Peyton Manning will be the 33rd Broncos player to be inducted »
Peyton Manning will add another accolade to his lengthy résumé.
In April, the two-time Super Bowl champion will be inducted as the 33rd Bronco in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Joining Manning in the Class of 2018 is late Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam, former Northern Colorado football coach Joe Glenn, former Fairview High football coach Sam Pagano, former basketball player Tracy Hill and late Colorado State football and track star Alex Burl.
Manning signed as a free agent with the Broncos in March 2012 after playing his first 14 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. In 2013, he starred in one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history (606 points, 55 passing touchdowns, 5,444 passing yards), while guiding the Broncos to a berth in Super Bowl XLVIII. Two years later, he helped the Broncos back to the Super Bowl, where he earned his second ring before retiring in March 2016.
Manning is the NFL’s only five-time MVP, and his 14 Pro Bowl selections are tied for most in the league.
Last weekend, the Colts retired Manning’s No. 18 jersey, inducted him into their Ring of Honor and unveiled a statue of him outside Lucas Oil Stadium. In 2021, he will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Broncos’ Ring of Fame.
Salaam, the only Heisman Trophy winner from a Colorado school, joined an elite club with 2,005 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns in 11 games his junior year at CU. That season, he also tallied 10 100-yard rushing games.
Salaam was selected in the first round of the draft by the Chicago Bears in 1995 and played four seasons in the NFL. Salaam died in Boulder in December 2016 at 42 years old.
Glenn coached at Northern Colorado for 11 seasons starting in 1989 and helped the Bears to two NCAA Division II championships. In his career, he compiled a 98-35 record as a coach.
Pagano coached at Fairview High in Boulder for 26 years and led the Knights to three state titles, in 1978, 1979 and 1987. Fairview went 164-58-4 under his watch. Pagano, the father of Colts coach Chuck Pagano and Raiders assistant John Pagano, later coached football in Europe.
Hill remains the all-time scoring leader in Colorado girls high school basketball history with 2,934 career points at Ridgway High from 1980-83. Hill, who finished her high school career with 21 state records, went on to play at Missouri, Central Wyoming and Montana State.
Burl competed in football and track and field at Colorado A&M, now Colorado State, from 1951-54. He spent one season in the NFL, with the Chicago Cardinals, to become the first black player from a Colorado school to play in the league.
The Colorado Sports Hall of fame’s induction banquet will be held April 18 at the Denver Hilton City Center. Tickets can be purchased through the Hall of Fame’s website.