THE POND H.O.F.

The NFL Hall Of Fame has seventeen members who have worn the Silver and Black.

We and the majority of the Raider Nation believe this to be a number way below what it should be and the NFL knows it too.There are many former Raiders that deserve to be in the H.O.F. who haven't been inducted despite the obvious impact that they have had on the game of football.

We say F#%K you NFL and aim, in our own way to put things right.We will induct our first group of Pond HOFers today and will bi-annually induct from here onwards until all the former Raiders that are deserving of the official NFL accolade are honoured.But we will also induct former Raiders that are deserving of their bust in the Pond for, shall we say , less than purely footballing reasons.The Raiders already in the NFL HOF are given a bye straight into the Pond, we hope that the NFL will show the same respect with our members, come on Roger Goodell you know you want to.

We have e-mailed Al Davis to request an induction speech for each new member and are awaiting the replies and will add them as they arrive, thanks Al.

#1.Kenny "The Snake" Stabler QB Alabama 1970 - 1984.

Career Stats.

Att. Comp. Pct. Yds. TD. Int.

3793 2270 59.8 27983 194 222

The leader of probably the most romanticised Raider team(s) in history during the 1970's.A Superbowl winner, 1976 Bert Bell MVP Trophy winner, 1974 AP NFL MVP and offensive player of the year, 1974 UPI AFC MVP.A man involved in plays such as The sea of hands, Ghost to the post, The holy roller.Keeper of the Tooz, a legend on and off the field, say "The Snake" to any football fan and they instantly know who you mean.Not only a Raider Icon but a footballing Icon.Shame on you NFL, Joe Namath has his place in Canton with a lower pass completion rate, less yards and TD's, and the same number of rings.It is a (inter)national disgrace that The Snake, inducted into the Pond at No 1, still awaits the call from the NFL.

#2 Tom Flores QB/HC Pacific 1960 - 1994.

Career Stats.Player.

Att. Comp. Pct. Yds. TD. Int.

1715 838 48.9 11959 93 92

Career Stats.Head Coach.

Reg. Season: 97-87 Post Season: 8-3

2 Superbowls

Tom Flores.Raider Player, Raider assistant Coach, Raider Head Coach.Steered two Raider teams to World Championships, served in the Raider front office, and now a radio commentator for the Raiders.What a part-timer.Tom Flores is part of Raider hierarchy, a capo to Al Davis' godfather.He is fifth all time amongst AFL passers, and one of only 20 players that played through the entirety of the AFL.He was the first Hispanic QB in pro football and the first minority Head Coach in the NFL.He and Mike Ditka are the only two men to win a Superbowl as a player, assistant coach, and head coach.When I discovered the Raiders, it was Tom Flores' Raiders that I was watching, it was Tom Flores' Raiders that humiliated a good Washington Redskins team on "Black Sunday" in Tampa in January 1984, the team that Al claimed rivalled any team to ever play professional sports.Tom Bloody Flores.Stick that in your pipe and smoke it NFL.

#3 Cole Ford K USC 1995-1998.

Career Stats.

FGA. FGM. XPA. XPM. LNG.

62 45 89 86 53

This is the first of our left-field picks, and its obvious that the career of Cole Ford as a placekicker was never HOF.But if there is ever a HOF for complete balloons/headcases, then the Fordster is well and truly in.Cole was a good kicker at Southern Cal, and initially showed some promise at NFL level with the Raiders until he imploded in 1997 with a shocker of a season, exit Oakland and after one game for Buffalo exit the NFL.Fast forward to 2004, up pops Cole doing a convincing Charlie Manson impersonation, whilst attempting a drive-by shooting of camp as a row of tents "magicians" Siegfried and Roy.Now that is quality.Apparently while watching S & R on TV he decided that they were A. Involved in some sort of sexual practises with their animals and B.This made them responsible for all the bad things going on in the world.Sounds fair enough to us, but his psychiatrist thought that he may be mentally ill, the spoilsport. If Cole Ford had been on the Raiders team of say 1976, he would have been viewed as a bit eccentric.

#4. Jim Plunkett QB Stanford 1971 - 1986

Career Stats.

