The Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors will decide tomorrow whether former Dallas coach Bill Parcells and former defensive end Charles Haley will make the Hall of Fame.
Should Parcells make it, Giants fans will celebrate more loudly than Dallas fans. He spent 11 years with the Giants, winning 7 7 of 127 regular-season games and two Super Bowl titles. With the Cowboys, he was barely over .500 with a 34-30 record and no playoff wins.
Haley’s situation is different. By the time he arrived in Dallas in 1992, he had been selected to the Pro Bowl three times and named All Pro once. He also owned two Super Bowl rings.
With Dallas, he was very important in the team’s three Super Bowl titles between 1992 and 1995. After playing only five games in 1996, he retired. However, when he returned to the league in 1998, he rejoined the 49ers.
Hall of famers as a general matter are associated with a single franchise, even when they have bounced around the league.
George Blanda played for four teams over a 26-year career, but most associate him with the Raiders.
Nick Buoniconti played seven seasons in Boston and seven with Miami. Most associate him with the Dolphins rather than the Patriots.
There are plenty of other examples. The point here is that if Haley becomes a member of the Hall, should he be associated with the 49ers or Cowboys?
I would say that he would be more associated with San Francisco, but consider a few things:
San Francisco fans have focused more on Eddie DeBartolo Jr.’s possible selection than Haley’s (see here and here, for example).
Likewise, one of the better 49ers blogs, 49ersnews.com, doesn’t even discuss the possible Hall-of-Fame selections.
This isn’t to say that 49er fans wouldn’t claim Haley as one of their own, but it appears that Dallas fans have focused more on his induction.
What do you think?
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