Pro Football Reference Blog

I don't have Ed going into this class because of quality of players on the ballot though.

Sabol absoluelty, positively, definitely belongs in. His films and the shows he produced did more to popularize the NFL than any other thing other than the invention of television.

In our world of ESPN and all the other all-sports and plenty-sports cable networks younger people have no idea and older people forget what it was like when none of those existed -- there were only three to maybe seven TV channels (in the biggest cities), none of them were sports (except for a few minutes on the news ) .... and NFL home games were blacked out.

The *only* way a fan could see what was going on around the league (including in his own team's most recent home game) was to watch the "week in the NFL" shows that Sabol produced that got put on by local TV stations all all different hours to fill time. As a kid I used to stay up to 1 am to watch these things -- they were addicting.

Plus he did a whole lot more than just game highlights. He did history and informative shows -- I still remember one on "screaming coaches" where he put the cameras and mikes on Vince Lombardi and Norm Van Brocklin duing a Packers-Vikes game. Every third word was bleeped, but what you could hear was really revealing. Lombardi was screaming: "You think you're ever going to the Pro Bowl again playing like that?... Are they all right when they say you're too old and slow? ...." Everthing was a challenge. Van Brocklin was screaming: "When you call such stupid plays what else can happen? ... Girls pull hair better than you tackle .... When your career is over you're going to be pumping gas, remember I told you". Everything was demeaning. Look at their W-L records. That was more than just a fascinating look at the sidelines in a football game you'd see nowhere else, it was a life lesson.

Sabol effectively was ESPN for the NFL for decades. The fact that I still remember films like that decades later as the rest of my brain is falling apart says something by itself. Multiply me by millions for his impact.

No doubt deserves induction and hopefully his son, whom I'm almost positive would be the one presenting Ed in Canton in August, follows soon after.

That stated, I agree completely that there should be a separate "contributors" ballot similar to what they do with the Seniors nominees and I have a feeling that Ed and Steve would feel the same way. Doesn't even have to be every time. They could do it, say, once every three years.

Sabol has to go in. The guy's 94, and the honor is a hollow one if they wait until after he's dead to give it to him.

I agree with others who say there ought to be a separate slot for non-players, but we have to work with the system we have. There aren't seven guys on this ballot who are more worthy than him.

If they're going to put him in, they should do it this year. It was disgraceful that they waited until Bob Hayes was dead before putting him in, he was an obvious Hall of Famer because of his impact on the game and his numbers.

But I don't think Sabol deserves to be there. His impact is on the popularity of the game, not on the game itself. If you're using that as a criterion for admission, then you have to put in the guy who invented the pointspread (if you can figure out who that was), you're looking at commentators and studio guys, and the Hall of Fame Selection Committee itself.

No way. Ed before Steve. I'm not even sure Steve belongs. Daddy invented and Steve tagged along.

Facenda before Steve, at least.

I grew up with Ed Sabol’s NFL Films introducing me to the game of football before I watched my first game. I was hooked right away watching the slo-mos, stirring jazz music, and John Facenda’s captivating narration. My neighborhood friends were the same way and we had a lot of kids on my block. We would play football on the lot and replicate the action from NFL Films pieces more so than from any game. As we got older, of course, we would follow our teams by sitting through entire games, but without NFL Films we might have taken less interest to the sport.

As stated before, home games were blacked out (prior to 1973) and unless you stayed up late to watch the late news you missed the highlights of your favorite team. But NFL Films captured not only the highlights of your local team, but of all the NFL and AFL. Ed Sabol’s company really became an integral part of the indoctrination of fans toward the game of football. His productions were featured on many airline flights and reeled in the business travelers who were also transfixed by Sabol’s style of storytelling. The writing was superb. The metaphors (“John Brockington was tougher than a boiled owl”) and historical references (“Like Tennyson’s light brigade, these Cowboy running backs charged happily, happily onward,”) used in descriptions of the game were often educational, if not original.

One of my only regrets with anything associated with pro football is that I didn’t find out at an earlier age how to officially nominate Ed Sabol. I woulod have taken great pleasure in being able to say I was the one who nominated him. I’d do the same for his son, Steve, too. But I suspect that there are many other fans out there, young and old, who can appreciate what Ed Sabol created.

Think about it. When the next Hall of Fame class gets enshrined the first thing people will see is the best highlights of the players inducted. And all those highlights were made possible by one man and his vision for capturing pro football. I vote yes and if Ed does not make it, then changes need to be made so that worthy contributors are rightfully inducted and not held back.

Thomas,

The argument against is simply this: the Hall isn't for fans, no matter what contribution they made as fans.

Ed Sabol is the greatest football fan in history, and a whole lot of his work is in the Hall, but it doesn't get him a bust beside Barry Sanders.

#19: Then please enlighten me O Sagacious One.

Congratulations to the Sabol family!!! It was long overdue but so well deserved! I sincerely hope a wing opens up in Canton to honor the folks who brought so many fans a lasting memory of the greatest plays, players, and coaches of the great game of pro football.

Ed was truly a legend and made a living covering the legends of pro football! I can't wait to visit Canton and see that bust who brought so many lasting memories to my neighborhood. His work was even honored in my high school English class by a former NFL player who thought Sabol's work was worthy of study. It was!

Didn't know where to post this. I wanted to say to Steve Sabol I wish him (and his family) the very best of care with the brain tumor. I have appreciated Steve's work and his contributions to the game of football and especially the personal replies to me early on during my indoctrination into NFL Films as a fan.

I am in your corner, Steve, as I'm sure many fans are. I know you can beat anything that besets you and pray that you'll summon up the strength that I know you were given at birth and continually blessed with. My prayers are with you and so are my Dad's from high above.

-Patrick W