The best Green Bay Packers not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Packers are one of the oldest and most successful franchises in the NFL, but even they have some Hall of Fame snubs.
The Dallas Cowboys took the nickname “America’s Team,” but the Green Bay Packers have a much deeper history with the game of football. You could argue Vince Lombardi’s Packers were the first version of “America’s Team.” As a franchise with such a long and beloved tradition, the Packers have their fair share of overlooked and forgotten legends.
Today’s article focuses on the best Packers who have missed out on gold jackets. Just because I mention a player in this article doesn’t mean I’m advocating for him to enter the Hall of Fame. I’m casting a wide net to cover as many historically important Packers as possible, and there are plenty of them.
Let’s cover some rules that govern the Hall of Fame. A former player must be retired or inactive for at least five seasons to be eligible for enshrinement. Recently retired or inactive players like Clay Matthews III and Jordy Nelson do not meet that threshold and won’t appear in this series.
After 25 years on the modern-era ballot, players move to the Senior Committee, which tries to catch stars who slipped through the cracks for a quarter of a century.
The Hall of Fame usually inducts five modern-era candidates and one senior candidate each year. Unfortunately, the voters have overlooked plenty of worthy candidates who are now sitting in the bloated Senior Committee pool. At the current rate, many great players will never receive the reward they deserve.
Previous editions: Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers
We’ll try to give these players the spotlight they deserve in this article. See you back here next week when we move to the next franchise!
*All statistics come from Pro Football Reference since NFL.com has incomplete information
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Candidates
Best Candidate: Sterling Sharpe, WR (1988-1994)
The older brother of Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, Sterling was the seventh overall pick in the 1988 NFL Draft. He spent his entire seven-year career with the Packers, establishing himself as the second greatest wide receiver in franchise history. Unfortunately, Sharpe entered an early retirement because of a neck injury he suffered in Week 17 of the 1994 season.
Sharpe burst into the record books during his late 20s. He set the then single-season receptions record in 1992 with 108, becoming just the sixth player in history to cross the century mark. The following year, Sharpe became the first player in NFL history with multiple seasons of 100 or more receptions, and he broke his own single-season record with 112 receptions.
The Illinois native also showed up on the biggest stages of his career. In the only playoff run of his career, Sharpe tallied five receptions for 101 yards and three touchdowns against Detroit and six receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Dallas.
Sharpe walked away from the game of football with 595 receptions, 8,134 yards, and 65 touchdowns. He won three reception titles, one receiving title, and two receiving touchdown crowns during his short but bright career. Sharpe made five Pro Bowls and received three First-Team All-Pro selections. He also earned votes in the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year races in 1992 and 1993.
Honorable Mention: Billy Howton, WR (1952-1963)
Howton broke Don Huston’s long-standing career receiving yards record in 1963. He was the first wide receiver with over 8,000 receiving yards, surpassing Hall of Famers like Tom Fears, Elroy Hirsch, Hutson, Dante Lavelli, and Pete Pihos. Raymond Berry didn’t overtake Howton until 1966, the famous Baltimore Colt’s second to last season.
Howton remained among the top-five receiving leaders in league history until 1977, when Fred Biletnikoff and Paul Warfield passed him in a single year. At the time of his retirement, Howton had the most receptions in NFL history (503) and the fourth-most touchdowns (61).
Howton spent the first seven seasons of his 12-year career in Green Bay, amassing 5,581 of his 8,459 yards. All four of his Pro Bowls, 1952 Second-Team All-Pro selection, and two First-Team All-Pro selections came with the Packers. Howton led the NFL in receiving yards in 1952 (1,231 yards) and 1956 (1,188) and receiving touchdowns (12) in 1956.
Honorable Mention: Lavvie Dilweg, WR (1926-1934)
There’s very little support for players from the 1920s and 1930s joining the Hall of Fame. All of the reporters and potential voters from that era are gone. These older candidates only exist in history books. Even then, they’re pushed aside by more productive players from recent eras.
Dilweg played his rookie season with the Milwaukee Badgers before spending eight years with the Packers. He earned five consecutive First-Team All-Pro selections and won three NFL championships. The Pro Football Hall of Fame selected him as a member of the 1920s All-Decade Team.
We don’t have a complete statistical profile for Dilweg since the NFL didn’t start tracking official stats until 1932.
Honorable Mention: Cecil Isbell, QB (1938-1942)
Isbell spent his short, five-year career with the Packers. He led the NFL in completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns in 1941 and 1942. Isbell retired with four Pro Bowl appearances, one First-Team, and one Second-Team All-Pro selection. The former seventh overall pick won an NFL Championship in 1939 and was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 1930s All-Decade Team.
