“What we are trying to do at the Pro Football Hall of Fame is pass the values of the game, the commitment, the integrity, the courage, the respect, the excellence that these men and the Gold Jacket stand for”.
Advertisement
In fact, one Hall of Fame official said it’s the most Steeler fans they’ve ever seen there – and it’s all for Bettis. On Saturday evening, legends of the game will be formally enshrined at 4 p.m. PT for the public as the class of 2015. It’s a rare piece.
“Will and Senia basically treated [Cauley-Stein] as one of their own children”, “Voice of the Chiefs” and friend of the Shields family, Mitch Holthus, explained.
“I called and talked to (Nebraska head coach) Tom Osborne and he couldn’t stop telling me how we would love Will, his personality, his work ethic and his skill”, said Peterson. “So all of the blood, sweat and tears is worth every minute of it, because now you’re part of this great group of men”.
A few years later at the University of Nebraska, where Shields had committed, he found himself with a platform to make the kind of difference that Henderson made with him. MLB has been very successful in doing this with Negro League players, as well as pre-1900 players, because the current system of inducting two Seniors Candidates at a time (just one this year) is far from sufficient. By the time he retired after the 2006 season, Shields played in 232 games in the regular season and playoffs with 231 consecutive starting assignments. And when the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000’s was released, Number 68 was on it.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis led the eight-man Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2015, the sixth-leading rusher in NFL history receiving an overwhelming ovation while being introduced prior to the official induction ceremonies.
It was in 1986 when Shields first stepped on to a football field at Lawton High. Tonight I would like to honor him and his legendary heart.
“I watched Will go through his drills and I was in awe of his feet and his flexibility and his agility”.
Everywhere you look you see “36” jerseys.
“Will was a good size kid”. Then he was on his way to Lincoln. I’m not sure there was anybody else that put his talent together with a level of character that was unmatched. As a junior in 1987, Shields was a dominant force on a loaded Lawton High team. He proved to be a blocker equally adept in the running game and in pass protection. “I was like, ‘Junior, dude, I thought we were boys!”
“I was 6-feet, 195 at the time and he’s 245 and strong as an ox”.
“He admitted to me that he didn’t want them to draft me”, Shields said. It was a blessing.
“Without you saving that tackle, I still might be on the doorstep brother”, Bettis said. Is it going to be you? If we ran that 44 Iso, we had Will and Joebob and them on one side.
“It all goes back to where you grew up”, Shields said. The Rams rode Philiips for two years before going to the ultimate running back by committee in 1998 with five different backs taking up 40 attempts or more: Robert Holcombe, June Henley, Jerald Moore, Amp Lee and Greg Hill.
By the next week, Shields opened the game at right guard and did not leave for 14 seasons.
Early in his rookie season, Gibbs pulled Shields aside and told him about his negative pre-draft assessment. “I had the chance to coach a lot of players in the NFL and he ranks among the best I saw”. You know, getting in on offering him and wanting him. Called the plays the same.
Offensive lineman is not a glorious position.
He was the Outland Trophy victor as college football’s best lineman in 1992.
Shields was drafted in 1993 by the Chiefs in the third round.
Advertisement
Bettis fittingly arrived in Canton by bus, the nickname he quickly acquired after being traded by the St. Louis Rams to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1996.
