Art Monk waited eight years to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He got inducted yesterday, and I say congratulations!
In September 2002, one of the game's all-time greats died. He left behind him another story of athletic triumph and personal tragedy. Bob Hayes remains one of the most dominant players to ever step onto an NFL playing field, but has yet to be honored by induction into the Hall of Fame, and tends to be forgotten about in discussions about all-time great wide receivers.
It has been 28 years since he has been eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame. Hayes changed the NFL and how receivers were defended against.
Hayes was a pioneer in bringing world class sprinting speed to the NFL, and the league was simply neither prepared, nor able to stop it. In his first year with the Dallas Cowboys Hayes led the league in receiving TDs, with 12, on his way to recording a 1000 yard season on only 46 catches. That's an average of 21.8 yards per reception!
He is deserving to be in the Hall of Fame. His play on the field deserves the respect of those that have played after him. His speed made the defenses to change from a man-to-man coverage to a zone because there was no one who could cover him.
Here are some stats on Hayes:
132 career games, 371 receptions, 7414 yards, 20.0 yards per reception, 71 touchdowns. He did this by playing in less games.
Compare to Monk:
224 career games, 940 receptions, 12,721 yards, 13.5 yards per reception, 68 touchdowns
Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to say Monk does not deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. I just think it is time for Bob Hayes to be inducted as well.
Some more information about Bob Hayes:
During his time with the Cowboys Hayes was selected to the Pro-Bowl 3 times, was named All-Pro 4 times, helped Dallas win 5 Eastern Conference titles, 2 NFC titles, and a Superbowl. This last feat makes Hayes the first athlete ever to win both the Superbowl and Olympic Gold, a feat that has yet to be matched. In an era before the likes of Michael Jordan and Deion Sanders were getting credit for simply trying to compete at the highest level in 2 sports, Hayes reached the pinnacle of two, winning championships in both.
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