Raiders CB Hayes Is Stuck in Limbo

The Las Vegas Raiders Lester Hayes is one of the greatest defensive backs in National Football League history, and his Hall of Fame reward is stuck in limbo.

Lester Hayes of the Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders appears to be stuck, and he’s been that way for a while.

Hayes, recognized by many as one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, was a three-time all-pro and a five Pro Bowl selection, yet he has been retired for 37 years, and he’s not a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and tragically probably never will be.

There’s only one reason—Stickum.

The Raiders selected the 6-foot, 200-pound Hayes in the fifth round (No. 126 overall) of the 1977 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M, and for a while, he teamed with Mike Haynes to form the greatest cornerback duo of all-time, helping the Silver and Black win Super Bowls XV and XVIII.

In addition, Hayes was NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1980, was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, and is a member of the Raiders All-Time Team. He lived up to his nicknames of “The Judge,” and “Lester the Molester.”

“Lester belongs in the Hall of Fame possibly more than any player not there already,” the great wide receiver Cliff Branch told this reporter several years ago before Branch was finally elected posthumously in 2022. “I had to face him every day in practice for several years, and I can tell you he was at least as good if not better than any corners I had to face around the league.”

Ironically, great wide receivers such as Branch, Jerry Rice, and Fred Biletnikoff are in the Hall of Fame, even though they have admitted to using Stickum during their NFL careers.

Of course, Hayes was the “King of Stickum,” smearing it all over.

In his rookie season, Hayes was introduced to Stickum, an adhesive substance players use to improve their grip by teammate Biletnikoff. However, instead of simply applying a small amount to his hands, he slated it all over his arms and even his uniform.

After Hayes led the NFL with 13 interceptions for 273 yards and a 62-yard touchdown in 1980, Stickum was outlawed by the NFL. His 13 picks were one off the NFL record set by the great Dick “Night Train” Lane of the Los Angeles Rams in 1952.

Hayes made 25 interceptions for 486 yards and three touchdowns in his first four seasons but only 14 more for 86 yards in his last six, and critics claim it was because he couldn’t use Stickum anymore.

Of course, it could have been because quarterbacks didn’t throw his way as much. After all, the outcome often was not good. Still, Hayes’ 39 career interceptions tied the Raiders record set by Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown.

Hayes was a ballhawk, and he recovered seven fumbles in his career, including one he returned for a 42-yard touchdown in his final season.

Haynes and Hayes shut down big-play wide receivers Charlie Brown, who made three catches, and Art Monk, who had only one, as the Raiders routed the Washington Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on Jan 22, 1984.

With his top receivers unable to get open, quarterback Joe Theismann was sacked six times.

“Hayes and Haynes were the difference in the game,” Redskins General Manager Bobby Beathard said.

Earlier in those playoffs, en route to the Super Bowl, Hayes intercepted a pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown in a 38-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round and picked off a pass that he took 44 yards for a score in a 30-14 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the AFC Championship Game.

And Hayes didn’t need Stickum for either of those plays.