Future Hall of Fame Members July 03, 2021 04:27AM
Sitting in our camper in a rainy Tomah, WI last weekend my family started flipping though an edition of The Puller Magazine we got in a bag of merchandise at the pull. The page we had the most fun with was the list of NTPA Hall of Fame members from 1980 through 2020. So naturally the discussion ensued: who among active pullers will be selected to the hall of fame in the future? We quickly realized there are A LOT of pullers from the golden age of pulling who are still active. I have made a list (just for fun and purely speculative). I have split it into 3 sections: Automatic- pullers I feel deserve a direct induction as soon as they retire; bubble- pullers who definitely have made a career that in worthy of being admitted, but time will tell; and potential- pullers with a lot of career left who are headed in the right direction. Be interesting to see what everyone else thinks and who you would nominate if you could.

AUTOMATIC. These pullers in my opinion are the current legends.
1. Holman Brothers
2. Blagrave Brothers
3. Esden Lehn
4. Terry Blackbourn- yes he's pulling in the other league right now, but you have to consider his whole dominant career.
5. Adam Bauer- I am actually putting him here for his sleds. Though he is an outstanding puller himself.

Bubble. These pullers should get in, but there may be some room for debate, or they didn't quite make my top tier for various reasons.
1. Steve Bollinger
2. Jordan Lustick (could/ should probably put this one in my top list)
3. Ken Veney
4. Rob Russell (would be in top list, but has predominately been PPL for his pro stock career.) Don't forget about his NTPA super stock career.
5. Bill Leischner (basically same point as Rob Russell)

Potential. These pullers have a lot of momentum going for them right now, or have had lots of skill with varied consistency over the years.
1. Jeff Hirt
2. Joe Eder
3. Brett Berg
4. The entire Corzine/ Koester stable
5. The entire Simon stable

I am sure I overlooked many many top notch drivers, promoters, technicians, officials, sponsors, etc. This is all in good fun. Let me know who's on your hall of fame ballot!

