Tag: enshrinement

Pro Football Hall of Fame: Watch Class of 2023 announced at NFL Honors

Watch as the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class is announced during the 12th Annual NFL Honors in Phoenix, Arizona ahead of the Super Bowl.

The 12th annual NFL Honors didn’t disappoint, and one of the highlight’s of Thursday’s action was the annoncement of the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class.

Without futher ado, here are the soon-to-be, enshrinees.

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Watch: Sam Mills’ bronze bust presented at Hall of Fame ceremony

Watch: Sam Mills’ bronze bust presented at Hall of Fame ceremony, Jim Mora Sr. presents the legendary Saints linebacker

This is really cool: the Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted legendary New Orleans Saints linebacker Sam Mills on Saturday, with longtime broadcaster Chris Berman introducing the iconic “Field Mouse” and his old coach Jim Mora Sr. leading the presentation. Mills, who died of cancer in 2005, was represented by his wife Melanie and their family at the enshrinement ceremony.

It was a terrific moment for all involved, remembering Mills’ legacy as a fan-favorite standout on the Saints’ “Dome Patrol” defenses who later ended his playing career with the Carolina Panthers, where he started his coaching career. Both franchises pay him tribute and are represented in his commemorative locker at the Hall of Fame.

But maybe the most touching dedication came from Mills’ son Marcus, who shared a letter written to his late father on behalf of their friends and family, embodying the legacy that Mills has left behind. See it for yourself:

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How to watch former Chiefs HC Dick Vermeil’s Hall of Fame enshrinement

Former #Chiefs HC Dick Vermeil becomes a Pro Football Hall of Famer today. Here is how you can watch the enshrinement ceremony:

Former Kansas City Chiefs HC Dick Vermeil will become the 24th member of the franchise enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Vermeil is set to be the third former Chiefs HC enshrined in the hallowed halls of Canton, Ohio after a successful 15-year NFL coaching career. He has already received his gold jacket and he’s ready to be welcomed among the over 300 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Vermeil spent seven years in Philadelphia, three years in St. Louis and five years in Kansas City. During those five seasons with the Chiefs, Vermeil coached (80) and won the fourth-most games (44) of any coach in franchise history. His tenure didn’t result in any playoff success, but he helped change the culture for the better in Kansas City. Vermeil also mentored and coached some of the best offensive players in franchise history, including QB Trent Green, RB Priest Holmes, RB Larry Johnson, TE Tony Gonzalez, WR Dante Hall, LT Willie Roaf and RG Will Shields.

It’s going to be an emotional time for Vermeil’s family and former players, but also for many members of Chiefs Kingdom who grew up watching his teams. Vermeil will be the last enshrined of the 2022 class, which includes Tony Boselli, Bryant Young, Richard Seymour, Sam Mills, LeRoy Butler, Cliff Branch and Art McNally. Former Chiefs GM Carl Peterson will be the one to present Vermeil for enshrinement.

You can find all the important details about how to watch and stream the ceremony down below:

Event: 2022 Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony
Start time: Saturday, Aug. 6 at 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton, Ohio
Streaming: fuboTV (free 7-day trial)
TV: ESPN
Radio: ESPN Radio

Questions? Head over to our Facebook or Twitter and drop us a line.

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Mike Holmgren named as Semifinalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren is one step closer to enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren is one step closer to enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

On Thursday, the 12-person Coach/Contributor Committee announced the list of 29 Semifinalists in the category for the Class of 2023, of which Holmgren was among. The 29 will now advance to the next round of consideration.

Holmgren’s career is impressive, having coached the Packers from 1992-98 and then the Seahawks from 1999-2008. During his time in Seattle, Holmgren led the Seahawks to five division titles and six playoff appearances, including their first in a Super Bowl. He spent 2010-2012 as the Browns’ team president before retiring from football.

Holmgren joins the following other Semifinalists in the Coach/Contributor category: K.S. “Bud” Adams Jr., Roone Arledge, C.O. Brocato, Don Coryell, Otho Davis, Ralph Hay, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Eddie Kotal, Robert Kraft, Rich McKay, John McVay, Art Modell, Clint Murchison Jr., Buddy Parker, Carl Peterson, Dan Reeves, Lee Remmel, Art Rooney Jr., Marty Schottenheimer, Jerry Seeman, Mike Shanahan, Clark Shaughnessy, Seymour Siwoff, Amy Trask, Jim Tunney, Jack Vainisi, Lloyd Wells and John Wooten.

