Shaun Alexander Can Make A Case For The Hall Of Fame

Shaun Alexander is an example of how the mighty can fall in sports. Once hailed as "Mr. Touchdown" and "Alexander the Great," the former Seahawks star has gone from being named the MVP to being unemployed. Many deny that he will be able to be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I am writing because Shaun Alexander has proven that he is a Hall of Fame player. Another running back was in the same situation that Alexander is in was Earl Campbell. Campbell played nine seasons with the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. There were five seasons of note for him, as the rest were haunted by injuries or ineffectiveness. Alexander has played nine seasons, five of which were of note. Two seasons were injury riddled, one was of ineffectiveness, and the other was because he was not starting that year.

During Campbell's five seasons of note, he rushed for 7,758 yards and 67 rushing touchdowns. During Alexander's five seasons of note, he rushed for 7,504 yards and 87 rushing touchdowns. Alexander has only 254 less rushing yards than Campbell, but has 20 more rushing touchdowns than him.

You could add Alexander's 11 receiving touchdowns to that total and he would have 98 touchdowns, 31 more touchdowns than Campbell.

Their career totals in rushing yards are almost identical. Campbell has 9,407 rushing yards, while Alexander has 9,453 rushing yards. Campbell has 74 rushing and total touchdowns, while Alexander has 100 rushing touchdowns and 112 total touchdowns.

So may I ask, why is Alexander not getting the credit he deserves? Neither players won any Super Bowls. Campbell never appeared in one, where as Alexander played a great game in his only appearance, but lost in a controversial Super Bowl.

Campbell is regarded as one of the best running backs in NFL history. His hall of fame career is very similar in stats to Alexander, and they both have achieved similar feats in being named to the Pro Bowl in addition to various MVP awards.

Also, both were very dominant in their careers. Alexander has more yards than Campbell and 38 more total touchdowns than him in the same amount of seasons. If I had written this article with Alexander's name substituted with the word, "Unknown Running back", would you agree with me that the nameless back was worthy?

I would think so.

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