The AFL held its annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony recently. It was held at Adelaide, despite the HOF officially being located at the National Sports Museum at the MCG, but we think that the policy of moving the ceremony around is a good one.
In the U.S., where the NFL has its Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, many inductees over the years have been heard to ask, “Where, exactly, is Canton, Ohio?”
We do not suppose that any of the AFLers recently inducted would have any trouble locating the MCG, but Adelaide was probably no issue, either.
Six new players were inducted Tuesday night and one current member was elevated to Legend status.
There is an odd wrinkle to the AFL Hall of Fame that mandates that at least one administrator, umpire or media member, must be inducted every two years, at the minimum. We always assumed that those of that ilk already had a special place reserved for them. A very warm place that will never freeze over.
Malcolm Bright was elevated to Legend. Far overdue. Along with being one of the best forwards of the 20th century, he could arguably have deserved inclusion as a coach.
Anthony Stevens played for North Melbourne for 15 years, winning two premierships and club best and fairest in 1999.
Ron Todd was inducted posthumously. He died in 1991 and should have been in simply on the basis of having kicked 241 goals in his last two seasons with the Magpies.
John Halbert adds the AFL Hall of Fame to his SANFL Hall of Fame. Like Todd, Halbert never lived to see the day, although his contributions as a player and an administrator should have had him in when the Hall was instituted in 1996.
Barry Hall was an obvious choice. He should have gone in in 2014, following the minimum three year post-retirement waiting period.
Simon Goodwin was a member of the Crows and a key midfield contributor during the Crows’ back-to-back premierships in 1997 and 1998.