More information on the Semifinalists for the Class of 2023 can be found here.

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Former Chiefs LT Willie Roaf inducted into Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Former #Chiefs LT Willie Roaf was enshrined in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday evening as part of its 2022 class.

Former Kansas City Chiefs LT Willie Roaf was among the athletes and contributors enshrined in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday evening. Nearly 20 years from when he was acquired in trade by the Chiefs in March of 2002, Roaf has been recognized for a career of greatness. He played just four years in Kansas City, but they were as memorable and impactful as they come.

Roaf came to the Chiefs after nearly a decade of dominance with the New Orleans Saints. He was coming off of injury, which made the former All-Pro affordable in trade, coasting Kansas City just a third-round draft pick. Chiefs HC Dick Vermeil needed to solidify his offensive line, moving former LT John Tait to RT and plugging Roaf in on the left side.

In his first season in Kansas City, Roaf helped the Chiefs to roll out a high-powered offense that led the NFL in scoring. He’d go on to start in 58 games for the Chiefs during the course of four seasons. The team boasted a top 10 offense each of those years, with the offensive line paving the way for a dominant rushing attack featuring Priest Holmes, plus some elite chemistry between QB Trent Green and TE Tony Gonzalez in the passing game.

Over the course of his career, Roaf earned seven First-Team All-Pro selections. He also was voted to 11 Pro Bowls and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1990s and the 2000s.

Roaf retired from the NFL in 2006. He’s now become one of over 50 Chiefs players, coaches and contributors to have been inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. He was elected to the Saints’ Ring of Honor in 2008, the Chiefs’ Ring of Honor in 2011, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

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‘The wait is over!’ Cowboys legend Drew Pearson revels in Hall of Fame moment

The legendary wide receiver gave an impassioned acceptance speech, spotlighting teammates and coaches while reminding everyone where he was. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Drew Pearson, the legendary wide receiver for the Cowboys of the 1970s and early ’80s, admitted last week that he’s been mistakenly introduced as a Hall of Famer for years. His stats and place in the league’s history have certainly warranted his place there ever since retiring from the game in 1983.

But now that Pearson can officially be called a member of the club, he was clearly excited to, as he put it, “wear it out.” Pearson said the words “Pro Football Hall of Fame” 15 times (and added the abbreviated “Hall of Fame” another eight times) in just 11 minutes at the mic at Tom Benson Stadium on Sunday evening.

Pearson’s long wait- and near-misses- for making the Hall had been well-documented, making his speech one of the most anticipated of the weekend. And the fiery Pearson didn’t disappoint, shouting, “The wait is over!” to open his remarks; spotlighting his bronze bust for having “the biggest Afro in NFL history;” pulling up his pant legs to show off the skinny legs that carried him all the way to Canton; even taking a friendly dig at fellow Hall of Famer Mike Ditka.

After paying tribute to Cowboys founding fathers like Clint Murchison, Tex Schramm, and Gil Brandt, the original member of the 88 Club honored many of his star teammates and coaches by name for the role they each played in his football journey. Ditka, a former Cowboys standout before going on to become the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl-winning coach, got a special mention.

“Thank you, Mike Ditka, my first receivers coach in the NFL,” Pearson said. “Mike was an All-Pro tight end, which means he taught me nothing about running pass routes as a wide receiver.”

The crowd ate it up.

“But, Mike,” he continued, “you taught me how not to just be a pro, but be a professional. And you did that by the passion you showed and that you brought to the Dallas Cowboys.”

Pearson, as expected, brought plenty of passion to his enshrinement remarks, just as he had to his playing days. He spent considerable time thanking his family members, both those in attendance and those who were, in his words, “gone too soon.”

But he also took the occasion to give a shout-out to a relative unknown named Otto Stowe. Stowe was a wide receiver who played just seven games for the Cowboys in 1973, Pearson’s debut season in the league. Pearson emulated Stowe early that year, and it was Stowe’s season-ending injury that opened the door for Pearson to start as a rookie and never give the job back.

“I learned so much from you, Otto,” Pearson said Sunday. “And I would not be here today without you.”

