There has been recent debate over who should be the eighth immortal, but in this blog post, I thought instead of writing about who should be the next immortal, I would write about the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame (ARLHOF). I will look at other sports Halls of Fame and write about what qualifies a player to be selected, who selects the players, and different categories in which people can be inducted. I will also look back to earlier this year when the RLIF appointed a new chairman; I thought I’d also have a look at the RLIF, how it’s governed and how it could be an international force alongside the ICC, the IRB, but maybe not so corrupt as FIFA.
The Rugby League Hall of Fame is an important part of the game to honour past players; as former ARL Chairman Colin Love once said: “The ARL Hall of Fame is an important part of recognizing the heritage of Rugby League.” “In building towards the future, it is imperative that we recognize those who laid the game’s foundations. The names of this group are synonymous with Rugby League.” “They were the benchmark of excellence in their respective eras. The career statistics of each are astonishing enough, but when you read the stories behind them they reveal true greatness.” In 2008. the Australian Rugby League’s greatest one hundred players were revealed, and at the moment, sixty-one of them are not in the Hall of Fame, besides Andrew Johns and Darren Lockyer (who should not yet be eligible, these players should be the first players selected to the ARLOF [at the end of this blog post I will include which players are in the ARLHOF as well as the sixty-one others]). I did several things to determine who should be in the Hall of Fame. The first thing I did was to find out how other sports that have Halls of Fame chose their athletes, then to find out who decides which players to include in the Hall of Fame, then to figure out how the process was done, if there was a way of adding players whose career had finished in the time before the hall existed and what that process was if there was a subsequent category for players who were among the games elite and finally if anyone else could be in the Hall or was it just players.
What Are the Qualifications for Players?
American Football: The only restriction is that a player must have retired at least five years before he can be considered.
US Baseball: Playing ability, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her team or teams and the game of baseball in general. Five years after retirement, any player with ten years of experience is put through a screening process that removes players of clearly lesser qualifications from consideration.
Hockey: Must have not played in a professional or international hockey game during any of the three (3) playing seasons before his or her election.
US Basketball: A player must be fully retired for five years before being eligible for Enshrinement. He/she may then be considered for Enshrinement in the sixth year of retirement. Should a player come out of retirement for a short period, as defined by the Hall, his/her case and eligibility for Enshrinement shall be reviewed individually?
Aussie Rules: Players must be retired for a minimum of three years. From the Hall of Fame website: The Committee shall consider a candidate’s outstanding service and overall contribution to the game of Australian Football in determining a candidate’s eligibility for induction into the Hall of Fame. Without limiting clause 5.1, the Committee may consider a candidate’s record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship and character. The number of football games played…shall only be a consideration and shall not be determinative in assessing a candidate’s eligibility. A player … involved at any level of Australian Football may be eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame. Candidates shall be adjudged based on their overall contribution to Australian Football, as opposed to one specific aspect.
Australian Cricket: The player must be retired from the game for at least 5 years. Based on more than just statistics’; players must have impacted how the game is played. Players should have either played at least 20 test matches or made at least a thousand runs or taken at least 75 wickets. The players should have played in at least one country other than Australia.
UK Rugby League: Players must have been retired for at least five years to be eligible and have played at least ten years within the British game.
Rugby League: I believe that the players should be eligible for the Hall five years after they played their last game, For example, Andrew Johns would be eligible in 2013 as he was playing in 2007, whilst Darren Lockyer would be eligible in 2017 as he will retire in 2011.
Who Selects the Players?
American Football: 48-person committee comprising; 32 who are associated with each NFL team, 15 at large delegates and one from the Hall of Fame,
US Baseball: Only active and honorary members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, who have been active baseball writers for at least ten (10) years, shall be eligible to vote.
Hockey: An eighteen-person selection committee comprised of Hall of Famers, hockey personnel and media personalities associated with the game. Members are selected by a board of directors to a three-year term and are staggered as such so that six new members are appointed every year
US Basketball: Voters vote in anonymity. All that is known is that nine members select North American players, and another seven select international players.
Aussie Rules: Current members include the AFL Chairman, the Executive Commissioner of the SANFL, the AFL manager of research and football projects, as well as veteran media members, a veteran coach and a former Member of Sport in the Victorian State Government.
