49ers legend Roger Craig snubbed again as Hall of Fame gets it wrong (again)

Legendary 49ers running back Roger Craig must have done something to anger the folks over at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Former San Francisco 49ers running back Roger Craig deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He'll have to wait at least one more year before induction, however.

Craig was included on the list of 12 senior candidates for the Hall of Fame class of 2024 whose careers ended at least 25 years prior to whatever their induction class would be. The others included were Ken Anderson, Maxie Baughan, Randy Gradishar, Joe Jacoby, Albert Lewis, Steve McMichael, Eddie Meador, Art Powell, Sterling Sharpe, Otis Taylor and Al Wistert, as originally reported by NBC Sports Bay Area.

Unfortunately, Craig isn't advancing, as news broke of the three finalists -- Gradishar,
McMichael and Powell -- were named on Wednesday.

Nothing against those three NFL standouts.

But the Pro Football Hall of Fame got it wrong by snubbing Craig... again.

When will Pro Football Hall of Fame ever learn that Roger Craig is a Hall of Famer?

Perhaps the HOF is a bit biased against Craig because he was only a part of those dynasty-era Niners teams of the 1980s.

Quarterback Joe Montana, safety Ronnie Lott, wide receiver Jerry Rice and head coach Bill Walsh were all bona fide, no-doubt first-ballott Hall of Famers.

The HOF can't simply induct everyone from those San Francisco teams of the 1980s, right? Perhaps Craig should simply be relegated to the Hall of Very Good instead, right?

Wrong.

Look, there are a bunch of different arguments in favor of Craig making the hall, and we've compiled a few of them right here.

In short, he was a four-time Pro Bowler, a one-time first-team All-Pro, a member of the All-1980s team and the 1988 Offensive Player of the Year, and those accolades don't even include his four Super Bowl rings.

Additionally, Craig became the first player in NFL history to record 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season, paving the way for another Pro Football Hall of Famer, Marshall Faulk, to become the second member of that elusive 1,000/1,000 club.

The only other player of a total of three to do so is current 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, and he could potentially be inducted into Canton down the road, too.

But, why not Craig?

In an age when running backs ran the ball and little else, Craig was one of the pioneers who helped define a dual-threat offensive weapon, yet the Hall of Fame refuses to recognize that accomplishment, which is just one of many in his Hall of Fame-deserving career.

Maybe next year. Maybe.

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