Favre admitted to NFL Hall of Fame
CANTON, Ohio — They came in No. 4 jerseys and wearing cheeseheads. They chanted “Go Pack Go.” It was Lambeau Field transported to Ohio, and only one man could have caused it.
Brett Favre, welcome to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Believe me, I am an extremely blessed man,” Favre said Saturday night during an emotional speech spiced with humour and playfulness.
“Play a game that I love so much for 20 years, to have all the wonderful things happen to share in that joy with you guys here tonight.”
And when he choked up talking about his late father, Irv, and how Favre spent his career “trying to redeem myself” to make Irv proud, the crowd offered loud and comforting support.
Adding that “this is tougher than any third-and-15,” he spoke of his new goal once his father died in 2003: “I said to myself, I will make it to the Hall of Fame so I could acknowledge the fact of how important he was.”
Football’s most durable quarterback (a record 299 straight regular-season starts and 321 including playoffs) and one of its greatest passers, Favre was the first three-time MVP (1995-97) and an NFL champion in 1996.
He played with four teams, defining toughness and fortitude, particularly in 16 seasons with the Packers, a franchise he helped to revitalize.
A swashbuckler with no fear on the field, Favre was a three-time All-Pro and made 11 Pro Bowls. His enthusiasm and love for the game marked his career, which began in Atlanta in 1991 and ended with the Vikings in 2010. He spent 2008 with the Jets.
Joining Favre in the class of 2016 were Tony Dungy, a trail-blazing coach and Super Bowl winner; one of his stars, Marvin Harrison; Kevin Greene; Orlando Pace; Ken Stabler; Dick Stanfel; and Ed DeBartolo Jr.
The first black coach to win an NFL championship, Dungy has been a mentor to dozens of players and fellow coaches. Instead of concentrating on his role as a pioneer, he paid homage to those before him in a poignant and sometimes enthralling speech.
Dungy led the Indianapolis Colts to the 2006 NFL title. He also has a coaching tree that has featured Mike Tomlin, Herman Edwards, Jim Caldwell, Rod Marinelli, Leslie Frazier and Lovie Smith.
Harrison's 143 receptions in 2002 are an NFL record. He retired in 2008 with 1,102 catches. He had eight consecutive seasons with at least 1,100 yards receiving for Indianapolis. His receptions, 14,608 yards and 128 touchdowns are all Colts franchise records. He topped the 100-catch mark four straight times as Peyton Manning’s prime target.
Pace was the blocking cornerstone of the Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf that won the 1999 NFL title. The top overall draft pick in 1997, he helped turn running back Marshall Faulk and quarterback Kurt Warner into NFL MVPs.
Always a showman, Greene usually found the path to quarterbacks. His 160 career sacks are third most in NFL history. In 15 pro seasons for four franchises, Greene played linebacker and defensive end with an unmitigated spirit. In Greene's time with the Rams, Steelers, 49ers and Panthers he missed just a dozen games.
Stabler, who died last year, was elected by the seniors committee. He helped the Raiders win their first Super Bowl and make it to four other conference championship games in five years.
Stanfel, who died last year at age 87, also was a seniors committee selection. He helped the Detroit Lions win the NFL title in 1952 and ’53.
DeBartolo’s 49ers became the first franchise to win five Super Bowls.