Isbell recorded 5,945 passing yards, 61 touchdowns, and 52 interceptions at quarterback. He also ran for 1,522 yards and ten touchdowns. He intercepted six passes, including six in six games in 1942.
At the time of his retirement, Isbell was one of only three quarterbacks with over 4,015 passing yards. He trailed Sammy Baugh (6,625) and his former teammate Arnie Herber (6,749).
Honorable Mention: Nick Collins, S (2005-2011)
Collins spent his seven-year career with the Packers, amassing 21 interceptions. His most productive season came in 2008, when Collins intercepted seven passes and led the NFL with 295 interception return yards for three touchdowns. He also intercepted six passes in 2009 and four in 2010.
Unfortunately, Collins suffered a neck injury early in 2011, and doctors recommended he avoid playing again. The former second round pick walked away in his late 20s with plenty left to give the Packers. The injury disrupted a string of three consecutive Pro Bowls and three consecutive Second-Team All-Pro selections.
Honorable Mention: Bill Forester, LB (1953-1963)
Forester went unheralded for most of his career before making the first of four consecutive Pro Bowls in 1959. He also earned First-Team All-Pro honors in three straight years from 1960 through 1962. Those were the first years Vince Lombardi coached the Packers, and he brought them renewed levels of fame they hadn’t seen since Curly Lambeau’s days at the helm.
Forester and Lombardi won NFL Championships together during the 1961 and 1962 seasons. Had Forester’s career begun five or six years later than it did, he would almost assuredly be included among the many Hall of Famers produced by Lombardi’s elite squads.
Honorable Mention: Boyd Dowler, WR (1959-1969, 1971)
Dowler spent 11 years with the Packers before retiring after the 1969 season. He returned for a year in Washington in 1971 before hanging up his cleats permanently. The Colorado product was the 1959 NFL Rookie of the Year. Dowler never earned an All-Pro selection, but he made two Pro Bowls and amassed 474 receptions for 7,270 yards and 40 touchdowns.
Dowler won five NFL Championships and two Super Bowls with Vince Lombardi’s Packers. The Pro Football Hall of Fame named him to the 1960s All-Decade Team alongside many of his Packers teammates.
At the time of his first retirement, Dowler ranked 11th in receptions and 13th in receiving yards.
Honorable Mention: John Anderson, LB (1978-1989)
Anderson played in a rare era of Packers football. Green Bay only made the playoffs once during his 12-year career, and that success came in the 1982 nine-game strike-shortened season. Anderson never made a Pro Bowl or earned an All-Pro selection during Green Bay’s dark age, but that didn’t mean his work went unnoticed.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame selected Anderson for the 1980s All-Decade Team, elevating him alongside Carl Banks, Ted Hendricks, Lawrence Taylor, and Andre Tippett at outside linebacker.
Honorable Mention: Irv Comp, DB/QB (1943-1949)
Comp was a member of the last Curly Lambeau-led NFL Championship team in 1944. That year, Comp led the NFL in pass attempts, passing yards, and interceptions thrown. He led the Packers in passing three times, but his best argument for Hall of Fame consideration comes from his work on defense.
Comp intercepted 34 passes during his career. He tied Sammy Baugh’s record for the most in history with 31 by the end of the 1948 season. Comp surpassed Baugh’s mark in his final campaign, setting a record that stood until 1951. The former third round pick intercepted five or more passes four separate times.
Editor’s Note: Darren Sharper, S (1997-2010)
Sharper is tied with Ronnie Lott for the eighth-most interceptions in NFL history with 63. That’s one shy of Ed Reed and two shy of Charles Woodson. During his 14-year career, Sharper made five Pro Bowls, earned Second-Team All-Pro honors four times, and was a First-Team All-Pro twice. He led the NFL in interceptions in 2000 and 2009 and interception return yards and touchdowns three times each.
Sharper spent the first eight years of his career in Green Bay before a four-year stint in Minnesota and two years in New Orleans. He intercepted six passes in 2001, seven in 2002, and nine in 2000, 2005, and 2009. The former second round pick retired with 11 interceptions returned for touchdowns, 949 tackles, and 7.5 sacks.
Sharper had a Hall of Fame-caliber career on the field, but he’s one of the worst humans to ever play in the NFL. In 2016, he was sentenced to prison for 18 years for drugging and raping as many as 16 women in four states. Sharper should never be welcomed back to the football community.
Packers Legends also Considered
Willie Buchanon, CB (1972-1982)
Donald Driver, WR (1999-2012)
Bob Jeter, DB (1963-1973)