Att. Comp. Pct. Yds. TD. Int.

3701 1943 52.5 25882 164 198

Another QB, but come on its Jim Plunkett.Two superbowl rings alone says he's in.But Plunkett was a leader and a true Raider in that he was seen to be all washed up before arriving in Oakland.From Heisman winner and AFC rookie of the year in New England to bust shipped off to the 49ers, where fortunately for the Silver and Black side of the bay things didn't go too well either.We should also thank Dan Pastorini at this point for breaking a leg in 1980, to allow the Plunk to win 9 of the remaining 11 games and then lead the wild card Raiders to the Superbowl, throwing 3 TD's and earning an MVP, not a bad comeback at all, stuff you whiners.One comeback is'nt enough for the Plunk though, he had to do it again 1n 1983 and win another SB after replacing super (not) Marc Wilson in the regular season.He's in for all these reasons, and for the fact we at the Pond met him in a restaurant in SF a few years ago and he was a gent.Plus Jim has the biggest face known to man which deserves some recognition.

#5. Lyle Alzado DE/DT Yankton 1971 - 1985.

1977 Defensive Player of The Year

1982 Comeback Player of The Year

Pro Bowler 1977,1978 All AFC 1974,1977,1978,1980,1982

Ok Lyle was exposed as a Steroid abuser, which could be said to have tarnished his career in the NFL, but how many players were guilty of the same thing during the years in which he played?At least he had the bollocks to stand up and admit it, and speak out against the continued use of them.Right thats that out of the way, Lyle Alzado was one of the most aggressive football players to step on a field, probably mostly down to the drugs, but it still made for a great spectacle, he didn't just want to get to the QB, he wanted to pull his arms off.The NFL had to come up with a new rule after Lyle ripped off a Jets lineman's helmet and threw it!But many of his teamates have spoken of the generous caring man off the field, one of the lasting memories of him is the sight of this huge man blubbing like a baby on the sideline at SB XVIII as the fourth quarter ticked away.He was a quote waiting to happen, "I like to think my hits border on felonous assault", "If me and King Kong go into an alley, only one of us is coming out and its not the monkey"He also had a threat competition running with his un-official minder Howie Long."I'm going to kill you and everything you love" - Alzado, "I'm going to get you in the parking lot after the game and beat you up in front of your family" - Long.Brilliant.Despite his success earlier in his career with the Donks, where he was part of the orange crush defence, the Browns, and his forays into boxing (going 8 rounds with Ali), he was at his happiest in the Silver and Black.Gone but not forgotten.

#6. Ray Guy P Southern Mississippi 1973 - 1986

Played in 207 consecutive games
Punted 1,049 times for 44,493 yards, averaging 42.4 yards per punt (typical 2006 average, 43), with a 33.8 net yards average (typical 2006 average, 37)
Had 210 punts in the 20 (not counting his first 3 seasons, when the NFL did not keep track of this stat), with just 128 touchbacks (the ratio of 'in the 20' to touchbacks is 1.64, and would have been 29th best in the NFL in 2006)
Led the NFL in punting three times
Had a streak of 619 consecutive punts before having one blocked
Has a record of 111 career punts in post season games
Had five punts of over 60 yards during the 1981 season.

There are no punters in the NFL HOF.There should be one, and it should be Ray Guy.Until he arrived as the first punter ever taken in the first round of the draft, punting was just a way of ending an un-successful drive, then Ray Guy started kicking balls into space.The Raiders coaching staff realised that this was a weapon, he could hang it up there for ever and allow the coverage all day to get downfield, or he could put the ball exactly where the coaching staff asked.Joe Horrigan the Pro Football Hall Of Fame historian called Guy "The first punter you could look at and say he won games"."Our offensive coaches wanted Ray Guy, our defensive coaches wanted Ray Guy, and the head coach really wanted Ray Guy." -- John Madden."Think back over the history of any sport. Very often there has been one guy who stood out above the superstars - just as (Ray) Guy stands out in punting. It just happens." -- Tex Schramm, Former Dallas Cowboys President.If a player changes the way a position is played, whatever that position, and he is unanimously viewed as the best to have ever played that position, then he is a HOFer, simple as that.