Roger Craig and Eddie DeBartolo Jr. don't make HOF cut

Too bad that running back Roger Craig and former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. didn't make it as finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Craig was a main cog in the glory years, particularly in 1988, the year the 49ers rebounded from a 6-5 start to go 10-6 and win Super Bowl XXIII in dramatic fashion over the Bengals. That was the last 49ers team Bill Walsh coached, and he would later say that he relied too much on Craig that season. Craig set a then team record with 1,502 rushing yards that year.

That was also the season he broke seven or eight tackles in a historic run against the Rams in Anaheim. That run was recently compared to Marshawn Lynch's tackle-bursting 67-yard bull-doze to the end zone to beat the Saints on Saturday.

I've also thought DeBartolo never got the credit he deserved for crafting a winning organization. Walsh often left and returned to the 49ers; and the team won with a completely new roster in 1994 from the one in 1981. The one constant was Eddie.

Recently, he went on KNBR to explain that he was never banned from the NFL. Suspended, yes, for his role in trying to illegally obtain a Louisiana riverboat gambling licensee, but never banned. DeBartolo said if he wasn't forced to sell part of the team to his sister, he'd still own the 49ers. Former 49ers Charles Haley and Deion Sanders made it to the next round of voting.

COMING: Players to look for in tonight's BCS Championship Game.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | January 10 2011 at 02:36 PM