Stars share moments to remember
New Hall members recall memories from both sides of ball, management
CANTON, Ohio — One of the great leaders football has seen, Ray Lewis used his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech to call for more enlightened leadership in our country.
The last of the seven members of the Class of 2018 on hand to be enshrined, Lewis eschewed notes and the lectern, instead strolling along the stage and passionately urging his listeners to come together.
Turning to the 140 Hall of Famers, he told them: “We can go from being legends to building a legacy bigger than football, bigger than sports. Look at what unites us ... the answer is simple, love. Hope, faith and love, and the greatest is love.”
Lewis was joined by Randy Moss, Brian Dawkins, Brian Urlacher, Jerry Kramer, Robert Brazile and Bobby Beathard as inductees at the ceremony.
One of the best linebackers in NFL history, Lewis won two Super Bowls with the Ravens. Lewis was the first player with 40 sacks and 30 interceptions in a career. An eight-time All-Pro and inside linebacker on the 2000s NFL All-Decade Team.
Dawkins, one of the hardest-hitting and most versatile safeties in NFL history, stared at his bust and nodded his approval to the crowd. “The majority of success I have had has come on the back end of pain,” he said noting he had suicidal thoughts when he battled depression. “On the other side of it, I became better. There’s a purpose for my pain.”
Dawkins was the leader of an Eagles defense that made four consecutive NFC championships and one Super Bowl. Voted to the 2000s NFL All-Decade Team and a fivetime All-Pro, Dawkins intercepted passes in 15 consecutive seasons and had 37 picks overall.
Urlacher became a record 28th Chicago Bears player inducted into the Hall. A first-year nominee who filled the tradition of great middle linebackers in the Windy City, Urlacher was a safety at New Mexico. Chicago selected him ninth overall in the 2000 draft and converted him to linebacker.
“I love everything about football: the friendships, the coaches, the teachers, the challenges, the opportunity to excel. I loved going to work every day for 13 years,” said Urlacher.
Another first-year nominee, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Moss brought the perfect combination of height, speed, soft hands and agility to Minnesota as the 21st overall draft pick in 1998 after a rocky college career. His 69 receptions, 17 for touchdowns, and 1,313 yards helped the Vikings go 15-1 and earned him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
That was just the start for the eccentric but always dynamic Moss. He caught a record 23 touchdown passes from Tom Brady in New England’s perfect 2007 regular season.
Terrell Owens, declined to attend. Instead, he held his own celebration at his college in Chattanooga, Tenn. He was shown in a video and his photo was hanging in Tom Benson Stadium.
In a lengthy and humorous speech, Kramer brought the crowd back to the Lombardi Era. A senior committee nominee, Kramer became eligible in 1974 after 11 seasons with the Packers in which he won five NFL championships and two Super Bowls. “It was an incredible experience to be with him and have him bring you along,” he said about Lombardi.
Brazile, known as Dr. Doom when he played in all 147 games for the Houston Oilers in his 10-year NFL career, kissed his bust when it was unveiled. He spoke of how he and Walter Payton made history by being selected in the first-round of the same draft from a historically black college.
Beathard won four Super Bowls as a team executive and drafted four Hall of Famers. His best hire might have been coach Joe Gibbs, who presented Beathard for induction.