Frank Gore < Herschel

Frank Gore is talking about returning for another NFL season, his 17th. His 16000 yards rushing and 19985 yards from scrimmage rank near the top of the all-time lists. But many experts label Gore as a borderline hall of famer at best. Why? Gore accumulated all those yards over 16 seasons, so his yards per season numbers are far from great. He’s only been selected to five Pro Bowls, and zero in the past seven seasons. Gore has never been selected first team All Pro. 

The Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee is a picky bunch. They only take the greats. Gore’s case is similar to Herschel Walker’s. Though Gore has carried the ball almost twice as many times as Walker, let’s compare the two yardage machines. And though PFHOF electors would never consider Herschel’s USFL yards, for fun let’s compare those as well. This comparison is interesting, because it evens out the games played for both players. 

YR.G.carries.yards..avg.TD.LG

16 241 3735 16000 4.3 081 80 FG

12 187 1954 08225 4.2 061 91 HW

15 240 3097 13787 4.5 115 91 HW+USFL

 

rec.yards.avg.TD.LG.returns.TDs

484 3985 8.2  18  55  0000 0 FG

512 4859 9.5  21  93  5084 2 HW

642 6343 9.9  28  93  5153 2 HW+USFL

 

Tot yd.per yr.per game

19985 1249   82.9 FG

18168 1514   97.2 HW

25283 1686 105.3 HW+USFL.

23546 1177   77.7 JR

So taking away Walker’s 5153 return yards, he still gained more yards than Gore, in one fewer season. Jerry Rice played an amazing 20 years and 303 games, but gained fewer yards than Walker’s 15 seasons 240 games. Herschel’s NFL yards per game average alone bests Rice, by 20 yards per game.

Unlike Walker, Gore never won league MVP. Never led his league in scoring, never set the team rookie receiving record (like Walker in Dallas), never played another position (Herschel played HB, FB, FL, WR, TE, & special teams). Gore was never traded for as many players and draft picks. Gore never made the cover of Sports Illustrated as many times as Herschel.

So who belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?