NFL Hall of Fame Welcomes New Members

09 Aug, 2015

The humbled men in gold jackets entering football immortality were unmistakable. So was the endless sea of twirling yellow Terrible Towels there to greet them and the outpouring of compassion for the legend who wasn’t there.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis headlined the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2015 on Saturday night, the sixth-leading rusher in NFL history turning the annual enshrinement ceremony into a de facto pep rally.

Bettis grabbed one of the ubiquitous towels synonymous with the franchise at the beginning of his speech and led a chant of “Here We Go Steelers, Here We Go” as the capacity crowd at Tom Benson Stadium – most of them clad in some variation of black-and-yellow – roared in support of the player that served as the physical embodiment of the team he helped lead to a fifth Super Bowl title in 2006.

“I really thought the Bus’ last stop was in Detroit at Super Bowl 40,” Bettis said. “But now I know the Bus will always and forever run in Canton, Ohio.”

The euphoria surrounding Bettis’ induction proved fitting on a night most of the eight-member class saw their lengthy wait to join football’s most exclusive club come to an end.

Only linebacker Junior Seau was elected in his first year on the ballot. The 12-time Pro Bowler’s induction, however, proved bittersweet, coming more than three years after he took his own life. His death and the complex fallout from it – Seau’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL – set the backdrop for the evening’s most touching moment.

Hall of Fame rules about players awarded posthumously prevented Seau’s daughter from giving a full speech on her father’s behalf. Instead she spoke at length during an extended video tribute, calling her dad “a perfect match for football: both stubborn, both relentless, competitive and hard-hitting.”

Defensive end Charles Haley cracked jokes between heartfelt disclosures of his battle with depression. Minnesota Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff didn’t say a word, instead letting Hall of Fame teammate Fran Tarkenton speak for him shortly after Tingelhoff’s bust was unveiled.

Kansas City guard Will Shields spoke with the same thoughtfulness that made him one of the best linemen of his generation during a standout career with the Chiefs.

Contributors Bill Polian and Ron Wolf paid their respects to the icons who paved the way for their success. Wide receiver Tim Brown led chants of “Rai-ders! Rai-ders!” more than a decade after the last of his 1,094 receptions.

AP

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