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Tom Osborne for the Nebraska Hall of Fame? Sign me up.
But maybe it’s worth spending a bit of time considering the rules for induction into the state’s most prestigious honor.
They aren’t very good. First off, a person must have been dead for 35 years before they can be considered.
That always made me wonder, will people remember how big a deal nightshow host Johnny Carson, of Norfolk, was? He was the undisputed “King of Late Night” who regularly reminded us that he was from Nebraska.
Heck, the University of Nebraska- Lincoln (where he graduated, and donated millions) still uses his voice to promote the school.
But Carson, who died in 2005, won’t be eligible to be in our state’s Hall of Fame until 2040. Who’s going to be around then who will even remember his show, the “Carnac the Magnificent,” or “Art Fern”?
How about Bob Devaney? He boosted pride in the state by quintillions (a billion billions) via the success of his football teams.
“Go Big Red” became the state motto. There’s Nebraska booster clubs across the country. And wearing Red on Saturdays (also when this Fred Hoiberg team or the volleyball team plays) is basically a Cornhusker requirement.
The eligibility rules have changed more than once for the Nebraska Hall of Fame, which was established in 1961 and now has 27 members. They include Wild West Show figure Buffalo Bill Cody, World War I hero Gen. “Black Jack” Pershing, Native American leader Standing Bear and civil rights figure Malcolm X. Prior to 1998, a state commission was naming a new inductee every two years. That led to questions about whether every new inductee was really worthy of having their bronze bust displayed in the hallways of the State Capitol.
I mean, I remember going to Gold’s department store in Lincoln way back when. But should the founder of that store be in the State Hall of Fame? And Charles Bessey was a famed botanist at UNL who pushed for creation of the nation’s largest, hand-planted forest in the Sandhills. But a Hall of Famer?
The changes in 1998 (followed by more changes in 2005) included requiring a person to be dead for 35 years to become eligible for induction.
I remember thinking, “that’s way too long” when those rules were adopted. But no one was asking me what I thought.
So here we are today, with Gov. Jim Pillen – a former football player for Osborne at UNL – proposing to carve out an exemption in the Hall of Fame rules to allow a person still living, who served as NU’s football coach and athletic director, who graduated from Hastings High School and who served in the U.S. House of Representatives, to be inducted.
Tom Osborne is the only person who fits those qualifications (which makes you wonder if Pillen’s bill violates the State Constitution’s prohibition on “special legislation” that benefits one “class” of people or businesses).
Thirty-two state senators signed on to co-sponsor the proposal, introduced by Hastings State Sen. Don Lonowski, so this is a bill that has legs. Many legs.
Tom Osborne is totally deserving, and that’s despite the criteria for the Hall of Fame that gives more credit for accomplishments in public affairs, the arts and science and the professions, than in athletics or entertainment.
He and his wife founded the Teammates mentoring program, which I can personally attest can make a great difference in a kid’s life.
Osborne has also been a consistent, moral compass for our state, lobbying against expanded gambling and legalization of marijuana (though I never thought I’d see beer sold at Memorial Stadium in the old coach’s lifetime).
I’d urge senators to stop and think before fiddling, one more time, with the rules for the Nebraska Hall of Fame.
That 35-year wait to get into the Hall is crazy. Make it five or 10 years if changes are necessary. Continue it as a posthumous honor.
Instead, work on cutting property taxes. I wouldn’t worry too much about Tom Osborne getting into the state’s Hall of Fame. He will.
