When I was a youngster about the only sports Hall of Fame that caught my attention was the Baseball Hall of Fame that is housed in Cooperstown, N. Y. I had a book about that institution which featured stories about all the members at the time. That was a long time ago and there weren’t all that many baseball players to be written about. One of the highlights of my year was thinking about who might be the elected to the Hall and join those who were included in my book, which was dog-eared in a very short amount of time.

There are so many athletic halls of fame now, I don’t pay much attention to who is in and who didn’t make it any more--even for the institution in Cooperstown. But I was reading a story, just by chance, about the induction of former players to the NFL Hall-of-Fame in Canton, Oho.

There are many to be inducted this year as the 2021 Class will be joined by the 2020 group that was chosen but not inducted last year due to COVID. The 2020 class was to have been the Centennial group, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the NFL. The 2020 group are to be installed on Saturday and the 2021 batch on Sunday. In reading through the listing of who was on that Centennial roster, I was surprised that a few had not been included earlier.

The name that grabbed my attention first was that of Alex Karras. I had assumed that Karras was one of those who were elected to the Hall on an early attempt. Karras, as you may remember, played for the Detroit Lions from 1958 to 1970. He was an outstanding defensive tackle and became a movie star of sorts playing himself in “Paper Lion” and then having a role in “Blazing Saddles.”

I remember Karras first as a defensive lineman for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Karras played in the 1957 Rose Bowl as a member of the Hawkeyes who defeated Oregon State 14-13. I recall that game well, as the Iowa quarterback Kenny Ploen led his team to a 14-0 lead. Oregon State came back and the Hawkeyes were hanging on for dear life at the end, but were able to prevail. My Dad and I had gone to our neighbor George’s house to watch and were blessed by seeing a great game. I remember how George kept talking about that “big guy” Karras.

After the 1957 season, Karras was runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting to John David Crow of Texas A&M. That was an unusual spot for a defensive lineman to be.

As a member of the Detroit Lions, he holds the team career record (97.5) for sacks. When it came time to pick the All-Decade team for the 1960s, three defensive tackles--Karras, Bob Lilly of Dallas and Merlin Olsen of Los Angeles Rams--were chosen. Lilly and Olsen made the Hall of Fame the first year they were eligible. Karras was never a finalist in his 25 years of eligibility for the Hall. One reason given for his not being elected earlier is that in his years with Detroit, the Lions never won a championship. In fact, during his career he played in only one postseason game in which he led his team to keeping the opponent (Dallas) from scoring a touchdown. Alas, Detroit lost the game 5-0.

Another factor in his being snubbed may have been that he was suspended for one season (1963) for gambling. Paul Hornung was suspended the same year for the same reason, but he was elected early on to the Hall. Karras was a four-time All-Pro player during his Lion career.

He became famous in “Paper Lion” the story about writer George Plimpton spending some time working out with the Detroit Lions and actually getting to play briefly in a preseason game as a quarterback. In working out with the Lions, Plimpton was enamored by Karras’ wit and made him a featured character in the book, which was made into a movie.

Karras played in a number of TV productions and movies. But the most memorable, to me at least, was as Mongo in Blazing Saddles. I can’t forget him riding into town on a Brahman with yes and no passing signals. And him knocking out a horse with one punch to the head was another memorable moment in the film. He also was a regular on the TV series “Webster” along with his wife, actress Susan Clark.

The last time I remember him on TV was as a commentator for Monday Night Football on ABC. I didn’t see the telecast, but one of his famous lines was to call Oakland Raider lineman Otis Sistrunk as being from the “University of Mars.” The comment came after Sistrunk took off his helmet after playing for a spell and steam poured off of his head.

Another player to be a part of the Centennial Class of inductees is Winston Hill. Again I was surprised he hadn’t been inducted earlier. Hill was a stalwart lineman on the New York Jets, who won Super Bowl III. Joe Namath won the Most Valuable Player Award for that game, but those in the know said at the time that if it hadn’t been for Hill, the Jets wouldn’t have defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. He was that dominant at his tackle position. The fact that his early career was spent in the American Football League instead of the NFL worked against him. The AFL was always looked upon as a much inferior league, but those of us who were AFL fans knew better. After the first two Super Bowls, the AFL (and later the AFC) more than held its own against former NFL teams. Hill was known for his footwork. He reportedly had been a tennis player in his younger years. And in his 14-year career, he missed only one game.

Mac Speedie is another Centennial Class inductee that surprised me. Speedie was a member of the Cleveland Browns from 1944 to 1952 and I remember reading about his retirement in the daily newspaper we received at home. I guess I remember him because the name Speedie was a good one for a football player to have. He was a wide receiver and averaged 800 yards receiving per year during his career, a large total for that day and age. He was a favorite target of quarterback Otto Graham. Speedie was deserving of Hall-of-Fame inclusion much earlier, but those who know say Paul Brown, who was the owner and coach of the Cleveland Browns, blackballed him. The rap against Speedie was that he left the Browns to play in Saskatchewan for a bundle of money. Brown had huge influence in the NFL with his connection to the Cleveland Browns and later the Cincinnati Bengals.

Another Centennial Class member with whom I was acquainted as a youngster was Ed Sprinkle of the Chicago Bears. Once he was dubbed the “Meanest Man in Football” by a magazine. His coach George Halas called him the greatest pass rusher “I’ve ever seen.” He split time between defensive end and linebacker and is known for having knocked two New York Giant players out of a title game. A Sprinkle tackle on running back George Franck, gave Franck a separated shoulder and a blow to running back Frank Reagan caused the latter to leave the game with a broken nose. In the same game, Sprinkle also fractured the nose of Giant quarterback Frank Filchock, but Filchock didn’t leave the game. Apparently that was a game in which “Frank or Franck” wasn’t a good one to have. There aren’t accurate stats on how many times Sprinkle sacked the quarterback or forced fumbles, but if there were, he would have had a large number to his credit.

There will be many inductions to the NFL Hall of Fame on Saturday and Sunday. Peyton Manning is in the Class of 2021 that will be inducted on Sunday. Manning is deserving, but I have to admit I must have been out of touch in recent years as the other inductees are less familiar to me. They include Alan Faneca of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jets and Cardinals, Calvin Johnson of the Lions, John Lynch of Tampa Bay and the Broncos, Charles Woodson of Oakland and Green Bay (I know about Woodson) and Coach Tom Flores. Drew Pearson of the Cowboys is also in the Class, another name that I’m surprised wasn’t selected earlier.

The 2020 Class to be inducted Saturday include Steve Atwater of the Broncos and Jets, Isaac Bruce of the Rams and 49ers, Steve Hutchinson of the Seahawks, Vikings and Titans, Edgerrin James of the Colts, Cardinals and Seahawks; Troy Polamalu of the Steelers. Members of the Centennial Class (Seniors), include Harold Carmichael of the Eagles and Cowboys; Jim Covert of the Bears; Bobby Dillon of the Packers; Cliff Harris of the Cowboys; Hill; Karras; Donnie Shell of the Steelers; Duke Slater of the Milwaukee Badgers, Rock Island Independents and Chicago Cardinals; Speedie and Sprinkle.

How could Alex Karras been left out until now? He died in 2012 so he won’t be there to celebrate his induction.