Former Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Charles Haley just picked up another supporter in his quest for admittance to the NFL Hall of Fame. The five-time Super Bowl champion found a new ally in Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman.
"I'm not so sure we would've won any of them if it weren't for him," Aikman told the Dallas Morning News about the Cowboys' three Super Bowl wins. "I'm pretty adamant about the fact that I believe he deserves to be in and I'm pretty disappointed that it hasn't happened."
Haley had 100.5 sacks over his career and played on all three of the Dallas Cowboys' '90s Super Bowl teams. He also played on two Super Bowl winning teams with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Hall of Fame added Jack Butler, Dermontii Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Curtis Martin and Willie Roaf in 2012. All those men deserve to be in the Hall of Fame but I question how some of them can be considered a better choice than Haley.
Curtis Martin ran for a lot of yards and had a great career. He ranks fourth all-time in career rushing yards and 12th in total rushing touchdowns. But Martin never helped his team win a Super Bowl. Martin is a Hall of Fame back based on his numbers but is he more deserving than Haley?
I don't think so and Aikman obviously believes that Haley should be there as well. What is damaging is that there are three wide receivers who are eligible and continuously get overlooked in Cris Carter, Andre Reed and Tim Brown. All three of them deserve to make it. A number of new players become eligible in 2013, including Dallas Cowboys' defensive all-star Larry Allen.
It's not going to get any easier for Haley to get the votes he needs to be one of the final five.
Charles Haley will get into the NFL Hall of Fame sooner or later but I still can't figure out why that opportunity didn't come in 2012.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
