Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9408020042
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CANTON, OHIO LENGTH: Long
Inducted along with Grant during a frequently emotional ceremony that lasted more than two hours were Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Jimmy Johnson, Cleveland Browns running back Leroy Kelly, St. Louis Cardinals tight end Jackie Smith and Dallas defensive tackle Randy White.
None of the acceptance speeches was more poignant than Grant's. Many in the audience had to wipe tears as he credited his father with inspiring him to make it in professional sports.
``When I was born, my name was Harry,'' Grant said. ``I was a Junior. Well, you can't have two Harrys in the same house, so my mom nicknamed me Buddy Boy and Dad called me Kid. Buddy Boy got shortened. Maybe if I was a boxer, I would have been Kid Grant.
``You can't imagine what an honor this is. If mom was here - she's 93 and couldn't be here - I'd look at the pride in her face. If Dad was here, he'd stand up and say, `The kid made it. He finally made it.'''
During 18 years with the Vikings from 1967 to 1985, Grant went 158-96-5, leading his team to the Super Bowl four times - all losses. He noted that he left the game on his own, never getting fired from his job.
``If you're going to succeed - survive is maybe a better word - you've got to handle losing,'' he said. ``You die every time you lose, but you've got to get over it.''
Kelly's induction came 18 years after he was first eligible, perhaps because his accomplishments with the Browns always seemed to pale in comparison with those of his predecessor, Hall of Famer Jim Brown. The seniors committee acted to put Kelly in the Hall this year.
When Brown abruptly retired in 1966 to pursue an acting career, Kelly stepped in, and Cleveland's offense scarcely missed a beat. An eighth-round pick out of Morgan State in the 1964 draft, Kelly led the NFL in rushing in 1967 and '68 and scored 90 touchdowns in his 10-year career.
Kelly, like Grant, wept as he thanked his family and friends.
``I never felt I was in the shadow of Jim,'' he said during a news conference before the ceremony. ``It was an honor for me to play with Jim. Jim helped me out a whole lot. He was pretty much responsible for me making the team.
``This is a great honor. It's been a long time coming. I'm kind of upset that it took so long, but I'm still honored to be among such great football players.''
White and Dorsett were teammates during some of the best seasons of coach Tom Landry's Cowboys in the 1970s and '80s. Although both were highly publicized athletes in college, neither was a sure thing in the professional ranks - Dorsett because of his size, White because the Cowboys initially played him out of position at linebacker.
The doubts were erased. After winning the Heisman Trophy at Pitt, Dorsett went on to rush for 12,739 yards, including 48 100-yard games and eight 1,000-yard seasons. He also set a record that can never be broken, scoring on a 99-yard run in a Monday night game against Minnesota. It was one of his 90 touchdowns in a career that ended with the Denver Broncos in 1988.
Landry presented Dorsett for induction.
``Everybody said I'd be too small to play pro football at 188 pounds,'' said Dorsett, who as a youngster once loaded his pockets with rocks in an unsuccessful attempt to boost his weight above the minimum required to play football. ``I never dreamed I'd play 12 seasons. The man in the hat, Coach Landry, brought me along. He taught me discipline. He taught me to set goals. These are things you take with you in life.''
White thanked Landry for sticking with him during the early years, before he'd moved to the defensive line.
``Some people said Coach Landry was not a great motivator. He's one of the greatest motivators I've ever been around in my whole life,'' said White, who was nicknamed the ``Manster'' - a mix of man and monster - by former Cowboys defensive back Charlie Waters.
White totaled 111 sacks in his career and was the NFL's defensive player of the year in 1978.
Smith, who finished his career with Dallas that year after 15 seasons with the Cardinals, was the leading career receiver among tight ends when he retired, although many of his receiving statistics have been eclipsed by the likes of Ozzie Newsome and Kellen Winslow.
Smith averaged 16.6 yards per catch, a figure he attributes to the Cardinals' innovative offense at the time.
``When we first started getting the tight end down into the secondary, defenses weren't set up to deal with that,'' Smith said. ``The guy just wasn't used to seeing me down there.''
Johnson, a first-round pick from UCLA in 1961, played receiver and defensive back early in his career before settling in as one of the best one-on-one cornerbacks in NFL history. He totaled 47 interceptions in 15 seasons as a starting defensive back for the 49ers, a number that was artificially low because opponents rarely threw in his direction.
He was presented for enshrinement by his brother, Rafer Johnson, the gold medalist in the decathlon at the 1960 Olympics.
``Rafer Johnson is my hero,'' Johnson said. ``Most kids have a hero in another city. I had a brother that I was always able to talk to and get the direction I needed. I wish we could split this trophy right down the middle, because he surely deserves half of it.''
by CNB