Australian Cricket: Currently include the former General Manager of the MCG and two former test captains, the chief of Cricket Australia and media members.
UK Rugby League: Players are chosen for induction to the hall of fame by a panel consisting of sportswriters, broadcasters and officials
Rugby League: I believe that who enters into the ARLHOF should be decided by members of the Australasian Rugby League Writers Association, as well as people who are involved in the media of Rugby League outside of journalism. Veteran broadcasters and coaches should also be given a vote as long as they coached in the game for a period to be decided.
How Are Players Selected?
American Football: Fans can write to the Hall at any time of the year. Members are polled three times a year to get the list down to twenty-five semi-finalists, then the final fifteen by mail. The selection committee meets the day before the Super Bowl to elect a new class. Finalists must receive more than eighty per cent of the vote, with a minimum of four and a maximum of seven candidates each year; if there are more than seven, the top seven vote-getters are selected.
US Baseball: From a final ballot of typical twenty-five to forty candidates, each writer may select up to ten players; any player on more than seventy-five per cent of votes is elected, whilst players who are on less than five per cent players are removed from the draft process until they reach veteran status. Players can be nominated up to twenty years after they retire.
Hockey: Committee members may nominate one member every year. The committee then votes in a secret ballot to determine the players. Players who receive seventy-five per cent of the votes are elected. If the maximum number is not reached, a vote-off is held. Players with less than fifty per cent are excluded for the year. Four players a year are selected.
US Basketball: Players who receive seven votes are advanced to an Honors Committee comprised of twelve members and a rotating panel of twelve specialists who can put forth a maximum of 10 members. Those with seventy-five per cent are elected into the hall.
Aussie Rules: The committee can vote to install six players yearly, with a minimum of two who have retired within the last ten years.
Australian Cricket: Not Known
UK Rugby League: Inductions to the Hall of Fame have been sporadic. Nine players were inducted when the hall was opened in 1988, and one more was added the following year. There were no new inductees until 2000 when three more players were introduced as part of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup build-up. A further four players were inducted in 2005, and four more in 2013 during the fourteenth World Cup.
Rugby League: The majority of Hall’s have players who are on 75% of ballots being elected each year, and I think Rugby League should be the same. Obviously, the class size should be a maximum of seven as per American Football as well as most other USA-based Halls.
Is their Selection for “Veteran” Players?
American Football: Nine members also serve to screen candidates who retired a minimum of twenty-five years ago and select two finalists.
US Baseball: Players are grouped into three periods of baseball, with each period voting every three years to induct players. Veteran players are chosen by sixteen members chosen by the hall’s board of directors and also must reach 75 per cent to qualify to enter the hall.
Hockey: Was merged with regular players in 2000.
US Basketball: Players are nominated thirty-five years after retirement, and a seven-member panel select 5 their names for the honours committee, where the process follows the same as the regular players except that only two players are put two members up for voting.
Aussie Rules: No information for a separate category
Australian Cricket: No information for a separate category
UK Rugby League: No information for a separate category
Rugby League: I believe there should be a separate category for Rugby League players who played in the pre-war era (1908-1945). This group should be decided by a group of Rugby League Historians. A maximum of two players from this category can be added each year.
“Legend Players”
Aussie Rules: Players can be upgraded to “Legend Players” who are deemed to have had a positive impact on the game of Australian Rules; however, no more than ten per cent of the members are to be given legend status
Rugby League: I believe the ARLHOF should copy Aussie Rule here and that no more than 10% of players in the ARLOF should be immortals. If this was the case, then the case for the next Immortal would be decided when the time is right, not at just a random point decided by a magazine to increase dwindling sales.
Non Players in the Hall of fame:
American Football: Bylaw changes instituted beginning with the Class of 2015 added the Contributor finalist, who will be voted on independently of the other nominees. Like all other finalists, a Contributor nominee must receive an eighty per cent positive vote for election by the 46-member Selection Committee. Contributors have previously been part of the modern-era nomination list, including coaches and players. The result has been that since 1963, when the Hall of Fame first opened, only 19 Contributors have been elected, and 10 of those were elected in the first five Hall of Fame classes, including six as Charter Members. Two will be selected in future years.
