One set of fans inevitably feels jilted by the move, but Salmon somehow managed to cross from Essendon to Hawthorn and then, after a brief retirement, back to the Bombers without getting either supporter base offside. Well, at least not to the point where they would hold it against him years later.
He ended his career having played a major role for the two clubs, with 224 games for the Dons in two stints and 100 for the Hawks, with his achievements at both earning him induction into the elite group.
Reflecting on his great career the inevitable question is 'are you a Bomber or a Hawk at heart?'
"There's no decision to make there. It's like asking me which parent I prefer or which child do I love most? It's just not a question I can answer," Salmon says.
"I have great memories at Essendon, but Hawthorn was a life-changing experience. I owe a lot to the Hawthorn footy club. They are both great clubs."
With the first tough question successfully evaded, the next cab off the rank for the 206cm giant is one that dogged him throughout his career. Are you a ruckman or are you a forward?
Salmon laughs when he hears the query for the 982nd time since he made the fateful move to Windy Hill from North Ringwood over 25 years ago and deftly drops master coach Kevin Sheedy in it.
"Sheeds did set out to sabotage me at a very young age," he says.
"He and I were on an airplane going to a promotional gig for a sponsor and he sat me down and said 'how are you going with it all?' because I was kicking a few goals. I said 'I'm going alright, but I'm getting a question about [playing] ruck or full-forward and it's starting to annoy me a little bit.
"He said 'just tell them you want to be a ruckman and it will take the pressure off you as a forward'.
"So I did that in my next interview and I created a monster that I had to live with for the next 18 or 19 years. It was all innocent [because] I was happy, I was always happy, but at 31 I just thought that maybe I wouldn't mind having a little look at what I could do as a ruckman.
"I thought it was too late because the body was starting to let me down, but Hawthorn was very gracious in giving me that opportunity."
History shows he was an accomplished player in both positions having won premierships with Essendon predominantly as a forward and best and fairests at the Hawks as a lead ruckman.
Salmon was humbled and grateful to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after a highly-decorated career that was very nearly hobbled before it had the chance to reach the great heights it did.
The knee reconstruction that cost him a place in the Bombers' 1984 premiership side would appear to be cursed luck to most, but Salmon reiterates an earlier contention that it made his career rather than hindered it.
"The knee was a turning point for so many different reasons. I thought I was bullet proof at the time … but I realised that football was what I did and all I wanted to do," he says.
"I thought I was so impenetrable and I couldn't get hurt. It was a turning point because I came back a different person and a different player.
"Mentally it taught me so much. It wasn't just the surgery that was so different back then. The support around clubs these days is extraordinarily good, through no fault of the club who had an amazing doctor in Bruce Reid … but largely you sort of rehabilitated yourself and it taught me a lot about how to get myself through.
"Mentally I got through it and it certainly helped me in the long run."
