Las Vegas Raiders

Time for Stabler to be immortalized in Hall of Fame

Published Jul. 10, 2015 2:07 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

To punctuate the push for a Pro Football Hall of Fame candidate before the vote is held, the presenter sometimes ends their closed-door speech to the electorate by stressing the words, "It's time."

It's now that time for Ken Stabler — even though his time on Earth has passed.

The announcement of Stabler's death Thursday from prostate cancer at the age of 69 spurred fond memories about the legendary Oakland Raiders quarterback. He led the team to its first Super Bowl title in 1976 and played a pivotal role in three of the NFL's most memorable moments.

Those recollections also once again raised this question: Why has such a successful player yet to receiving Hall of Fame induction?

Stabler was a finalist in 1990, 1991 and 2003 who failed to crack the glass ceiling. Critics argue that "The Snake" was a solid-to-very good quarterback but not as good as his 11 Raiders teammates from the 1970s who are in the Hall, or another one who isn't but would be a more worthy selection (wide receiver Cliff Branch).

There also was Stabler's propensity for turnovers. Stabler followed his championship-winning 1976 season with four years in which he threw a combined 100 interceptions. He finished with 222 compared to 194 touchdown passes in a 15-year NFL career.

In today's NFL, Stabler never would have gotten the chance to keep firing time and again after turnovers. He would've gotten benched. Even Brett Favre, considered the biggest risk-taker of recent generations, never hurled more than 20 interceptions in consecutive seasons during what will become a Hall of Fame career.

Stabler, though, wasn't about mistake-free football or gaudy statistics, even though he won the NFL's passing title in 1976. He was about coming through in the clutch and flat-out winning, which is something no quarterback did more of at the time.

He posted eight straight winning seasons as a starter, including a ridiculous 50-11-1 mark with Oakland from 1973 to 1977. Stabler became the fastest QB in NFL history to hit triple digits in victories while winning 100 of his first 150 games. The passer he eclipsed for the record was Johnny Unitas, who hit the mark after 153 contests.

Unitas and the three others quarterbacks from 1970s teams that won Super Bowls (Roger Staubach, Bob Griese and Terry Bradshaw) are already in the Hall of Fame. Ted Hendricks strongly believes Stabler should be the fifth.

Although biased from being Stabler's teammate, Hendricks knows his stuff as a Hall of Fame linebacker. He played against Staubach, Griese and Bradshaw and was on the Colts with Unitas before joining the Raiders in 1975.

"One thing that put (Stabler) apart from the quarterbacks of the day is that he called his own plays," Hendricks said. "He knew how to attack defenses and get the most out of his team."

Stabler's legend is further buoyed by his involvement in three iconic plays. The first came in December 1974 when the Raiders ended Miami's chances of reaching a fourth straight Super Bowl. While being dragged down by a Miami defender in the closing moments, a scrambling Stabler tossed the game-winning touchdown pass to Clarence Davis, who was surrounded by three Dolphins.

"It showed his confidence as a player as well as his composure," said George Atkinson, a Raiders safety from 1968 to 1977. "Here's a guy going to the ground who has the awareness to get the ball away. He throws it in the area of one of the players who had the worst hands in Clarence Davis. The guy couldn't catch a cold in the North Pole naked. But that particular play, Kenny executed it and (Davis) came through."

The "Sea of Hands" game was later followed by the "Ghost to the Post" when Stabler hit tight end Dave Casper on a deep touchdown pass to send a 1977 playoff game against the Baltimore Colts into overtime. The Raiders ended up triumphing in that matchup, too.

The following season came the "Holy Roller" that led to an NFL rule change. To avoid a sack in the closing seconds against San Diego, Stabler fumbled the football forward followed by two of his teammates doing the same. Casper recovered in the end zone to give Oakland the victory.

Hendricks said these moments reflected the leadership and sizzle Stabler provided in tight situations. Hendricks called Stabler the "heart and soul" of the 1970s Raiders, which is high praise considering the talent on those squads.

"He would come out like a knight in shining armor for getting the job done," Hendricks said. "Even when he was sacked and brutally beat up in a couple of games, he would get it together and come back and not get down on himself."

Stabler's eligibility as a modern-day Hall of Fame candidate has expired. The only way he can receive consideration would be if selected as a senior candidate. Stabler's death very well could lead to him receiving the nomination as early as this year after the Hall of Fame's seniors committee meets in August.

Longtime sports writer Rick Gosselin, who spearheads the seniors group, expressed his condolences Thursday night on Twitter and described Stabler's absence from the Hall as an "oversight." We'll know soon whether the mistake is fixed so Stabler can gain his rightful entry posthumously in 2016.

"His play exhibits that," Atkinson said. "He shouldn't have been slighted when he was alive.

"He should have seen this."

Alex Marvez and co-host Mark Dominik interviewed Ted Hendricks and George Atkinson on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Marvez also was a voter for seven of the past eight Hall of Fame classes.