John Smallwood: Hall of Fame should find room for 1980 Eagles

IN MY Small opinion . . .

It has become obvious that, after another round of voting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, no player from the 1980 Eagles' Super Bowl team is making it to Canton via the media vote.

But there is still hope.

This year, the Senior Committee selected former Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little and Detroit Lions cornerback Dick Lebeau.

Both of those players' careers ended in the early 1970s, and they have long been off the radar of the media vote. But the Senior Committee specifically reevaluates the candidacy of players the media has passed by.

Eagles from 1980 who should catch the eye of the Senior Committee include:

* Running back Wilbert Montgomery.

If Little, who played nine seasons, got in, why not Montgomery? Their career statistics are almost identical, with a slight edge going to Montgomery.

Little ranks 61st on the NFL all-time rushing list with 6,323 career yards on 1,641 carries, with 2,418 yards on 215 catches. He scored 54 touchdowns and made three Pro Bowls.

In his nine seasons, Montgomery, a two-time Pro Bowler, rushed for 6,789 yards on 1,540 carries, had 2,502 receiving yards and scored 57 touchdowns.

* Linebacker Bill Bergey.

When Bergey retired after 12 seasons, he had been named to five Pro Bowls and set the NFL record for interceptions by a linebacker.

* Offensive lineman Jerry Sisemore.

He's considered by many to be the greatest offensive lineman in Eagles history. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Sisemore played 11 seasons for the Birds and made two Pro Bowls.

* Wide receiver Harold Carmichael.

His absence from the Hall of Fame is the hardest to explain. The 6-7 Carmichael was the prototype for today's "big" receiver.

He ended his 14-year career with 590 receptions for 8,985 yards, 79 touchdowns, made four Pro Bowls, and was selected to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team by the voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Pittsburgh Steelers' Hall-of-Fame receivers Lynn Swann had just 336 receptions for 5,462 yards and 51 touchdowns, and John Stallworth had 537 receptions for 8,723 yards with 63 TDs.

In 1998, the Senior Committee elected Eagles receiver Tommy McDonald to the Hall. Hopefully, at some point, they will send at least one member of the 1980 Super Bowl team to Canton.

In my Small opinion . . .

The Milwaukee Brewers' plan to erect a 7-foot statue in front of Miller Park to honor Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig is not as big a joke as a lot of baseball fans might think.

I understand that as commissioner Selig has presided over some of the biggest blights in the history of the game, but this is a Milwaukee thing.

In Milwaukee, Selig is the man who brought baseball back to the city when he bought the Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court in 1969, renamed them the Brewers, and moved them to begin play in 1970.

During Selig's tenure as owner, the Brewers went to the World Series in 1982 and won seven Organization of the Year awards.

Selig's commitment to baseball in Milwaukee began in 1965 when, as a minority owner of the Braves, the Milwaukee native formed a group called Teams Inc. to prevent the majority owners from moving the team to a larger television market in Atlanta.

Selig helped keep the Brewers in Milwaukee by pushing for revenue-sharing that has helped small-market teams stay competitive.

Despite having transferred control of the Brewers to his daughter after he was named commissioner in 1992, Selig worked to get Miller Park built.

Selig's foundation donated the statues of Milwaukee baseball legends Hank Aaron and Robin Yount that were unveiled when Miller Park opened in 2001.

Outside of Milwaukee, few would consider a statue honoring Selig a good idea. But for baseball in that town, he has been as great a champion as Aaron and Yount.

In my Small opinion . . .

While I still believe that commercials paid for by advocacy groups should not be allowed during the broadcast of major sporting events, I found nothing offensive about the much-talked-about ad starring Pam and Tim Tebow that aired during the first quarter of Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday.

In fact, during a night of objectification of women, love triangles involving talking infants, and snack chips being used as deadly weapons, the Tebow commercial was probably the least offensive.

Unless you were specifically looking for an antiabortion angle from Pam Tebow saying she was glad she carried Tim to birth, there was no controversy in the actual commercial.

"Focus on Family," the conservative Christian group that sponsored the ad, said it has received a huge spike in traffic to its Web site, but that's no different than Coca Cola selling more soda or Budweiser selling more beer after people see their commercials.

In my Small final thought . . .

If not winning another Super Bowl has somehow hurt the legacy of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, what does it say about Hall of Fame quarterbacks Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton and Warren Moon, who won none?

Send e-mail to smallwj@phillynews.com.

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