autographed 1964 topps bob talamini

#085 – Bob Talamini

There is a feeling among AFL fans that the American Football League players are consistently overlooked for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  In truth there are many players, the bulk of whose careers were spent in the AFL, that deserve serious consideration, if not outright induction.  In an effort to spark some discussion regarding their hall of fame worthiness, I will occasionally compare AFL players to their NFL (and Hall of Fame) counterparts. The short biographies on the NFL players have been taken directly from the Pro Football Hall of Fame website.

Today’s comparison is between Bob Talamini of the Houston Oilers and New York Jets, and two HoF offensive guards, Gene Hickerson and Tom Mack.

Robert Guy “Bob” Talamini – 1960 draft choice of the Houston Oilers…  Earned his starting position as a rookie, and played in all 126 regular season games during his career…  Named to six AFL All-Star games…  Named All-AFL seven times (6 first team, 1 second team)…Three-time AFL champion, and Super Bowl III champion…

Robert Eugene “Gene” Hickerson – Selected as future choice by Browns, 1957 draft … A tackle in college, shifted to guard as a rookie to better utilize speed … Lead blocker for three Hall of Fame running backs – Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell, and Leroy Kelly … All-NFL five consecutive seasons, 1966-1970 … Voted to six straight Pro Bowls … Browns posted 1,000-yard rusher in 9 of Hickerson’s first 10 seasons, featured league’s leading rusher seven times …

Thomas Lee “Tom” Mack – Rams’ first round draft pick, second player overall in 1966 NFL draft. . .One of only two rookies on veteran-laden team. . . Earned starting role as rookie and held left guard position for next 13 seasons. . .Extremely durable, never missed a game during 184-game career. . .Named to 11 Pro Bowls. . .All-NFL five times. . . All-Western Conference once, All-NFC eight times…

There are not a lot of offensive guards that have been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so it is difficult to find comparisons from the proper era.  However, I think that Bob Talamini matches up very favorably against these two, especially against Hickerson.  While the Browns had one of the top running games in the NFL, Talamini’s Oilers were often tops in the AFL in passing.  Thoughts?