PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Only two schools in college football history have more players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame than the University of Pittsburgh. Saturday receiver Larry Fitzgerald became the 11th Pitt Panthers with a bust in Canton.
After finishing a sophomore season as Heisman Trophy runner-up, Fitzgerald played 17 years in the NFL, is the second-leading receiver in league history and is sixth in receiving touchdowns. Fitzgerald played 17 years and had only 29 dropped passes. He had more tackles, 41, than drops.
“Then I got to go to the University of Pittsburgh, and the city of Pittsburgh gave me two of the best years of my entire life,” Fitzgerald said during his speech at the Hall of Fame in Canton on Saturday. “It was a time filled with incredible accomplishments. I was excelling athletically, but I was also in the depths of my emotions, having lost both a parent and a teammate just two months apart. The love and support I was surrounded by at that time, from Coach Walt Harris and his staff, is something I’ll never forget.”
In two seasons with the Panthers, Fitzgerald caught 161 passes for 2,677 yards and 34 touchdowns (a Pitt record). He also caught a touchdown pass in 18 straight games including three at Texas A&M and a pair of touchdowns against Notre Dame, West Virginia and others.
“Western Pennsylvania it embodies blue-collar, toughness, lunch-pail mentality and I really learned that in college,” Fitzgerald said earlier in the week. “It’s Midwest with a little East Coast flavor to it. I learned a lot from the people there, from my church home to chess clubs that I played at. It was a really, really special place. I have life-long bonds of people I spent time with.”
Other Panthers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame:
- Joe Schmidt
- Mike Ditka
- Russ Grimm
- Jimbo Covert
- Dan Marino
- Tony Dorsett
- Chris Doleman
- Rickey Jackson
- Curtis Martin
- Darrelle Revis
What Fitzgerald said of the impact of Pitt and Pittsburgh
What Fitzgerald said of the impact of Pitt and Pittsburgh
