11:15 p.m.-PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME WELCOMES EIGHT NEWEST MEMBERS
CANTON, Ohio -- The Pro Football Hall of Fame opened the doors to its hallowed halls and welcomed home eight of the game’s greatest players and contributors, as the Class of 2018 was enshrined officially at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton tonight.
Safety Brian Dawkins, linebackers Ray Lewis, Robert Brazile and Brian Urlacher, wide receivers Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, lineman Jerry Kramer and contributor Bobby Beathard joined football’s ultimate fraternity, as the Class of 2018 took its rightful place among the game’s greatest.
PHOTOS: Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrines Class of 2018
10:30 p.m.-RAY LEWIS RECALLS STORYBOOK ENDING TO NFL CAREER
CANTON, Ohio -- Former Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis ended his career as an NFL champion, but the road to his second Super Bowl victory took a detour when he tore the triceps muscle from the bone in his right arm.
After telling the Ravens to stand by him in what turned out to be his 17th and final season and not place him on injured reserve, Lewis came back and was once again, the emotional leader of a Baltimore team that withstood a last-minute drive from the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl XLVII in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans in February of 2013.
“Ravens 2012? What’d I tell you? ‘I will be back. Take care of what you’ve got to take care of, but I will come back,’ Lewis recalled during his Hall of Fame enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio Saturday night.
“I came back, and boy, did I come back. Boy, did I come back. Boy, when you walk off your last time and you leave with that thing, when you hoist that Lombardi for your last time ever strapping up your cleats, it’s a confirmation that I am living proof of the impossible. Living proof.
“I worked through pain like I had never known and came back. All them boys sitting out there, Flacco, Tucker, and all of Baltimore, oh, did we hoist that Lombardi, and they tried to turn the lights out on us. Let’s just be honest. Let’s be honest, if you grew up where me and my momma grew up in the projects, your lights might get turned off every Friday.”
Lewis can remember the very play in which he suffered the year-altering injury, which came the day after telling one of his daughters that he was going to step away from the game of football following the 2012 season.
“I dropped back. Romo drops back, and I’m like, ‘Pick your hands up. Just knock the ball down. You’ve done read this play. Intercept it,’” Lewis said. “I hesitated, put my hand up, and when my hand came down, pop! I hear a pop and my triceps popped from the bone.
“I said, ‘No way. Something’s wrong.’ I knew something was wrong because we know when something is wrong. I played about six, seven more downs and when I got to the sideline, and Dr. (Leigh Ann) Curl, who’s sitting in this audience right now, she touched my arm, she said, ‘Ray, I’m sorry to tell you this, but you’ve got a torn triceps and nobody’s ever come back from an injury like this.’”
The words “cannot be done” were all Lewis needed to hear, and in earnest, the comeback started after that brief conversation.
“Now, anybody that knows me, ‘It can’t be done,’ that’s like pouring a gallon of lighter fluid on an open flame,” Lewis said.
Lewis hopes by overcoming his torn triceps to step back on the field in the same year and help the Ravens win their second Super Bowl title, he inspires others to rise above whatever struggles they face and pursue a better path in life.
“That’s the way you end a career, right?,” Lewis said. “You take that challenge, you answer that call and you see the other side of pain, it’s called glory. This is called glory.
“There’s somebody sitting home right now, there’s a young 10-year old kid that don’t have a father and he’s ready to join a gang. He’s ready to give up. Don’t give in and don’t ever give up. That ain’t what we do. That ain’t what we do.”
9:45 p.m.-RANDY MOSS CREDITS FAITH, HIS MOTHER WITH HALL OF FAME ENSHRINEMENT
CANTON, Ohio -- From the time multi-time All-Pro wide receiver Randy Moss picked up a football, he had all the confidence in the world, but that belief in himself came from a faith in something else: a higher power.
Moss credited his mother, Maxine, for bringing him up in a faith-filled house and letting that be the guiding principle of his life.
“I am a living testimony, a walking testimony not to just the football fans, but to the whole world,” Moss said. “I know God put me here to teach and to lead others down the right path, but first, I had to learn from my own mistakes. With all that, I had to stay right with God.
“I never knew so many people wanted me to fail. Was it because of the man he made me to be or the talent he blessed me with? The assassination of a man’s character is exactly what I grew up reading in The Bible.”
It was that faith which helped Moss rise above his humble beginnings in Rand, West Virginia, to become a four-time first-team All Pro and four-time Pro Bowl selection, and now, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, which welcomed him in their hallowed halls Saturday night.
“He’s brought through some tough times, social, economic ignorance, racism. Y’all seen the ‘30 For 30,’” Moss said. “Last, but not least, poverty. I want to give all thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave me a wonderful, praying mother.
“My mother knew nothing about sports. Raised in the church, every day, all day, seven times out of seven days, and I think they tried to slide an eighth day in there too. Not for one second did I not think God was in control of my life.”
