Finally, D.T. is Home
Feb. 1, 2009
“Lamar is sitting up there just smiling.”
Those were Norma Hunt’s words Saturday afternoon after the announcement of the Class of 2009 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As his wife well knows, the Chiefs founder would have really enjoyed the announcement that came down Saturday afternoon at the Tampa Convention Center because one of his favorite players and maybe his favorite fellow owner were elected to the Hall.
Linebacker Derrick Thomas and Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson were part of the six-man group that was voted in by the Hall’s 44-member Board of Selectors. The voting took place Saturday morning after the 17 candidates were discussed at length and sometimes quite emotionally. It was one of the toughest decision-making sessions this board has faced in the last decade.
For Thomas it ended a five-year wait for induction. Wilson waited 50 years, since he was one of the members of the Foolish Club, the original American Football League owners.
Joining Thomas and Wilson in the class were Buffalo defensive end Bruce Smith, Pittsburgh safety Rod Woodson, Dallas wide receiver Bob Hayes and Minnesota guard Randall McDaniel.
“Derrick Thomas was the cornerstone of the modern era of the Kansas City Chiefs and one of the most feared performers of his era,” Clark Hunt said at the announcement press conference. “Every head coach and offensive coordinator who faced the Chiefs during the 1990s knew when they came to Arrowhead Stadium they had to account for Derrick Thomas.”
Here’s how three other important names in Thomas’ football life reacted to the news.
“We all know he deserved to be in the Hall, but maybe the fact it was so hard made it that much sweeter,” said former Chiefs president-general manager Carl Peterson, who was vacationing in Palm Springs, California.
“He is where he should be,” said former Chiefs head coach Marty Schottenheimer, who spends the winter months in Palm Springs. “Anyone who saw him play knew he would one day be in the Hall.”
“I’m not sure why it took so long, but that doesn’t matter now because he’s in,” said former Chiefs defensive coordinator Bill Cowher from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina. “What a great day for the Chiefs and Kansas City.”
It was Peterson/Schottenheimer/Cowher that went to the University of Alabama in the winter of 1989 and worked out this highly talented young linebacker who was going to be available in that year’s NFL Draft. What they found that day, led them to select Thomas with the fourth pick. And as Hunt said, he became the cornerstone of the re-birth of the Chiefs in the 1990s.
“He was the catalyst,” said Schottenheimer. “After that rookie year, he became the instigator on that defense. He became the biggest block in the foundation.”
Thomas becomes the ninth member of the Chiefs and the seventh player to earn induction into the Hall. He joins Hunt, linebacker Bobby Bell, linebacker Willie Lanier, quarterback Len Dawson, defensive tackle Buck Buchanan, kicker Jan Stenerud, head coach Hank Stram and cornerback Emmitt Thomas. He’s the first Chiefs inductee that has come through the regular process since Stenerud in 1991. Stram and Thomas got in through the seniors selection.
That Thomas had to wait is not unusual. Among the Chiefs players in the Hall, the only one selected in his first year of eligibility was Stenerud in ‘91. Here’s how the others went down:
Hall of Famer
|
First Year of Eligibility
|
Year of Induction
|
Years of Wait
|
Years as Finalist
|
Bobby Bell
|
1980
|
1983
|
4
|
1
|
Buck Buchanan
|
1981
|
1990
|
10
|
5
|
Len Dawson
|
1981
|
1990
|
7
|
3
|
Willie Lanier
|
1983
|
1986
|
4
|
3
|
Emmitt Thomas
|
1984
|
2008
|
25
|
1
|
Derrick Thomas
|
2005
|
2009
|
5
|
5
|
Once the announcement was made at 2:40 p.m. EST, the wait no longer mattered. Not for Thomas, not for the 90-year old Wilson, not for Hayes, who passed away seven years ago.
They are now all Hall of Famers, and Thomas and Hayes are probably sitting around drinking a Dr. Pepper right now and talking it all over with Lamar Hunt.
from KC Chiefs.com
