2015 is Tim Brown’s Year for Hall of Fame Induction

Conclusion

Selections into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are not strictly statistic-based. If they were, offensive linemen would never get in, and Tim Brown would have been a first-ballot selection. That said, statistics are a measure of how productive and effective a player was during the course of his career, and Tim Brown’s numbers are equivalent to many current Hall of Famers, and in fact far exceeds those of many others, including a few that played during the same era.  The guiding principle to whether or not a player should be allowed into the Hall of Fame is if the history of the NFL can be written without including that player. Can the history of the NFL be written, and not include Tim Brown?

The answer is no. Tim Brown was one of the four or five best players at his position throughout most of his career. He compiled more all-purpose yardage than all but four individuals in league history, and caught more passes than all but four. In fact, only two men are in the top five in NFL history in both career receptions and career all-purpose yards: Jerry Rice, the Greatest Of All Time, and Tim Brown. Tim Brown was also the best player, and some would say the face of the franchise, on one of the pillar franchises of the NFL for several years. He was the best player on the team when they left Los Angeles, and the best player on the team for their first four years back in Oakland. Brown excelled in two phases of the game, as both a receiver and a return man throughout his career.  When Raider fans under 35 think back on the Raider teams we loved growing up, he is often the first name we think of: Mister Raider, Touchdown Timmy Brown.

Brown has been passed over long enough while others have made the cut, now it is his turn. Tim Brown should and will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.