Over his 218 games, including 193 starts, with the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans, Moss caught 982 passes for 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns.
Moss averaged 15.6 yards per catch and 70.1 yards per game over his 14-year career.
“I’ve heard my other brothers get up here and talk about their struggles,” Moss said.
“Every person in this stadium right now, we come from different walks of life. If you did not think God was in control of my life to get me all the way here to Canton, if they’re here celebrating me for all of my accomplishments, all I wanted to do was just celebrate you, give you the things we never had.”
9:14 p.m.- BRIAN DAWKINS SHARES STORY OF BATTLE WITH DEPRESSION, URGES THOSE STRUGGLING TO KEEP FIGHTING
CANTON, Ohio -- Former Philadelphia Eagles safety Brian Dawkins once found himself on the brink of succumbing to his battle with depression.
But Dawkins heard the lessons of his parents, coaches and teammates about finishing what is started, and with those messages resonating in his head, he sought the help necessary to get his life back on track.
“There’s a purpose for my pain,” Dawkins said. “I suffered through depression. I went through it mightily my rookie year. I suffered through suicidal thoughts, and I wasn’t just suffering through suicidal thoughts. I was actually planning on how I would kill myself so my wife would get the money.”
Following that battle during his rookie season, Dawkins went on to play 15 more years in the National Football League, 12 with the Eagles and his final three with the Denver Broncos, reaching first-team All-Pro status four times and the Pro Bowl on nine occasions.
Over 224 career games, including 221 starts, Dawkins registered 895 total tackles, 26.0 sacks, 19 fumble recoveries, 36 forced fumbles and 37 interceptions, which he returned for 513 yards and two touchdowns.
“The majority of the success that I’ve had has come on the back end of pain,” Dawkins said. “Pain has pushed me to levels unknown for me at the time. All I knew was the pain, but on the other side of it, I became better at another area.
“Pain helps you develop those things that are going to take you to the next level of whatever it is the Lord has for you. Believe that. I’m a living testimony of that.”
Because Dawkins has been on both sides of the battle with depression, he wants those going through issues right now to know there is more to life than the obstacles put in the path.
“What that pain did for me, it increased my faith exponentially,” Dawkins said. “I have grown leaps and bounds from what I went through.
“When I say, ‘went through,’ that means I came out on the other side of it. For those who are going through it right now, there’s hope. You do have hope. There is something on the other side of this. Don’t get caught up where you are. Don’t stay where you are. Keep moving. Keep pushing through.”
8:45 p.m.-BRIAN URLACHER CREDITS LATE MOTHER FOR HALL OF FAME ENSHRINEMENT
CANTON, Ohio -- It has been said that “Behind every man, there is a great woman,” and in the case of former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, that was definitely true.
As a middle linebacker, Urlacher was known as the heart and soul of the Bears defense for more than a decade, but he drew motivation from the strongest woman in his life, his late mother, Lavoyda.
“The values, discipline and respect for others taught to me by my mother were reinforced by football,” Urlacher said.
“Most importantly, at every level of football, it was fun for me. I loved going to work every day for 13 years. The two pillars of my life are family and football. Football, integrated with my love of family, has allowed me to do and be my very best to the best of my ability at all times.”
After Urlacher’s parents divorced, he relocated with his mother and siblings from Pasco, Washington to Lovington, New Mexico, and Lavoyda set the standard for hard work in the household.
“When we first moved, we had nothing,” Urlacher said. “Well, that’s not true. We had each other. When we first moved, my mom didn’t have a job, but not to worry though. My mother was the hardest-working person I’ve ever known.
“She always found a way to provide for the three of us, even if that meant working three jobs at one time. From cleaning house to a grocery store clerk, she was never too proud to take a job if it meant she was able to provide for us.”
When it came to athletics, Urlacher worked hard to make his mother proud, especially because he knew she would be in the stands, oftentimes cheering louder than anybody else at the games and practices.
“Even if she was working seven days a week, not once did she miss a practice, miss a game or any school function,” Urlacher said. “She was always there for us, and she always made sure we knew that. She was at all of our games, and we knew she was there because she was the loudest screaming one in the crowd. Sometimes, embarrassingly so, most of the time, actually.
“This was her way of letting us know she was rooting for us. I’ve been retired five years. I’ve got three kids, and it’s still hard to get to all of their activities. She did it all the time. She epitomized unconditional love, but also, epitomized unconditional discipline, especially when we misbehaved.”
From cutting lawns in the neighborhood at the age of 12 to working in a lumber yard, both in high school and on breaks during his college days, Urlacher has known nothing but the importance of working hard, and that is why, on the grandest individual stage of the game of football, he dedicated the night to his mother.
“Mother, thank you,” Urlacher said. “If it wasn't for you, I definitely wouldn't be here today.”