But the person Pearson is most closely linked to professionally is his longtime quarterback, Roger Staubach. Staubach presented Pearson Sunday night, the culmination of a prolific pairing that’s most famously remembered for the 50-yard touchdown versus Minnesota in the 1975 playoffs that served as the NFL’s original “Hail Mary” pass play.

But Pearson was a key figure in several other Cowboys milestone moments, too. He snagged the opening touchdown in Super Bowl X. He threw the final block that sprang Tony Dorsett on his record-setting 99-yard touchdown run in 1983. He caught the game-winning touchdown from Clint Longley in the team’s famous 1974 Thanksgiving comeback. And were it not for a one-handed horse-collar tackle, Pearson would likely have negated Dwight Clark’s “The Catch” in 1981’s NFC Championship Game with a late catch and run into field goal range.

But it’s the Hail Mary that has largely defined Pearson’s career over the years, the moment most fans want to talk about, the photo that he most often signs. Even though Staubach coined the term, Pearson is the one who personalizes his autographs with “Hail Mary to you.”

And that’s how he signed off his enshrinement speech.

“There’s so many special people in my life, but my time has run out. I don’t have a Hail Mary in my pocket, so I’ve got to wrap this up… Hail Mary blessings to you all.”

Pearson may be best remembered for that one miracle catch, but he racked up 555 others over his 11-year career. The Hail Mary was only one score; there were 55 others. And after 8,927 receiving yards (regular and postseason combined), three Super Bowl appearances, three Pro Bowls, three All-Pro nods, a spot on the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team, and a place in the Cowboys Ring of Honor, Pearson can now add “Hall of Famer” to his resume.

Judging by how often he visibly enjoyed saying it Sunday night, that may well be how he signs autographs for the rest of his life.

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‘We’re going to the Super Bowl, rookie:’ Cliff Harris shares Bob Lilly story during Hall of Fame speech

In 1970, the rookie safety got off-color words of encouragement from Mr. Cowboy, who was there Saturday for Harris’ Hall of Fame speech.

Every NFL player has an archive of personal stories about their time in the league, no matter how long or short their career is. If that player is fortunate enough to enjoy a long tenure and see some measure of success, the remembrances only become richer and more plentiful. And if that player beats the long odds to one day be enshrined in Canton, every moment from their playing days becomes indelibly stamped with a new sense of historical importance.

Cliff Harris was welcomed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night. And to mark the occasion of the ultimate ending to a football life, the 71-year-old thought back to one of his very first moments as a Dallas Cowboy.

Imagine standing in an NFL huddle during your first home game. Your stomach is doing somersaults, your mind reeling. You search desperately for any reassuring influence, some small thing to cling to as your senses go into overdrive and your grasp on reality starts to slip. Now imagine the actual face of your franchise staring at you and informing you- in off-color language and no uncertain terms- that his success and that of the rest of the team rides, in part, on every move you’re about to make.

Welcome to the NFL, rookie.

Harris, like seemingly so many Hall of Famers, took an almost unbelievable path to the league. A second-string junior varsity quarterback in his Arkansas hometown, Harris wasn’t expected to play past 9th grade. Then he didn’t even start until moving to a new high school for his senior year. Then he received just one scholarship offer, from the practically unknown Ouachita Baptist University, where his father had played.

Undrafted out of college, he was one was of 120 free agents invited to work out for the Cowboys in Thousand Oaks, California in 1970. He was one of very few who was still around for the return trip to Dallas. After the preseason, Coach Tom Landry announced that Harris would start Week 1 at free safety, the only first-year starter on the roster.

In the old Cotton Bowl Stadium, Harris joined the huddle with the rest of the already fabled “Doomsday Defense” in a game versus the Giants. Across from the 21-year-old rookie was Bob Lilly, the very first draft choice in franchise history. Lilly was at that point a seven-time Pro Bowler who was such a foundational piece of the organization that his nickname was “Mr. Cowboy.” And he was staring right at Harris.

“Before Lee Roy Jordan called the defensive play,” Harris recalled Saturday, “Bob looked over at me and said, ‘We’re going to the Super Bowl, rookie. And I don’t want you to do anything to… mess it up.'”

The pause implied pretty clearly that Lilly had not used the word “mess” that late September day.

“I just nodded and said, ‘Yes, sir, Mr. Lilly.’

“And sure enough, we did go to the Super Bowl. But we didn’t win. Bob never made that part of the deal.”