US Baseball: Any person who does not come under the writers association is selected into one of three eras mentioned above, along with veteran players who are chosen by 16 members chosen by the hall’s board of directors and also must reach 75%
Hockey: Two other categories exist; on-field officials and builders. Two builders and one official are the maxima for any given year; on-ice officials must also be retired three years, while builders can qualify at any time.
US Basketball: A coach or referee must be fully retired for at least five years or have been active full-time in his/her respective craft on the professional, collegiate or high school level for at least 25 years. No years of service criterion is applied to those who have made a “significant contribution to the game of basketball.
Aussie Rules: Coaches, Umpires and administrators can be placed in the Hall of Fame immediately after they retire and follow the same criteria as players. One person out of the non-players must be added every two years.
Australian Cricket: None exists at the moment
Rugby League: I believe that coaches, referees and administrators members should also qualify for the ARLHOF, but as with players, it should be a minimum of five years after they retire. If they pass away five years after they retire or it is unlikely they will be around in a year, that rule will be waived.
The Rugby League World Cup is the second oldest event of its kind, which was first held in 1954. The 2008 edition was the thirteenth, which featured five teams who were automatic qualifiers; a further thirteen counties attempted to qualify. On the other hand. the oldest world cup is the FIFA World Cup. The 2010 edition of the FIFA World Cup was the nineteenth edition; it had two hundred and five teams who attempted to qualify with one automatic qualifier. Why has Rugby League struggled so much on the international stage compared to Soccer (football) & Rugby Union? Well, that’s what I attempt to answer in this part of the blog, as well as a brief history of the International Rugby League at the board level.
In 1927 the first international Rugby League board was formed (the Imperial Rugby League Board). Considering the RFL was representative of the “mother country”, they had three votes while Australia and New Zealand each had one, nothing much happened with this board, and it was disbanded not long after. In 1948 the International Rugby League Board (IRLB) was formed, under the driving force of the French, particularly Paul Barriére. During New Zealand’s 1947-48 tour of Europe, the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL), the Fédération Française de Rugby á XIII (FFR) and Britain’s Rugby Football League (RFL) agreed to meet and formed the IRLB, whilst the Australian Rugby League (ARL) would join some months later.
The FFR had proposed a Rugby League World Cup in 1933 after seeing the success of the original Soccer (Football) World Cup in 1930; however, nothing emerged due to World War II. In 1951, the FFR again pushed for the concept, led by its chairman Paul Barriére. In 1953 the IRLB accepted Paul Barriére’s proposal that France should host the first Rugby League World Cup in 1954, which was proposed to feature five teams; Britain, Australia, New Zealand and America. The USA, however, did not participate. so the tournament was held between the other four nations. The RLIB continued to develop countries adding PNG as a member nation not long after. The RLIB also saw the development of Rugby League in Tonga, Samoa, the USA, Canada & Ireland in the 1980s. After the start of the World Sevens in 1988, the RLIB took a much more active role in international development with Russia, Fiji, the Cook Islands, Japan, Scotland, Morocco and Moldova. The 1995 Emerging Nations Tournament, which was held alongside the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, was the swansong for the RLIB. The RLIB was forced to disband after most countries signed with Super League and formed the Super League International Board (SLIB). Australia, split between the SLIB and the ARL, was left without an international governing body or real competition.
In 1998 after the “Super League War” finished, the international Rugby League had its third board, the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF). The RLIF has helped develop Rugby League in; Lebanon, Serbia, Greece, Malta, Germany, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Latvia, Norway, Sweeden, Jamaica, Belgium, United Arab Emirates. The RLIF has helped to grow in countries that are yet to make their international debut, including Cuba, Hungary, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Solomon Islands.
In January 2003, the RFL and the FFR formed the Rugby League European Federation (RLEF). The RLEF is the umbrella body for Rugby League nations in Europe and the Northern Hemisphere. The RLF, FFR, Rugby League Ireland, Scotland Rugby League and the Welsh Rugby League are full members. The RELF has been responsible for many of its newer member nations playing international Rugby League and the return of many European Rugby League competitions.