8:15 p.m.-JERRY KRAMER CREDITS VINCE LOMBARDI FOR PERSONAL, TEAM SUCCESSES
CANTON, Ohio -- Green Bay Packers…Vince Lombardi.
That team and that coach are synonymous with each other, even 50 years later, and when former Green Bay offensive lineman Jerry Kramer took the stage at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, Saturday night, there was one man, above all else, he thanked for making possible his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“If he believed in me, I could believe in me,” Kramer said. “From that point on, I wanted to play a perfect football game.”
A three-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time first-team All Pro with the Packers, Kramer started 119 of his 130 games over his 11-year career in Green Bay.
“Coach Lombardi arrived, and the whole world turned around,” Kramer recalled. “He said, ‘I've never been a loser, and I'm not about to start now. If you're not willing to make the sacrifices to win, then get the hell out.’
“He worked us harder than ever before. He would talk about principles: preparation, commitment, discipline, consistence, pride, tenacity, belief in your team, belief in yourself.”
Lombardi was a meticulous worker and expected his players to be as detail-oriented as he was, which is why the Hall of Fame coach passionately addressed Kramer for jumping offsides during a practice. As Kramer told it, Lombardi came sprinting across the field quoting the lengths of attention spans for college students, high-schoolers, and even those in Kindergarten.
After saying that a five-year old had a 30-second attention span, Lombardi asked Kramer, ‘Where does at leave you?”
While bowing his head, Kramer recalled, “It put me checking my shoe shine.”
Kramer recovered well from that one practice in Green Bay, which admittedly, the native of Jordan, Montana, did not know where it was until after being drafted and consulting a map, as he was a part of four NFL Championship teams, including victories in Super Bowls I and II.
Above all of the jokes and anecdotes about his career in Green Bay, especially a 56-0 loss to the Baltimore Colts, where he remembered, “They had a white horse that ran around after each score. We damn near killed him,” Kramer wanted those in attendance to learn from the advice he received as a high-school student.
“You can, if you will,” Kramer said. “You can, if you will.”
7:40 p.m.-BOBBY BEATHARD GRATEFUL FOR ENSHRINEMENT IN PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
CANTON, Ohio -- It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child, and in the game of football, it takes a visionary to build a championship-caliber team.
For the Washington football franchise, that visionary was Zanesville, Ohio, native Bobby Beathard, who built the organization into a powerhouse that won multiple Super Bowl championships, and did so with different quarterbacks each time.
But recognizing that it takes more than just talent evaluation to build a title-contending team, Beathard started his pre-recorded speech by thanking the very man who presented him, and also, the same one he took a risk in hiring as Washington’s head coach, Joe Gibbs.
“Joe, thank you for all of the nice things that you said,” Beathard said to the Hall of Fame coach. “You had something to do with it too.
“Coach Gibbs, the kind of coach every guy in my position would want. It didn’t matter who we brought in. Whether it was a first-round pick in the draft or the last pick of the last round of the draft, each one of those players got the same chance, and because of that, we got to three Super Bowls.”
Beathard had a 30-year career in the NFL, starting as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons before becoming the director of player personnel for the Miami Dolphins in 1972, where he remained until moving on to become the Washington general manager in 1978.
Willing to deal picks for proven talent, Beathard used just three first-round picks over an 11-year span, but that risk-taking led Washington to its Super Bowl titles.
Including an appearance in Super Bowl XXIX with the San Diego Chargers, Beathard was a part of seven trips to the championship game, and on four occasions, earned the privilege to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
“Working for Don Shula was probably the thing that really prepared me for my career in the NFL,” Beathard said.
“When I got the call from Jack Kent Cook and Ed Bennett Williams to come up to Washington, I couldn’t believe it. I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll go up there, but for this job?’ It was probably the best decision I could’ve made.”
7:26 p.m.-ROBERT BRAZILE: I AM AT HOME IN PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
CANTON, Ohio -- It took former Houston Oilers linebacker Robert Brazile nearly 20 years to get the call for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but the man who talked all about knocks on the doors and phone calls being important to football players gleefully answered that call Saturday night.
In front of family and friends amid the crowds of Oilers fans, “Dr. Doom” took his rightful place among football’s all-time greats with enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
“When the Hall of Fame knocked on my door, all of my dreams came true,” Brazile said at the end of his speech. “After all of these years, I’m at home.”
A seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All Pro (1978-1979), Brazile registered 13 interceptions and returned those turnovers for 201 yards over his 147 career starts for the Oilers. Despite playing such a physical position, Brazile was remarkably durable, never missing a play in his 10-year NFL career.
And Brazile made it known that his uncle was to thank for his career.
“My home was nothing but love and support,” Brazile recalled. “My first coach was my mother, but it was her brother that said, “Y’all better let that boy play ball.”
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