The Cowboys finished Harris’s rookie season with a 10-4 mark and the NFC East crown. They beat the Lions and the 49ers in the playoffs, allowing just 10 points total in those two postseason games. They went on to lose Super Bowl V to the Baltimore Colts by a 16-13 score in an mishap-filled contest that went on to be remembered informally as “The Blunder Bowl.”

The Cowboys rebounded, of course, as did Harris. “Captain Crash” went to a total of five Super Bowls and won rings in two of them. He was chosen for six straight Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro four times. He was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1970s and is a member of the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor.

Now he’s enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And who was staring across the stage at Harris while he made his speech to mark the occasion?

Mr. Cowboy himself.

This time, though, Bob Lilly just smiled, knowing Cliff Harris hadn’t… messed it up.

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‘We did it:’ Jimmy Johnson thanks Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in Hall of Fame speech

The emotional Dallas coach thanked plenty, but also spoke about relationships, believing instead of dreaming, and using your time wisely.

When Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and coach Jimmy Johnson went through their “little transition” in 1994, famously parting ways after consecutive Super Bowl wins and a whirlwind turnaround for the league’s laughingstock, the football world waited for the two men to patch things up and recognize the other’s contributions to the rebirth of the Dallas dynasty they created.

Johnson had to wait 27 years for Jones to tell him he would at long last make the franchise’s Ring of Honor.

On Saturday night in Canton as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Johnson got his thank you to Jones out of the way 35 seconds after stepping to the mic.

“I guess you’re wanting to know what I’m going to say about Jerry Jones,” the 78-year-old Johnson said, after his opening remarks touched on the relationships that the sport tends to foster.

The crowd at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium applauded, laughed, got quiet again… and maybe even braced themselves just a little for what might come next.

“Well… Jerry?” Johnson stalled before launching into a story.

But as he started, emotion seemed to get the best of him as he made an early stumble.

“You told me. You said, ‘We’re going to make sports history,’ before we ever bought the Cowboys–”

Quickly realizing he misspoke, Johnson poke a little fun at his goof.

“–before you bought the Cowboys, because I didn’t pay a damn cent!”

The moment broke the tension beautifully, if accidentally. The crowd’s easy laughter allowed the coach to snap back into a more relaxed storyteller mode.

“And you know what? We. We did make sports history. But not only for the Dallas Cowboys, but for the NFL. To go from the worst team in the league two years in a row to winning back-to-back Super Bowls and building a heck of a football team, we did it. And let me tell you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Jerry. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.”

Keeping himself on the evening’s tight schedule for speeches, Johnson chose not to list everyone that made his legendary career possible, but he emphasized that football success is always a group project. He recalled being enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame thanks to great assistant coaches and players. He painted his inclusion in the Broadcasting Hall of Fame as inevitable only because of his producers and the other legends he shares the TV desk with.

Johnson’s football life has certainly been filled with some of the best names in the business at every level. But the man knows a thing or two about identifying talent and bringing out the best in those around him, to be sure.

“Looking back, I went and counted them up,” Johnson shared. “I coached, recruited, or drafted 13 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame… And on top of that, I coached or broadcasted with 14 more Hall of Famers. I think I know what one looks like.”

But still pulling for the greatness of others to be fully realized, Johnson used even that humble brag to tout the Canton credentials of two former stars who have yet to get the call.

“Zach Thomas belongs up here. Darren Woodson belongs up here.”

Ever the coach, always shooting for the next plateau, the next accomplishment, the next success, the next win.

“I never really dreamed. I wasn’t a dreamer. You know, dreaming is hoping. I believed. I really believed. People say, ‘What made you think, when you were at Miami, you were going to take these inner-city kids and they were going to get an education? What made you say that you were going to get them a college degree?’ Because that’s what I talked about. I believed they were. And 90 percent of them got their college degree. That’s what I was proud of. ‘What made you think you were going to win a Super Bowl when you were 1-15?’ I didn’t dream about it; I believed that we were going to win a Super Bowl. When you believe it, I think it has something with the way you act and how you deal with people: your expectation, and you put expectations on them. Treat a person as he is, he’s going to stay as he is. Treat a person as if he were what he could be or should be, he’ll become what he could be and should be. I didn’t dream. I believed we were going to do it.”

But Johnson admitted that his unfailing belief came at a cost. His two adult sons both played football growing up; Johnson revealed he “never saw them play a down. And that’s a shame.”

