There was never any doubt in my mind that former New York Giants linebacker Harry Carson deserved to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and there was never any doubt in the minds of those who played against him.

It seems the only doubters of the nine-time Pro Bowler were eight of the 39 writers that are members of the Hall's Board of Selectors that denied Carson this honor for the last 13 years, the last six as a finalist. That's a shame.

It's a shame that it took 13 years for them to recognize that Carson was as good or better than the 15 other linebackers already in the Hall. It's also a shame that it apparently took his stand two years ago, asking out of frustration from repeated snubs that they remove his name from further consideration, that tilted the scales, or votes in this case, in his favor. And believe me, without his stance he'd still be on the outside looking in. I think it's called the tipping point.

The writers represent the cities with NFL franchises and there are seven other at-large members. They should have known Carson's worth better than most. They were or should have been witnesses when he, on many bad Giants' teams, and later on the 1986 Super Bowl-winning squad, played like a man among boys, dominating the line of scrimmage and the middle of the field. Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks and George Martin helped him get that Super Bowl ring but Carson was a star before any of them got there.

Mike Singletary, middle linebacker of the Chicago Bears from 1983-92, had a similar career ­ of sustained brilliance, tenPro Bowls with just one Super Bowl title ­ and he made the Hall in his first year of eligibility. Go figure.

Carson, a two-time MEAC defensive player of the year at South Carolina State, and Rayfield Wright out of Fort Valley State, who had over a decade of excellence as an offensive tackle for the 1970s Dallas Cowboys, were two of the six voted to the Hall this year. It was the fourth time that two black college products were voted into the Hall in the same year and brings the total of black college players in the Hall to 21.

Which brings me to the real point, omissions by the Hall's voters just as glaring as Carson's and Wright's, who was nominated by the Hall's Seniors Committee nearly 25 years after his playing days.

Former Tennessee State and Chicago Bears standout defensive end Richard Dent had to go "Carson" on the Hall of Fame late last year. Dent, a three-time finalist who didn't make the finals this year, told the New York Post in December that players from black colleges, and black players in general, are held to a higher standard than players from predominantly white institutions.

"I'm a guy that crawled up from under a rock and bloomed to be something special," said the eighth-round pick who became a four-time Pro Bowl selectee and Super Bowl XX MVP and is tied for fifth on the league's all-time list with 137 career sacks. "If I was a white ballplayer, I would probably be known worldwide, especially coming from Chicago, one of the major markets." Ask Howie Long, who got into the HOF with lesser stats.

Though Dent did not make the finals this year, fellow black college and NFL defensive end standouts L. C. Greenwood (Arkansas AM&N, now Ark.-Pine Bluff) and Claude Humprhey (Tennessee State) did. But they didn't make it into the Hall either. It was the sixth such snub for four-time Super Bowl champ and six-time All-Pro Greenwood, and the second for Humphrey, who helped revolutionize the position during his 13-year career which included six Pro Bowl appearances.

Carson's biggest gripe was that former players and Hall of Famers should also vote for the Hall instead of just writers. He and Dent have valid points. Thirty-seven are white men ­and only two, Michael Wilbon and Jarret Bell, are black. Many of them old-schoolers, form the equivalent of the Hall's Supreme Court. They're lifetime appointees.

That's too bad, especially for those like Greenwood, Humphrey, Ken Riley (Florida A&M, 65 career interceptions - fifth all-time), Donnie Shell (S. C. State, five-time Pro-Bowler, four Super Bowl titles, 51 career interceptions., tops among strong safeties), Lemar Parrish (Lincoln, Mo., eight-time Pro Bowler, 47 career ints.), Emmitt Thomas (Bishop, five-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champ, 58 career ints.), Everson Walls (Grambling, four-time Pro Bowler, 57 career ints.), Harold Carmichael (Southern, 590 rec.. 79 TDs), Harold Jackson (Jackson State, 579 rec., 76 TDs), Otis Taylor (Prairie View, 410 rec., 57 TDs) and Bob Hayes (371 rec., 71 TDs), deserving players who'll likely have to overcome more than they did to become stars in the league to make it to the Hall of Fame.

Their peers know about them and could serve as their tipping points.