When discussing the greatest running backs in NFL history, nobody ever mentions Frank Gore. Why is that the case? Gore ranks third on the all-time rushing list in NFL history. Gore doesn’t get the respect he deserves and is a no brainer for a Hall of Fame induction.
Gore, 37, is doing something nobody else has in recent memory. He’s the starting running back for a team at an “advanced” age. Sure, it’s the Jets, but it doesn’t matter. Nobody has broken father time quite like Gore, who refuses to age.
Two things get you into the Hall of Fame:
1: Production
2: Longevity
Father time is losing, and Gore has mastered the longevity part better than pretty much everyone. Gore is in the midst of his 16th NFL season. Want to hear something crazier? Frank Gore Jr. plays at Southern Miss. Gore is playing in the NFL while his son is playing DI football. That’s crazy town.
Only one player in the history of the NFL has carried the ball 100 times at the age of 37 or older. That man is Marcus Allen, who carried the ball 124 times for 505 yards in 1997. Gore will crush those numbers as he’s already carried the ball 55 times for 174 yards on the season in four games. Numbers that should go up if and when the Jets move on from Le’Veon Bell.
As I said earlier, Gore ranks third on the all-time rushing list with an outside chance to catch Walter Payton for second place. Gore belongs in the Hall whether he does or not. Gore and Adrian Peterson (both of whom are still active) are the only two players in the top-18 for career rushing yards who aren’t enshrined yet.
It’s been a while, but we also forget how good Gore was with San Francisco. Rarely playing in a high-powered 49ers offense, I should add as well. Gore rushed for over 1,000 yards on eight different occasions with San Francisco. He also almost had a 1,700-yard season back in 2006.
Let’s all take a second to appreciate the greatness of Frank Gore. We might never have a running back in the history of the NFL do the things Gore is doing right now. Hall of Fame? That’s not even a question. Gore deserves to be remembered as one of the greats in Canton.