In closing his remarks, Johnson referenced an idea that Wayne Huizenga once shared with him. The late Dolphins owner called it QTL.

“Quality Time Left. Think about that. I’m 78 years old, and I think about QTL all the time,” Johnson explained. “The people that you love, like my family right over there, appreciate those people. Because there will come a day you’re not going to be able to appreciate them because you’re not going to be around.”

Johnson and Jones have finally gotten back to appreciating each other, too. Seeing them together this week in Canton and knowing they’ll be together once again when Johnson’s name is hung in the palace that Jones built, maybe it’s a new chapter for the two men whose legacies will always be intertwined. Maybe now it’s destined that they’ll ride off into the sunset as friends once again, wearing their matching gold jackets.

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Cowboys legend Drew Pearson on Hall of Fame speech: ‘You know I’m going to cry’

The receiver known for his passion says his emotion will be on full display when he is officially welcomed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Drew Pearson has never been shy about showing his emotion. Whether he was chucking the legendary “Hail Mary” ball into the parking lot in Minneapolis in 1975, turning the announcement of a second-round draft pick into a goosebump-raising motivational speech in 2017, breaking down on-camera upon not being selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020, or breaking down (again) upon finally getting the call to Canton in February of this year, the Cowboys great has always worn his heart on his sleeve.

But now that sleeve will be in the Hall of Fame’s own proprietary shade of gold. The Original No. 88 says fans can expect his trademark flair for the dramatic when he makes his acceptance speech this weekend.

“I was reading my speech this morning crying! In the hotel room! You know I’m going to cry,” Pearson told NFL Network‘s Steve Wyche and fellow member of the Cowboys’ 88 Club Michael Irvin. “I’m not going to hold it in.”

The honor is a long time coming for the three-time All-Pro wide receiver, who had to wait nearly four decades after hanging up his cleats for the recognition.

“You don’t really know how you’re going to feel once you get in and how it’s going to affect you,” the 11-year veteran said. “But after you get in and you feel the effect, oh man. First of all, as a Dallas Cowboy, you get respect. But now the respect’s at a different level when people come to you. It’s, ‘You deserve it,’ and, ‘It’s all about you.’ They ain’t talking about the team or nothing; it’s all about you. ‘You deserve it,’ ‘Waited too long,’ and all that kind of stuff. It’s everything I expected it to be.”

Pearson had already been to a pair of Pro Bowls before first-ballot selections Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson were even born. By the time bouncing baby Calvin Johnson entered the world, Pearson had been retired from the game for two years. Now they’ll all receive their gold jackets together.

“When we got together at the Super Bowl, my class, I’m there with three first-ballot guys and other great guys,” Pearson recalled. “But it didn’t seem any different; we’re all the same happy. We’re slapping the same fives. First-ballot, thirty-eight years; it didn’t matter. Because you’re in, and that’s all that matters.”

Due to the extra-large class size this year, the NFL has said they will enforce a time limit on acceptance speeches, which will be delivered over two days. Pearson knows it will be difficult to distill all of his emotion and passion for the game into just six minutes. (By way of comparison, tight end Tony Gonzalez went for 40 minutes during his 2019 enshrinement speech.)

“We’ve got limited time, but still, the emotion’s going to be there, especially when I talk about my mom and dad and my deceased brothers and sisters and stuff like that, wanting to get them involved. It’s going to be emotional, but it’s also going to be a celebration. And I’m going to focus on the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys- because they’re the reason I’m there- and my teammates that helped me get there.”

And even if the band has to cut Pearson’s speech short (at eight minutes), his place among pro football immortality will last forever. And he’ll finally be correctly referred to as a Hall of Famer… even if he’s already heard that unofficial tag for years.

“Before I got in, sometimes when I’d do a speech presentation, people would introduce me as a Hall of Famer. I’d say, ‘Do you know something I don’t know?’ Pearson joked.

He always felt he belonged in Canton. So, Irvin wondered, did Pearson accept the accolade anyway?

“Oh, I corrected them,” Pearson explained. “I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do that until I’m in.’ But now you can wear it out. Wear it out, man.”

Pearson will lead Sunday evening’s speeches, beginning at 7 p.m. Pearson’s quarterback and fellow Hall of Famer Roger Staubach will introduce him.

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