Aug 31, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish former Heisman trophy winner Tim Brown speaks at the Heisman House prior to the LSU Tigers playing against Texas Christian at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Of the many Hall of Fame snubs in Raider history – Ken Stabler, Cliff Branch, Tom Flores, etc – none is as fresh in the mind as the legendary Tim Brown. Brown, the all-time franchise leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, played sixteen seasons in the Silver and Black, and is one of the most iconic Raiders of all time. He is also considered one of the greatest wide receivers to play the game, with the fifth-most career receptions in NFL history, the sixth-most receiving yards, and tied for 17th all-time in touchdowns scored. Yet for five consecutive years since he became eligible for induction into the NFL Hall of Fame, he has been overlooked in favor of other players, finishing as a finalist every year since 2010.
With a glut of great wide receivers from the 80’s and 90’s all becoming eligible in the past five years, it stood to reason that Brown would not make it in on the first ballot. After all, his first year of eligibility was also the first year of eligibility for his former teammate and Greatest Of All Time wide receiver Jerry Rice. In 2011, no receiver made it in, but the presence of Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe and Marshall Faulk all on the same ballot crowded the field.
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In 2012 is when the talk of “snub” first began to really catch fire. In a field that included many greats but no truly transcendent players, Tim Brown seemed assured of induction, along with fellow receivers Cris Carter and Andre Reed. Instead, none of the three was inducted, and the HOF voters sent a class of six (all other classes this decade have had seven inductees) to Canton that included Curtis Martin, Cortez Kennedy and Dermontti Dawson. Many voters, writers, and observers speculated that the three wide receivers had “split the vote” between themselves to the point where none of them could get in that year. The following year, all three were, again, finalists. That year, Cris Carter got in, and the talks of snub for Tim Brown got even louder. This year, Brown and Andre Reed were again finalists, and this time Andre Reed got in. The Raider Nation was mollified by the induction of former Raider punter Ray Guy, but the fact remains that the speculation of a snub had moved past mere belly-aching…Tim Brown was being snubbed by Hall of Fame voters.
This year, Brown is again a finalist, in a field that includes former Rams standouts Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt as well as former Colts great Marvin Harrison. There is speculation that Brown may again be snubbed, probably in favor of Harrison, who’s career is more recent and who put up numbers that actually exceed Brown’s. But this is Tim Brown’s year for Hall of Fame induction. Here’s why: