Please visit our sister site, the Official Jim Marshall Hall of Fame Drive

HALL OF FAME ENSHRINEMENT CAMPAIGN

The Pro Football Hall of Fame and Museum in Canton, Ohio was established to provide a permanent place of honor and recognition for the men who have left an impact on the game of professional football. Until fairly recently, the Hall contained tributes to three Vikings alumni: Alan Page, Fran Tarkenton, and Harry P. "Bud" Grant. In 1998 Paul Krause, the great Vikings safety and all time NFL interception leader, was finally elected into the Hall. In 2001, Ron Yary also took his well deserved place in the pantheon of the leagues greatest players. In 2004, Carl Eller took his rightful place among the NFL's elite.The unusual length of time which elapsed between Krause and Yary's retirements and their induction is indicative of a pattern -- for some reason, be it oversight or prejudice against non-Super Bowl winners, deserving Vikings alumni have been continually excluded from the Hall. The most glaring examples are Jim Marshall, Mick Tinglehoff, Joey Browner and "Benchwarmer Bob" Lurtsema (Just kidding! Love ya Lurts!).

The dawn of the Information Age has spawned unprecedented communications capabilities for NFL fans. Just take a look at how many Vikings web sites there are. Now, Vikings fans from across the globe are able to network like never before; this has become especially important for non-resident fans, who until now had to rely on scattered reports and short ESPN clips to keep abreast of their beloved Purple and Gold. More importantly, we now have the ability to work together to lobby for the recognition our heroes deserve!

Any fan can nominate any player for induction, as long as that player meets the requirements of having been retired for at least five years. Simply write a letter nominating Jim Marshall, Carl Eller, Ron Yary, and Mick Tinglehoff to:

The actual voting for each year's class is conducted by a panel of voting sportswriters from across the country. Below, you will find an email link which will send a message to all of the voters for whom we have email addresses. Just hit the link and compose your own message, or copy and paste the handy form letter that we have included. Below that is a list of individual contact addresses for each voter. Feel free to badger them individually, but PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL - don't make Jim or the effort to get him elected look bad,OK? Remember to include your name, e-address, snail address, and daytime phone number, since most papers require that information. Remember, together we WILL have an impact!

The election of Carl Eller into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is an historic moment of great pride to Vikings fans everywhere, and we congratulate him on his finally receiving this much deserved and long-awaited honor. However, this brings to light the continued and curious exclusion of other former Vikings players from the Hall. The most glaring example is Jim Marshall, the NFL's Iron Man with 282 consecutive starts over his twenty year career. No active player is close to breaking this record; Marshall's exclusion is the equivalent of Cooperstown without Ruth or Gherig.

Another glaring exclusion is that of Mick Tinglehoff, whose 240 consecutive starts over his sixteen year career are second only to Marshall's, and Joey Browner, a six-time All-Pro who in his time was one the most feared defensive players in the league.

All of these men played for a franchise with a deep tradition and proud history; their feats are a storied and integral part of National Football League history. While casting your ballots, please remember that Super Bowl rings and "name recognition" are not the only gauge of a player's greatness.

Thank you.