Final note- I didn't list Roger Simon, as I expect he will be a 2021 inductee.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 03, 2021 04:34AM
Automatic Jessie Petro
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 03, 2021 05:34AM
Bryan and Ernie Conner have had some influence on pulling. Dave Hager has been around a bit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2021 05:36AM by bowtieighth.
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Hall of fame candidate July 03, 2021 08:19AM
Mark Massey should definitely be in there! He was the master mind who put Columbus Diesel on the map when it comes to performance fuel and turbo systems. 40 plus years in the business! The man should definitely be one if the top candidates and he's still at it! Thanks Mark for your incredible contribution to the sport! It no doubt has evolved to what it is today because of your love and passion for the sport of Tractor and Truck Pulling!! Pump Doctor for Hall of Fame!!
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Re: Hall of fame candidate July 03, 2021 01:47PM
Kevin Lynn???
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 03, 2021 12:31PM
Brian and Ernie Conner for sure should make the list, in my opinion. As a pulling fan from North Missouri in the early 1990's I was a huge fan of a certain White 2-180, and I would argue they essentially brought pulling into the modern age that it's in. I'm glad someone gave them a nod, as I was too afraid that that name and tractor would be shrouded in too much controversy, or mystery. But I couldn't agree more.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 03, 2021 12:35PM
Was Dave Hager the owner of the Ironsides sled? If so, he also deserves a nod.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 03, 2021 01:19PM
Quote
Eitel
Was Dave Hager the owner of the Ironsides sled? If so, he also deserves a nod.
He still is and just had another birthday, yesterday. You mentioned the Bauer sleds earlier. I can remember Vaughn at the starting line at Indy asking lots of questions of Dave. I believe that was '93?
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 03, 2021 03:19PM
This whole thread is centered around the "NTPA hall of fame", y'all are forgetting a major factor though.... If at any point any of these great contributors to this sport butted heads with D.P.S., they won't be nominated for a lllooonnnggg time, if ever! If we were talking about a true, non-political pulling hall of fame, then most of these people mentioned would be great nominations! But it's a known fact, if you buck the system with the great NTPA, you're basically disqualified from their "hall of fame" club.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 04, 2021 04:39AM
You sure have alot of animosity toward NTPA.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 04, 2021 01:40AM
The Hall of Fame is a JOKE until Conner brothers are inducted into it. If the Best of the Best are not included it's hardly a Hall of Fame at all. Pulloff creating a HOF would hold more creditability in my opinion. Let's get Lewis,Bryan and Ernie in there.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 04, 2021 02:17PM
Conner bros and Brent long should be automatic
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 05, 2021 03:35AM
Rob Russell and Bret Berg (Bill is in) are absolute locks. Chris Gilbert should have gotten in while alive. (Did way more for the sport than Arnie Cool Vories is a lock as is Brian and Ernie. Would argue that Tommy D and Warren Ropp are as deserving as JVD (and Dorpe is absolutely deserving).
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 06, 2021 02:41AM
The list I am referring to is the NTPA Hall of Fame. I am not sure if other organizations have one. All great suggestions, especially Boyds and Vorheis. The name I keep seeing thrown around is Brian and Ernie Conner, which I find to be super interesting. I think if they were going to be nominated for the Hall of Fame, they would have been inducted by now. I think one thing that hurts their case is despite the impact they had on pulling, they weren't in it at the Grand National Level that long. Before there was the Bad Medicine White 2-180, they campaigned a John Deere by the same name. I think it primarily ran light 5500 lbs, but may have jumped all the way up to the 9500 lb class at a pull in Nebraska. That was in....1989? So kind of a rookie season for them maybe. The 2-180 followed quickly after, but then it was sold and gone by what... 1996? So really less than a decade of premier pulling. Now, during that time, who was going to go toe to toe with such an innovative tractor? The talent is there, but what about the longevity as competitors? (I think they still have their finger in quite a bit of behind the scene work today, and even pulled closer to home in later years).
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 06, 2021 01:45PM
Before the JD, there was the 203 Massey and before that was the Flyin' Farmall that was on the cover of the Puller in '78 or 79 when it won the class in Davenport, I think.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 06, 2021 12:28AM
Are we talking NTPA hall of fame or just pulling hall of fame? You can't have a hall of fame without Steve Boyd, and Dennis Masterson, as well as the Long brothers from PPL.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 06, 2021 01:34AM
Although I think the SSD4x4 class has only been a GN class for a handful of years now I think Van/Patty Haisley, Carl Atley, and Shane Kellogg deserve consideration given their dominance and innovation in Diesel Truck Pulling. Could add Scheid to that list too although mostly PPL.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 06, 2021 02:58PM
there are names suggested that have as much chance getting into the hall of fame as Pete Rose does getting into Cooperstown.it is not a cheating issue before any one suggests otherwise.
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Re: Future Hall of Fame Members July 08, 2021 05:32AM
Lots of great names in this thread. Most HOF's require a inductee to be out of the sport, retired, before their nomination.
In the case of most recent inducted, Larry Koester / Randy Petro, their unique impact on pulling may lead to a FAMILY induction because of the great impact their following generations have contributed and still contribute to the sport.

I think B Conner is still active in the sport. He and Ernie made an incredible impact on the Super Stock Division back in the 1990's.
I agree that Chris Gilbert should have spot in the hall.
Jerry VanDorpe was inducted in 2011. Arnie Beumer was the promoter of BOTH Fort Recovery's back in the hayday, he was enshrined in 2007.


Agreed that the Manufacturer should have a definite place in the HOF. Many great products have helped the sport grow. NTPA does recognize a Manufacturer of the Year.

Ernie Ropp, Iron elk, was inducted in 1994. At the time Warren was mentioned and included in the articles of the day for the success of the team. NTPA may want to re-recognize some of the earlier Hall of Famers as their legacy continues to this day in the sport. The Koester/Bauer/Petro teams continue to have a strong position in the sport and will for years to come.
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