In December 2009, the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL), the Tongan National Rugby League (TNRL), the Samoan Rugby League (SRL), the Fijian National Rugby League (FNRL) and the Cook Islands Rugby League (CIRL), united to form the Pacific Islands Rugby League Federation (PIRLF). However, the PIRLF was not recognised by the RLIF, as consideration was given to modernizing the RLIF constitution and membership structure. In May 2010, the Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC) was formed to govern Rugby League in the Pacific and the Southern Hemisphere. Member nations are the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) and Australian Rugby League (ARL), along with the members of the PIRLF. At a special meeting of the RLIF in November of 2010, a new constitution was approved that gave the NZRL, RFL, and the ARL permanent seats, whilst the other two seats on the five-member board, are elected from the APRLC and the RLEF. The only employee employed full-time by the RLIF is former first grader Tas Bateri, who is the RLIF’s development officer, the rest of the board also work for their national bodies. Scott Carter from New Zealand was appointed the chairman of the RLIF in 2011, replacing long-time chairman Colin Love. In 2009, the member nations agreed that the RLIF should negotiate over sponsorship, licensing and broadcast rights for international rugby league rather than the member nations. Also, in 2009, the RLIF imposed a levy of 10% on net gate receipts at all international matches, providing the International Federation with revenue.
And Another Thing: I have had a busy year this year, which is why there has been lack of posts, though hopefully, there will be more next year and a podcast, I will be doing work to get the podcast up and running over the off-season.
Quote of the Week: Craig Foster: “Today all Australians can express their love for football, watch only football and support football, and not feel a need to be seen as a league, AFL, or union supporter merely to conform to an outdated concept of Australianness. To the contrary. They are, in fact, the most modern and enlightened Australians.” Huh?
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Till next time,
Cheese
ARL Hall of Fame Members
Keith Barnes, Harry Bath, Brian Bevan, Arthur Beetson (Immortal), Kerry Boustead, Dave Brown, Frank Burge, Joe “Chimpy” Busch, Brian Carlson Clive Churchill (Immortal), Ron Coote, Jimmy Craig, Michael Cronin, Charles “Chook” Fraser, Bob Fulton (Immortal), Reg Gasnier (Immortal), Tom Gorman, Duncan Hall, Arthur “Pony” Halloway, Vic Hey, Keith Holman, Harold Horder, Ken Irvine, Ken Kearney, Graeme Langlands (Immortal), Wally Lewis (Immortal), Chris McKivat, Mal Meninga, Dally Messenger, Gene Miles, Joe Pearce, Sid (Sandy) Pearce, Wally Prigg, Norm Provan, Johnny Raper (Immortal), Peter Sterling, Duncan Thompson, George Treweek and Harry Wells
100 rugby league players
Vic Armbruster, Roy Bull, Jack Beaton, Cec Blinkhorn, Billy Cann, Brian Clay, Arthur Clues, Bradley Clyde, Ted “Tedda” Courtney, Les Cubitt, Laurie Daley, Brian Davies, Dan Dempsey, Graham Eadie, Andrew Ettingshausen, Viv Farnsworth, Brad Fittler, Dan Frawley, Peter Gallagher, Herb Gilbert, Eric Grothe Sr, Howard Hallett, Brian Hambly, Andrew Johns, Les Johns, Noel Kelly, Brett Kenny, Johnny King, Terry Lamb, Allan Langer, Glenn Lazarus, Darren Lockyer, Eddie Lumsden, Bob McCarthy, Frank McMillan, Peter “Mick” Madsen, Steve Mortimer, Barry Muir, Herb Narvo, Ernie Norman Andy Norval, John O’Neill, Kel O’Shea, Wayne Pearce, Ray Price, Tom Raudonikis, Steve Roach, Steve Rogers, Albert Rosenfeld, John Sattler, Billy Smith, Herb Steinohrt, Ray Stehr Arthur Summons, Viv Thicknesse, Ken Thornett, Ian Walsh, Steve Walters, Benny Wearing, Shane Webcke and Eric Weissel
Countries currently playing international Rugby League (year of debut in brackets)
PNG (1949)
Tonga (1986)
Samoa (1988)
South Africa (1960s, then again in 1995)
USA (1987)
Canada (1987)
Ireland (1989)
Russia (1991)
Fiji (1992)
Japan (1994)
Cook Islands (1995)
Scotland (1995)
Morocco (1995)
Moldova (1995)
Lebanon (1998)
Serbia (2003)
Greece (2003)
Malta (2004)
Germany (2005)
Czech Republic (2006)
Ukraine (2007)
Latvia (2008)
Norway (2008)
Sweden (2008)
Jamaica (2009)
Belgium (2009)