Black Athletes in the Spotlight: HBCU Sports & Local Highlights
- Sterling Sharpe will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a lengthy 31-year wait since his NFL career ended.
- He becomes the 13th player inducted with less than eight seasons played, reflecting his exceptional talent despite a short career.
- Sterling joins his brother Shannon Sharpe, making them the only pair of enshrined brothers in Pro Football Hall of Fame history.
GLENVILLE, Ga. (WSAV) — In his 26th season of eligibility, 31 years after his NFL career ended, Glennville High School alumnus Sterling Sharpe will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Sterling will join his younger brother Shannon as the only pair of brothers enshrined.
After graduating from Glenville High School, Sterling left for Columbia, South Carolina to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks in college. He shined for South Carolina, setting all-time records for receiving and touchdowns in program history on the way to being named a two time All-American.
In the 1988 NFL Draft, Sterling’s name was called 7th overall by the Green Bay Packers.
While his rookie season was productive, it wasn’t anything compared to the breakout campaign Sterling would have in his second season in 1989. Sterling caught a league-high 90 passes for 1,423 yards and 12 touchdowns. The 1989 season earned Sterling a First-Team All-Pro selection.
Sterling would again lead the league in receptions in 1992 and 1993, setting a record 108 catches in 1992 and breaking it himself with 112 in 1993.
Over his seven seasons, Sterling earned three First-Team All-Pro selections, was selected to the Pro Bowl five times, led the league in receptions three times, was the receiving yards leader in 1992 and had the most receiving touchdowns in a season twice.
Sterling wouldn’t play an eighth season, however. In 1994, after a neck injury, Sterling had surgery and was never able to return to football. He finished his career with 8,134 receiving yards on 595 receptions, scoring 65 touchdowns.
After earning eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years after retirement, Sterling would have over a two-decade wait, likely due to his short career. Despite being named to the 1990’s NFL All-Decade Team and Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, Sterling was still without his gold jacket.
Sterling now becomes the 13th player in NFL history to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame while playing less than eight seasons.
When Shannon was inducted in Canton, Ohio in 2011, he said “To my brother Sterling: I’m the only player that’s walked through this building that can say he’s the second-best player in his own family.”
On Saturday, Sterling will receive his gold jacket at long last during the NFL Hall of Fame ceremony in Canton, Ohio at 1 p.m., joining his brother Shannon as Glenville’s representatives.
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