When It Comes to the Hall, He Wants It All

Just induct, baby.

Al Davis has made a record eight presentations to inductees at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he would like to make a few more. The Oakland Raider owner says several former Raiders continue to be overlooked.

“The only coach who has won two Super Bowls and is not in the Hall of Fame is Tom Flores,” Davis told the San Francisco Chronicle. “The only quarterback who has won two Super Bowls and is not in the Hall of Fame is Jim Plunkett.... That’s impossible.”

Furthermore, Davis said, there’s “no question” that punter Ray Guy and wide receiver Cliff Branch also should be inducted.

Davis, who entered the Hall of Fame in 1992, will be in Canton, Ohio, today for inductions that include former Raider tight end Dave Casper, who will be presented by former Raider coach John Madden.

Trivia time: Who is the only player Davis presented into the Hall of Fame who didn’t play for the Raiders?

Famous advice: Miami Herald columnist Edwin Pope, who will be inducted into the writer’s wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame today, helped shape the future of the Miami Dolphins during a talk with then-team owner and founder Joe Robbie in 1970.

Robbie confided to Pope that he had decided to fire coach George Wilson and, before he could finalize the move, he needed to find a successor. “How about Shula?” Pope suggested.

That remark set into motion the hiring of Don Shula, who coached the Dolphins to consecutive Super Bowl championships in 1972-73.

You don’t say: Former New York Yankee Don Larsen, to the San Francisco Chronicle, on pitching a perfect game in the 1956 World Series: “Not many people get to do something that’s only been done once.”

Lost and fowl: A rubber chicken covered with the autographs of Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr and other Green Bay Packer legends was lost for decades in a forgotten safe-deposit box before landing in Wisconsin’s unclaimed property division two years ago.

This week, the one-of-a-kind piece of sports memorabilia was finally reunited with the two sisters who own it. Said Wisconsin state Treasurer Jack Voight: “It’s gotten pretty hard, and it’s not as flexible as it used to be.”

Responded Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “In other words, that chicken is no worse off than Paul Hornung.”

Looking back: On this day in 1948, Cleveland Indian pitcher Satchel Paige, who played for years in the Negro leagues, made his first major-league start and went seven innings in a 5-3 victory over the Washington Senators.

Trivia answer: Wide receiver Lance Alworth, who played for the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys. When Alworth was a rookie with the Chargers in 1962, Davis was an assistant with the team.

And finally: Steve Spurrier will make his NFL coaching debut tonight when his Washington Redskins meet the San Francisco 49ers in the American Bowl at Osaka, Japan, and he’s comparing it to what he knows best--college football.

“It’s kind of like a bowl game,” said the former Florida coach. “Sometimes those bowl games don’t mean a heck of a lot in college. You keep score. There’s going to be a winner and loser.”