Jimmy Patton - Hall of Fame Worthy?

By John Turney 

Soon after former New York Giants' safety Jimmy Patton became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he died tragically in an automobile accident. Then it wasn't long afterward that he was lost in a queue of Canton-worthy teammates and forgotten.

At least by Hall voters, he was. Instead of fast-tracking Patton's candidacy, they focused more on his former teammates.

Emlen Tunnell was one. He'd been inducted a handful of years earlier (1967). Andy Robustelli was another. He was enshrined in 1971. So was quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who played longer in San Francisco but was known more for his career with the Giants.

Then there was Roosevelt Brown, enshrined in 1975 after four tries. Two years later, it was Frank Gifford's turn. There were so many Giants that Sam Huff wasn't a finalist until some of his former teammates went off the board. Nevertheless, in 1982 he joined them. 

Quarterback Charlie Conerly was a finalist nearly every year in the 1970s, but he was never elected. Still, he took up a lot of oxygen in the room  But if you add senior inductees Ray Flaherty (1976), Red Badgro (1981) and Arnie Weinmeister (1984), that's nine Giants enshrined from 1967-84.

Maybe now you see how Jimmy Patton got lost. There was a Big Blue tidal wave. But that doesn't explain why he's never been re-discovered. He's Hall-of-Fame worthy and deserves to have his case heard. Why? Because he was one of the best safeties in the NFL for almost a decade.

"I don't think there's a finer defensive back in the National Football League," his former position coach, Hall-of-Famer Tom Landry, once said.

A standout offensive and defensive player at the University of Mississippi, Patton was a three-time all-conference selection who, as a junior, scored 26 points in a single game. The following year he co-captained the SEC champion Rebels and led a defense that allowed 47 points all season, including a letdown in the Sugar Bowl when they surrendered 21.

To say he was a big deal at Ole Miss is an understatement.

If there was a knock on him, it was only his size. He stood just 5-feet-10 inches tall and weighed around 170 pounds. Nevertheless, the New York Giants drafted him in the eighth round of the 1955 NFL draft and had him play backup cornerback and safety as a rookie -- a season where he gained more attention by returning a punt and kickoff for touchdowns in the same game.

"The odds against returning a punt for a touchdown," the Giants' media guide said the following year, "have been figured to be 98-1. The odds against returning a kickoff all the way are even steeper, 158-1. Yet against the Redskins in the Polo Grounds last season Patton performed both feats in the same game. The odds on that feat have yet to be figured."

No wonder they couldn't figure it out. He was the first to do it. Since then, only 13 players have followed. But throw in his first NFL interception in that game, and Patton's accomplishments become a club of one.

When the Giants' starting right safety was hurt in 1956, Patton stepped in as the starter ... and never left until retiring after the 1966 season. He had an interception and 22-yard punt return in that year's championship game, a 47-7 drubbing of the Chicago Bears. Two years later, he led the league in interceptions with 11 when he was a consensus All-Pro for the first of five times. 

On a team with stars galore, Patton might have had the best season -- offense or defense.

"Being smart," said Landry then, "that is what it takes. Very seldom does a player have the physical equipment of say, a Jimmy Brown. So they must have the mental ability to make up for it. That is Patton."

The Giants lost the NFL championship that year to Johnny Unitas' Colts and lost again to Baltimore in 1959 when Patton repeated as a consensus All-Pro. Over the years, he gained a reputation as a ballhawk -- intercepting 43 passes from 1958-62 -- but he was more than that. A strong and sure tackler, Jimmy Patton was a complete player.

In short, he was everything you want in a safety.

Not only that, but he was one of the first pure free safeties, helping to pioneer the position. When he joined the Giants, there were two safety spots -- left and right -- and Patton was used on the right.  However, starting in 1961, he played the weak side almost exclusively, allowing him to read and hunt passes. It also allowed the strong safety to play closer to the line of scrimmage, often taking the tight end in man coverage.

"A free safety has to have some speed," Patton said then. "A good roamer is what he actually is. He has to get over and help."

And help he did. He ended his career with as many interceptions as Hall-of-Famer Larry Wilson, another early free safety. Even today, their 52 career picks rank among the top ten among safeties. That should be enough to warrant consideration for Canton, but Patton has never been a finalist, either as a modern-era or seniors' candidate.

So let's see what more there is that voters should know.

-- During his 12-year career, no one intercepted more passes. No one.

-- During that same span, only 10 players were named first-team AP All-Pro more than his five selections. Their names? Jim Brown, Bill George, Jim Parker, Gino Marchetti, Ron Mix, Joe Schmidt, Rosey Brown, Forrest Gregg, Jim Otto and Jim Ringo. Hall of Famers all.

-- The seven players tied with Patton are also impressive, including Lenny Moore and and Robustelli.

-- The list of safeties who were AP first-team All-Pro five times or more is as follows: Jack Christiansen, Johnny Robinson, Ronnie Lott, Ed Reed, Larry Wilson and ... Jimmy Patton. Christiansen, Robinson and Lott were named six times, just one more than the other three. All but Patton are in the Pro Football Hall.

Overshadowed by other Giants or not ... forgotten or not ... Jimmy Patton has more than credentials to be considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He should be in. Period.

But don't take my word. Listen to former Giants' coach Allie Sherman.

"He was tops, not just good," he said. "One of the greatest defensive backs. He had the three qualities you find in the best players. Consistency, top performance and great heart."

What more do voters need?