jim plunkett gets a sportscetury documentary, but hakeem olajuwon doesn't? earl campbell doesn't? j.r. richard doesn't?!?! sorry if this has been discussed before, but i saw the plunkett piece the other night, and went to espn classic's web page... i'm at a loss as to how those three houston icons don't merit consideration. granted, you could argue campbell was one of many great running backs, but he's a hall of famer, and in his prime, as dominant a runner as there has ever been. olajuwon embodies the very principles this nation was founded on, an endlessly fascinating subject, complete with early career transgressions, then the proverbial righting of the ship to become a champion, not to mention his religious renaissance, and how he juggled it with his career... how is jim freaking plunkett more deserving? and then there's j.r. richard, easily the most dominant right-handed pitcher of the 1970's, cut down in his prime and then cast aside to the point he was living in abject poverty... i don't normally buy into anti-houston media conspiracies, but these oversights are simply ridiculous. or am i just being a homer here? anyone? bueller? check out other "worthy" candidates and tell me if you think campbell and/or olajuwon and/or richard doesn't deserve a place among this group: http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/ jim freaking plunkett...
Good call A-Train. I understand Hakeem and Earl, but J.R. If he gets an hour, then who doesn't? The Express definetly deserves it.
I think Plunkett had some special circumstances that may make his story more intriguing than our icons. I don't necessarily agree though. We should ask Mango or Moe about the specifics I guess.
Basketball - No Michael Jordan...so much for the Hakeem argument. Baseball - A lot of deserving/interesting fellows aren't included. Football - How many Super Bowls did Earl win? I am assuming that you are implying that Houston is getting shortchanged since the athletes you mention aren't included. I don;t see the connection.
come again? http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Jordan_Michael.html he was #1 or 2 or 3 in their top 50 greatest athletes of all-time. two wrongs, don't make a right. plunkett's story is nowhere near as intriguing as richard's. i can't even bring myself to bother debating this point it's so solid. well, if super bowl wins is the criteria, where's phillip mcconkey's documentary? to answer your question, campbell has the same number of super bowl wins as george blanda, bo jackson, dan marino, barry sanders and oj simpson, all of whom got their own documentary. obviously, espn has the capacity to see more in an athlete than just rings. i'm merely suggesting those three athletes stand out in my mind as deserving subjects, certainly moreso than the likes of jim freaking plunkett, who was a highly-touted bust who redeemed himself in 1980 with a SB win. stirring stuff...
Please don't tell me that Marino has a documentary and Elway doesn't? Say it ain't so. Their top 50 list was iffy. Didnt' they put Secretariat in and Elway out. That's a shame. I consider Elway a top 3 all-time qb and a top 6 or 7 all-time player.
Ric, on Plunkett. Isn't he a Native American and didn't he have blind parents? I think that may have something to do with it.
Jim Plunkett was a Heisman Trophy winner, NFL rookie of the year, 2 time Super Bowl champ, and also won a Super Bowl MVP award. It's not like the guy is chopped liver or anything.
Whooops...I need to learn my alphabet. I missed seeing Jordan's name in their listings. Basketball - No Bill Laimbeer, there goes the Hakeem argument.
