Why Terrell Davis Should Be in the Hall of Fame

Ask most sports fans between the ages of 15 and 25 whether or not Terrell Davis should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and most will say they don’t know who he is. The 7-year running back for the Denver Broncos may have retired as one of the greatest of all time if it wasn’t for chronic knee problems that ended his career a few years short.

In all 4 seasons when Terrell Davis played more than half of the games, he rushed for more than 1,000 yards. In only 7 seasons Davis rushed for over 7,000 yards and 60 touchdowns while breaking 56 franchise records and 5 postseason records along the way.

If you explained these stats to someone who didn’t

know who Terrell Davis was, almost everyone would agree that he should already be in the Hall of Fame.

So why does it seem impossible for Davis to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Who some call “the greatest postseason back of all time” Davis did basically everything he could’ve in the short career he was given. In his 4 seasons of at least half of the games played, Davis achieved accomplishments that are unthinkable by a 6^th round draft pick. A 3 time pro bowler, 3 time first team all-pro, 2 time super bowl champion, 2 time offensive MVP, NFL MVP, Super Bowl MVP, 3 time AFC rushing leader, NFL 1990 All-Decade Team, and Denver’s all time leading rusher, Davis has one of the most decorated careers in the history of the NFL. Davis turned his low expectation career into one of the most highly accomplished of all time. These honors seem to guarantee most other players their spot in the Hall of Fame, and should be the same for Davis.

The argument that comes up the most in the Terrell Davis discussion is that Davis only played four successful years. Although he achieved everything athletes dream of achieving in only seven seasons, four full seasons, sports commentators continue to say he didn’t play long enough to become a Hall of Famer. Besides his short career many people cannot think of another reason Davis shouldn’t already be in the Hall of Fame.

Dan Marino is constantly argued on whether or not he is the greatest NFL quarterback of all time. The 9 time pro bowler has achieved a tremendous amount throughout his 17 year career and can be argued to be one of the greatest players in history. However, Dan Marino didn’t achieve much more in 17 seasons than Terrell Davis did in 7 seasons. It’s not hard to understand why Dan Marino is looked upon as one of the greatest of all time and first ballot Hall of Famer. What is hard to understand is why Terrell Davis isn’t.

In the biggest game of Davis’ career he almost didn’t finish. During the second quarter of Super Bowl XXXII Davis went into the locker room with a migraine and missed almost the entire second quarter. But Davis didn’t let the migraine or Packers win. Davis finished the game with 157 rushing yards on 30 carries and scored three touchdowns, including the game winning touchdown with 1:43 left in the game.

If it weren’t for a deteriorating knee and severe migraines, Davis wouldn’t have to worry about not being inducted into the Hall of Fame. If he were able to play 10 or 12 healthy seasons Terrell Davis would’ve achieved the unthinkable. In his four healthy seasons Davis accomplished what very few do throughout their 15-year careers. With his short time in the NFL, Davis achieved enough to be known as one of the greatest running backs of all time. As years go on more and more people are starting to realize how well deserved Hall of Fame induction is for Terrell Davis and rightfully so. Terrell Davis has accomplished more than enough to go down in history as one of the best and deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.