State Your Case: Does Lester Hayes Have What 'It' Takes to Reach Canton?

By John Turney 

"Lester doesn’t have it."

That’s what a Hall-of-Fame voter told me around 20 years ago when former Raiders' cornerback Lester Hayes was a finalist for Canton, and the rest of the committee must have agreed. In four years as one of 15 candidates under consideration (2001-04), Hayes was never elected.

But that was then, and this is now.  Then he was a modern-era aspirant. Now he's one of 31 seniors eligible for the Hall's Class of 2025, which begs the question ...

Does Lester Hayes, a.k.a., "the Judge " and self-proclaimed only true "Jedi Knight" in the NFL, have "it?" In other words, is he worthy of Canton?

Let's talk about it.

Over his career with the Raiders (1977-86), he had 39 interceptions, 572 return yards, and four touchdowns -- numbers the anonymous voter cited as deficient. Yet, he led the league with 13 interceptions in 1980, just one shy of Dick "Night Train" Lane’s all-time single-season record. 

After that year, opponents avoided him, cementing his reputation as a "shutdown corner" -- even though that term was not yet part of the NFL's lexicon. Only after Mike Haynes joined the Raiders in 1983 did they start challenging Hayes again, simply because they had no other option. But Hayes was still a top-tier bump-and-run corner, and he remained such for the rest of his career.

Then, there’s the "Stickum" issue. Hayes coated his hands and arms with the yellow goop. When Stickum was banned in 1981, some claimed it hindered his interceptions. Hayes countered, saying it helped him "stick" to receivers slightly longer during bump-and-run coverage. He admitted it looked excessive, but he had his reasons.

You can find material that suggests Stickum may be a reason that Hall voters never came around to him; that he was somehow tainted because of it. But if that's true, it's silly. It was Hall-of-Famer and teammate Fred Biletnikoff who introduced Lester to it. 

Hopefully, that's not a reason voters voted him down.

Beyond personal stats, Hayes played a key role in the Raiders' Super Bowl XV and XVIII victories. His 1980 playoff performance, with five interceptions in four games, was instrumental in Oakland's win over the Philadelphia Eagles. In 13 playoff games, Hayes had eight interceptions, five of them in 1980 when teams dared to test him.

In total, Hayes played 10 seasons before a foot injury ended his career. His 1980 season earned him AP Defensive Player of the Year, making him one of only six cornerbacks to win that award. Four are in the Hall of Fame; one is still active, and then there’s Lester, on the outside of the Hall, looking in.

But 1980 wasn’t his only standout season. In 1979, with two pick-sixes, he earned second-team All-AFC honors from UPI. In 1981, The Sporting News named him All-NFL, and in 1982, he was second-team All-Pro by the NEA. 

Continuing in 1983, Pro Football Weekly named him All-Pro, and he was second-team All-Pro on the AP and NEA squads. Finally, in 1984 the PFWA voted him All-Pro. Hayes was also part of the NFL’s 1980s all-decade team, a recognition awarded by the Hall-of-Fame selection committee.

But there's more. 

Proscout, Inc., an independent scouting company that began grading NFL players in the mid-1970s, had Lester pegged as elite from the outset. In the 6-foot, 200-pound Hayes' first season as a starter (1978), he was ranked 13th-best in the NFL. The following season he wasn't chosen for the Pro Bowl, but he didn't go unnoticed by Proscout. It ranked him fourth. He was in the top six in 1983 and 10th in 1984. 

When he recorded those 13 interceptions in 1980, Proscout ranked him as one of the game's top cornerbacks. And when he had seasons with two or three interceptions, it put him among the best. That wasn't a grade based on stats; it was based on how well a player does his job.

"The Judge" did his job.

It was quite a journey to the pros for Hayes, a defensive end in high school who moved to linebacker in college, later switched to safety and then became a cornerback in the NFL. And while he initially questioned Al Davis’ decision to put him there, the move was a wise one. Hayes excelled as a cornerback.

"Lester was one of the best at intimidation," said fellow Raiders' cornerback Mike Haynes. “As a cover man and tackler, he was phenomenal.” 

Hayes rarely played zone coverage, staying in man-to-man coverage most of the time. If he read a play and knew the ball wasn’t coming his way, he would go "hunting" --  the forerunner to the modern “match” coverage where defenders help nearby teammates if their receiver isn’t targeted.

Hayes was a throwback to the Raiders' bump-and-run glory days, but he was more physical. He'd butt his helmet into the chests of opposing receivers so hard that, according to Hall-of-Fame receiver James Lofton, "It would knock the wind out of you."

But his ability extended far beyond physical play -- so much so that Burgess Owens, another Raiders' safety, extolled Hayes when asked about him.

"Lester," he said, "plays the position better than anyone in the game. He may become the best of all time."

While he may not be the "best of all time," a closer look could reveal that our voter was wrong ... and that Lester Hayes does indeed have "it."