CSNbbs

I know this is more a Toledo issue than a MAC issue, but I'm hoping many of you MAC fans will join us in this effort. I know you've all heard about the 35-0 Toledo team of 1969-1971, and some of you remember seeing them play. You may even be sick of hearing about it. But please hear me out.

Chuck Ealey was the QB of that team. He came out of high school with a 30-0 record as the starting QB. Freshman weren't eligible in college when he played, but as the starting QB at Toledo, his record was 35-0. Six years as a starter in high school and college, and he never lost a game. Chuck was a dual-threat QB long before that was acceptable to the NFL. He went on the play in the CFL and took over the Hamilton Tigercats a few games into the year. His major accomplishment that year was to lead the Tigercats to the Grey Cup (their Superbowl). The previous season, Hamilton was last in the league. He is currently a very successful businessman in Toronto Canada (where he also played before a collapsed lung ended his career).

Below is a post I made on the Toledo board, which I'm copying to a couple other boards as well. We would truly like this to be a national effort, and emails from fans of other MAC schools would help the cause tremendously.

Quote: The latest update for all of you:

First, an email I sent out to the members of our little committee this morning (if I missed anyone, I'm really sorry...I was kinda rushing to get things done this morning)

QUOTE
Hi everyone.  It's been a while since the last update to all of you, though I've spoken to several of you recently about things.  I hope I'm not forgetting anyone (or anything) here, but here's a quick run-down of where we stand and what's next.

Paul Helgren has sent the nomination forms into the CFHOF.  The fellow doing the documentary (Langendefer?)  is mailing a piece of video under separate cover to them.  In the past few weeks, I've spoken to a few folks in the local media, including Dan Cummins from Ch. 11 and Tom Pounds of the Toledo Free Press.  Dan Miller (PhotoDan) was good enough to hook my up with the editor of the Toledo Alumni magazine, and I have an appointment with her on Monday to do a short interview for a sidebar article they want to run about our efforts.  This article will run alongside  a main story they're doing about Chuck.

In a conversation with Paul Helgren a couple weeks ago, I asked about his preference for how to proceed:  did he want us to coordinate with his office, would he prefer that we go it alone, etc., and what would he suggest might be the most effective avenue of attack.  He suggested that we remain a separate entity and that a letter-writing campaign would be a good idea.  Of course, I caught him on the spur of the moment with no time to prepare anything else, but that didn't seem like nearly enough to me.  In any case, it's time to get the old word processor programs fired up and send out letters to the CFHOF.  I'll post a call for action on the message boards tonight along with a story on ToledoRocketFans.com.  I'll put a press release together over the weekend and get it out to the local media.

Here's where it gets fun, folks.  Let's make this happen.


Now then, a little more background for those who aren't aware yet. There is a documentary being made on the Unbeatable Rockets by a local company, and that's who I'm referring to about sending the video to the CFHOF. Helgren was hoping to include that video with the nomination form, but time constraints apparently made it impossible to wait for it.
The CFHOF has already told us that Ealey does not meet their eligibility requirements, as he was not a first team All-American listed on one of the five "teams" the NCAA recognized at the time. The one publication that DID name him first team wasn't one of the five, but is now recognized by the NCAA (since 1991). That timing is a killer. So our plans are to get them to either make an exception or change the eligibility rules. The first phase of that is going to be a letter-writing campaign. I'll get a form letter posted for anyone who's interested in a cut & paste, but by all means, feel free to send your own letter as well. The next step will be to get the local media on board and talking about this early and often. We want to beat the drum enough to get some national attention to the subject. From a national perspective, our best shot appears to be Christine Brennan, a Toledo native who did a wonderful story in USA Today on Chuck Ealey a few years ago. You can read it here.
Paul Helgren approached her on the subject and at that time she felt it might be too "parochial" a subject for her to push just one individual. However, she felt a national story could be done if it were about a LIST of players who are not eligible but maybe should be...guys like Joe Namath, Joe Montana, etc.. Paul was going to work on such a list and see if we can't get it rolling that way. I also plan to approach Rick Cryst about this campaign and try to get the MAC on board, and have him use his national contacts to involve television, etc.. ESPN loves a good story, and this IS a good one.

Well, that covers most of the bases for now. I'll get a letter drafted and posted this weekend. PLEASE get on board and help in this campaign. Our goal is to make this happen in time for next season's Homecoming game...the 35th anniversary of the final year of the UNBEATABLE ROCKETS.

The USA Today article I referenced is
<a href='http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2003-01-08-brennan_x.htm' target='_blank'>here.</a>

So who do you want us to contact?

Since one of our group has already exchanged emails with <a href='http://msweeney@footballfoundation.com' target='_blank'>this man,</a> I'd start with him. The CFHOF does have a means of making exceptions to SOME eligibility requirements, but not all. Seems a bit arbitrary to me.

Thanks for the interest.

I''ll drop a note.

One of you guys should contact Christine Brennan and let her know what you are trying to do. She may consider it newsworthy. She recognizes how special Chuck Ealey was -- she may recognize a good story here.

This is a good story. It's a story about how a Hall of Fame -- which has an obligation to try to be selective -- comes to terms with a career like that of Ealey, which was obviously super extraordinary, but in ways that doesn't easily fit any criteria a HOF may lay down.

Christine Brennan has been made aware of our effort and asked to assist. Unfortunately, her reply was essentially that an article focused soley on Chuck Ealey might be "too parochial" for a national audience. She suggested that perhaps such a story could be written if it were about A NUMBER of players who are also not in the CFHOF and aren't eligible. Our Assistant AD for Media Relations is attempting to compile such a list.

As you can see from the time stamp on this post, it's the wee hours, I just got in from work, so a little sleep is in order. I'll post some "bullet points" a little later today.

Alright, I was going to post a form letter, but someone rightly suggested that would be too impersonal to be effective. Instead, I've put a bunch of info in one place for you to look over and pick and choose what to use. Please click the link to read and send your letter or email along... <a href='http://mattsledge.com/macforum/viewtopic.php?p=2982&sid=7bd99803a81500c5b3c964381e6732d6#2982' target='_blank'>Ealey for CFHOF</a>

If that link doesn't work for some reason, click this one <a href='http://mattsledge.com/macforum/viewtopic.php?p=2982&sid=7bd99803a81500c5b3c964381e6732d6#2982' target='_blank'>instead</a>