The folks who run the Pro Football Hall of Fame realize that, when the annual time comes to put on a TV show consisting of a slew of potentially slow-moving speeches, there’s only so much that can be done to keep things concise. Five years ago, the decision was made to tighten up the festivities by not giving real estate at the podium to a representative of a new Hall of Famer who had passed away before enshrinement.
The new policy wasn’t widely noticed until this year, in part because no one objected to Les Richter not having someone speak on his behalf in 2011, the first time (and before this year the only time) the new policy was implemented.