler twice. His career yardage total of 3,711 on 4.2 yards per carry doesn’t exactly jump off the page, and Hornung never went above 700 yards in a single season.
Even in that MVP season, Hornung finished outside the top 10 in rushing yards and was only eighth in yards per attempt. It’s difficult to compare Hornung’s raw rushing totals to different eras – he only played 12 games per season for much of his career – but an average of 35.7 rushing yards per game isn’t a mark normally associated with a Hall of Famer.
Throw in the fact that Hornung wasn’t even the primary rushing threat on those Packers teams – that honor belonged to Jim Taylor – and his selection to the Hall of Fame is controversial at best.
Next: Joe Namath