COLTS DUO ELECTED TO HALL
Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy will live forever.
Joining the Pro Football Hall of Fame grants you immortality.
The Indianapolis Colts’ all-time leading receiver and their Super Bowl-winning former coach Saturday night became the fifth and sixth people associated with the Colts from the Indianapolis era to be elected to the Canton, Ohio, shrine, joining Richard Dent, Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk and Bill Polian.
It is a great tribute to one of the Colts’ greatest eras, during which they won at unprecedented levels and created an untold number of unforgettable memories.
“I always talked during our era that not only was it great but it was so entertaining,” said owner Jim Irsay, who beamed from the audience when the names were revealed at the NFL Honors awards ceremony. “Those were really special guys on those teams.”
Dungy talked about the day Irsay left a voice mail for him in 2002, shortly after he had been fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dungy was uncertain about his future. Irsay pounced. He called Dungy before informing team President Polian of his plans.
“He said, ‘We want to build a team the right way in Indianapolis,’ ” Dungy said Saturday, recalling Irsay’s call. “‘ We want to connect with our fans. We want a team that represents our city well.’ He didn’t talk about championships or any of that. He just talked about how he wanted to do it.”
Dungy ticked off the list of greats who played for him, practically in awe at his great fortune. They helped make his career what it became.
“It’s not hard to see why I’m here,” he said. “Warren Sapp went in (to the Hall of Fame) a couple of years ago. Derrick Brooks. Peyton (Manning) is going to go in. Marvin’s going in. Just some tremendous young men who I had the honor to be around. There’s a reason you go in as a coach. It’s those great players.”
Dungy also embraced his role as a pioneer in the game. His career results place him among the giants in his profession. He owns the 12th-best winning percentage in NFL history. His .668 winning percentage ranks him one spot ahead of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick (.664).
But Dungy’s impact was realized in another fashion. He was one of the first African-American head coaches in the NFL and the first to win a Super Bowl.
“It’s very, very emotional for me,” he said. “I came into the league in 1977. I think at that time there were seven or eight African-American assistant coaches in the entire league. It wasn’t a situation where you had a lot of role models. But I had a lot of people who believed in me, and I’m very, very proud to represent those men.”
But as he stated earlier, he also had tremendous talent with which to work. And there were few worthy of comparison with Harrison.
Harrison’s selection puts an exclamation point on the career of one of the greatest Colts. When the Colts traded quarterback Jeff George to the Atlanta Falcons, they received in exchange a first-round pick they ultimately used on Harrison.
With that No. 19 overall choice in the 1996 NFL draft, Indianapolis selected a somewhat undersized wide receiver from Syracuse.
That same young player went on to have eight consecutive seasons of 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He set a singleseason NFL record with 143 receptions in 2002 and was a six-time all-pro.
“I’m telling you, I’ve seen artists of all shapes and forms. I’ve seen great football players, I’ve seen great guitarists, I’ve seen great artists,” Irsay said. “He was a craftsman. Truly artistic in his game. I use this word, and I don’t say it often, but he really was incomparable.”
After learning he was elected to the Hall of Fame, Harrison immediately made a phone call. It was to Irsay. He thanked Irsay for giving him the opportunity and for being an uncompromising source of support.
Sunday at the Super Bowl, Harrison had a brief exchange with Manning before the opening kickoff and told the Denver Broncos quarterback to end one of the most memorable weekends in Colts history in fitting fashion.
“I told him, ‘Today, we need the trifecta,’ ” Harrison said. “You have myself and you have Dungy (in the Hall of Fame). We need to top it off and get the trifecta for the city of Indianapolis this weekend, even though he’s playing for Denver.
“It would mean a lot for me and my family and the city. So I told him he needed to make that trifecta happen. It was short and sweet.”
Holder writes for The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.
Retired as the NFL’s all-time leading passer with 6,300 completions, 10,169 attempts, 71,838 yards and 508 touchdowns. Established playoff records for attempts (791), completions (481), yards (5,855) and consecutive games with a TD pass (20). Selected to 11 Pro Bowls; voted NFL MVP three consecutive times, 1995-97. Threw two TD passes and added a rushing TD to lead the Packers to a Super Bowl XXXI victory.
KEVIN GREENE
Had back-to-back seasons with career-best 161⁄ sacks, 1988-89. Double-digit sack totals 10 seasons; tied for second all time at retirement with 160 sacks; . five Pro Bowls.
MARVIN HARRISON
Had eight consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus yards receiving, 10 or more TDs. Shattered NFL single-season reception record with 143 catches in 2002. Finished career with 1,102 receptions, 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns. Eight Pro Bowls.
ORLANDO PACE
Selected by St. Louis first overall in the 1997 draft, the first offensive lineman selected No. 1 overall since 1968. Blocked for three consecutive NFL MVPs (QB Kurt Warner, 1999, 2001; and RB Marshall Faulk in 2000). Seven-time Pro Bowl selection.
KEN STABLER
Totaled 27,938 yards and 194 touchdowns. Career completion percentage (59.85) ranked second all time at retirement. Led the Raiders to the AFC title game from 1973 to 1977. Guided the Raiders to victory against the Vikings in Super Bowl XI. Four Pro Bowls.
DICK STANFEL
Anchor of dominant Lions team that won backto-back world titles in 1952-53. Four Pro Bowls.
Source: Pro Football Hall of Fame via The Associated Press