We are where we are today in SCM - and in general - because we stand on the shoulders of giants.
The Software Configuration Management Hall of Fame is an attempt to recognize and appreciate their achievements and to honour those people. They - and their work - have been fundamental in the advancement of the state of SCM.
Like most insights, theirs may seem obvious now that someone has thought of it (as pointed out by Wayne Babich in his book). However, at the time of their work the SCM community was still stumbling around in the dark, sometimes even strugling with finding out what were the problems to solve. Now that these people have turned on the light and shown us the way, we are ready to take on even more complex problems for the benefit of future generations.