So, no congrats on HOF for Jon Morris thread?

[RayClay]

Well, I guess this is it.

Took me a day to get over my venom on another snub to one of their greatest ever, but Morris richly deserves to be in.

He probably deserves it more that 50% of the people in their now as opposed to the (conservatively) 80% who should have waited for Houston Antwine.

Congratulations on the veterans selection and a big raspberry for making already old guys wait another 5 years.

Hopefully, there are some football fans on this committee in 5 years that can actually elect someone deserved who doesn't live in the area and kiss their asses.

Just a warning, if in five years, the committee sees fit to vote in Ron Burton, (of the 1536 career yards 3.6 avg) or anyone whose name does not end in twine, I might just go postal.

[apologies to our fine USPS employees]

So, congratulation Jon, it's well overdue.

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Originally Posted by RayClay

Well, I guess this is it.

Took me a day to get over my venom on another snub to one of their greatest ever, but Morris richly deserves to be in.

He probably deserves it more that 50% of the people in their now as opposed to the (conservatively) 80% who should have waited for Houston Antwine.

Congratulations on the veterans selection and a big raspberry for making already old guys wait another 5 years.

Hopefully, there are some football fans on this committee in 5 years that can actually elect someone deserved who doesn't live in the area and kiss their asses.

Just a warning, if in five years, the committee sees fit to vote in Ron Burton, (of the 1536 career yards 3.6 avg) or anyone whose name does not end in twine, I might just go postal.

[apologies to our fine USPS employees]

So, congratulation Jon, it's well overdue.

I also find it idiotic that Bill Parcells is being considered over guys like Fairbanks and Berry who did more for the franchise at that time... Parcells took it to the next level , but he left a little more bitterly than Fairbanks... Berry should be in for his leadership...

[AndyJohnson]

Originally Posted by Sean Pa Patriot

I also find it idiotic that Bill Parcells is being considered over guys like Fairbanks and Berry who did more for the franchise at that time... Parcells took it to the next level , but he left a little more bitterly than Fairbanks... Berry should be in for his leadership...

You may be too young to remember Fairbanks and the way he left but it doesnt get more bitter.

[BPF]

Originally Posted by RayClay

Well, I guess this is it.

Took me a day to get over my venom on another snub to one of their greatest ever, but Morris richly deserves to be in.

He probably deserves it more that 50% of the people in their now as opposed to the (conservatively) 80% who should have waited for Houston Antwine.

Congratulations on the veterans selection and a big raspberry for making already old guys wait another 5 years.

Hopefully, there are some football fans on this committee in 5 years that can actually elect someone deserved who doesn't live in the area and kiss their asses.

Just a warning, if in five years, the committee sees fit to vote in Ron Burton, (of the 1536 career yards 3.6 avg) or anyone whose name does not end in twine, I might just go postal.

[apologies to our fine USPS employees]

So, congratulation Jon, it's well overdue.

You're right, Congrats to Mr. Morris. OL in general don't get the credit they deserve in this or any HOF. Look at what a joke the NFL HOF is when it comes to OL, how many all-time greats are not in while skills players with "stats" people can analzye get in eventhough their impact to the game in their era wasn't as great -- it simply looks better on paper.

[DarrylS]

Glad to see Jon Morris selected, but for many Pats Fans he is just a name from the past...

Suspect that there are not too many folks on this board who paid attention to the Pats in the late 60's... so it may just be a familiarity issue.

[PatsFanSince74]

His last season in NE was my first year following the Pats, so I missed most of his career. As I recall he was one of the first Pats to go to the Pro Bowl, if not the first. He was also selected to the All Time AFL team by the Canton selectors, behind HOF'er Jim Otto at Center. Equipped himself well as an announcer after his retirement. And, he went to Holy Cross. IMO, definitely an oversight that he had to wait this long to get this recognition from the Pats, which is not to take anything away from others who might also deserve to be there.

