Plenty of guys deserve consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But not many become the subject of an online petition pushing their candidacy.
The Ironton (Oh.) Tribune reports that such an effort has commenced on behalf of defensive end Coy Bacon, a 14-year NFL veteran who played for the Cowboys, Rams, Chargers, Bengals, and Redskins. He was discovered by a Cowboys scout while playing for the semi-pro Charleston (W. Va.) Rockets in 1967.
A man named Glenn Robinson is pushing the effort on behalf of Bacon, who died two years ago at age 66.
“We hoping to get the NFL’s attention,” Robinson said. “Someone said it would be a good idea to get a petition going and I took it and ran.
“Now we’re challenging everyone, especially all Bengals’ fans, to sign the petition before the Hall of Fame game on August 8. We’re in the process of getting a hard copy of the petition out there in different places for people to sign. We’re hoping to get between 50,000 and 100,000 signatures.”
Robinson also wants Bacon’s 26 sacks in 1976, later reduced (reportedly) to 21.5, to be regarded as the NFL’s single-season record.
The only problem? Sacks didn’t become an official stat until 1982. Bacon last played in 1981.
He was a three-time Pro Bowler, but he never was an All-Pro. (The Tribune article incorrectly states that he was a three-time All-Pro.) Also, Bacon never appeared in a Super Bowl, ending his career a year before the Redskins won it all in 1982.
And so he’s got a long way to go to make it to Canton. Last year’s preliminary list included 16 defensive linemen, and Bacon wasn’t among them.
Moreover, if Robinson hopes to develop some momentum via an online petition, he needs to be sure the petition actually works. As of this posting, the link supplied by the Tribune -- www.ipetitions.com/coybaconforthehall -- leads nowhere.
UPDATE: Here’s the accurate link -- http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/coybaconforthehall/.