[AQPE]

Have to agree with RayClay, regarding the Pats from the first 15 - 20 years, Houston Antwine is the most egregious omission from the team HOF. He was really disruptive along the line; think of a stronger, quicker version of Tim Goad or Mike Wright. I don't go back far enough to remember Bob Dee, but of the Pats' D-linemen of that era, the only player I thought was superior to Antwine was Julius Adams. Among my earliest memories as a Pats fans was Antwine's last game before retirement. Back then the writers and fans seemed to know that they were saying goodbye to a special Patriot. You'd think that in this day of being able to "YouTube" just about everything there would be enough video of him for the voters to be able to see how good he was. I guess it would help to know what the criteria are (if there are any) upon which a Jon Morris makes it but Houston Antwine doesn't, and as RayClay stated, saying that is in no way a knock on Morris.

I thought Jon Morris did an excellent job in his stint with the team, including as a color man on the radio (with Dale Arnold on play-by-play if my memory is serving me well today). At the time I thought he helped to solidify the O-line, which was pretty much a fiasco before he came on board. Those of us old enough probably still wince a bit when we think of the pounding that Plunkett took behind the group they had at that time. Whenever I hear someone say "they came out flat today" regarding a team's poor performance in a game, I always think of Jon Morris because he was the first person I heard use that term; once I started hearing him say that, it helped me to pay attention to the general energy level of the team during the game, something I didn't really do previously, which in turn I've felt helped me to understand better (and get over quicker) when they lost.

Finally, regarding Chuck Fairbanks, Andy Johnson couldn't be more correct about what it was like when he blew off the team the week before they were poised to win their first division title. My Dad and I were in the stands in Foxboro for that playoff game against Houston, and it was one of the only times and by far the earliest in the course of a game we attended that my Dad left to get me out of what he thought was a bad environment (we didn't go to the infamous Monday Night Football game that resulted in essentially a ban on MNF in Foxboro for about 10 years). I still look at what Fairbanks did as the single most unprofessional act I've witnessed from an NFL coach since I started following the Patriots in the late 1960s (yes, including Rex Ryan's current nightclub act). I certainly did not mind seeing him crash and burn at Colorado U.

Ah, memories!

[jmt57]

I'm hoping that Houston Antwine gets voted in this year, which would mean that he and Morris would go in together; I think that would be pretty cool. I do realize that is highly unlikely - Drew Bledsoe has to be by far the most likely to get in this year - but I'm holding out on whatever slim chance that Antwine might make it instead. Russ Francis and Julius Adams are two more that are well worth consideration too, but I'd rather see Houston Antwine get in first. I'd rather not wait five more years and risk having it become a posthumous honor like it was for Jim Nance.

[italian pat patriot]

congratulations from my side too to Morris; i hope that Houston Antwine and Russ Francis will be there too

[Mike the Brit]

Congratulations to Jon Morris. He struck me when I listened to him as a smart, modest, humorous gentleman.

Not worth its own thread, but absolutely fascinating nonetheless (from Shalise):

Hi Shalise - Do you know who was on the senior selection committee for the Patriots Hall of Fame?

Michael Lee, Boston
...

As to your question, Michael, the members are current and former longtime beat writers as well as team employees: broadcaster Gil Santos, equipment manager Don Brocher, football research director Ernie Adams, the Boston Herald’s Ron Borges, the Providence Journal’s Jim Donaldson, Howard Ulman of the Associated Press, Glen Farley of the Brockton Enterprise, the Attleboro Sun Chronicle’s Mark Farinella, and retired writers Ron Hobson (Quincy Patriot-Ledger) and Carlo Imelio (Springfield Republican).

Ask Shalise: Will the Patriots go after a big running back? - Extra Points - Boston.com

So!

First of all, we have the International Man of Mystery, Ernie Adams, in a public role. Then -- and even more astounding -- the Man They Love To Hate ("the Boston Herald's Ron Borges") invited into the Patriots' own family circle. There's a story there. Or several ...