One stop reading on Jerry Rice (1 Viewer)

[Chase Stuart]

Over at P-F-R, we've been profiling the semifinalists for induction into the HOF class of 2010. Here are links to the previous posts:

John Randle

Roger Craig

Russ Grimm

Steve Tasker (did not make cut as a finalist)

Aeneas Williams (did not make cut as a finalist)

Art Modell (did not make cut as a finalist)

Terrell Davis (did not make cut as a finalist)

Dermontti Dawson

Tim Brown/Cris Carter/Andre Reed

Chris Doleman, Kevin Greene and Charles Haley (Doleman, Green did not make cut as a finalist)

Cortez Kennedy

Don Coryell

Ray Guy (did not make cut as a finalist)

Cliff Branch (did not make cut as a finalist)

Shannon Sharpe

Today, I chronicled Jerry Rice's great career, looking at how dominant his numbers were, how two Jerry Rices were arguably HOFers, and how Rice did without Montana and Young.

The link above has a ton of links to the trivia below, so you may prefer to read it (and click for proof) there.

Part I: Jerry Rice, record-breaker extraordinaire

* Rice is the all-time leader in receptions (by 447), receiving yards (by 8315) and receiving touchdowns (by 49). He's also the all-time leader in receiving yards per game among non-active players. Unsurprisingly, he topped my list last off-season of the greatest wide receivers of all-time.

* But Rice's greatness transcended the WR position: He's also the all-time leader in touchdowns, despite that record usually being owned by a running back. Both #2 (Emmitt Smith) and #3 (LaDainian Tomlinson), as well as the previous two record holders (Jim Brown and Walter Payton) were running backs. Twelve of the top thirteen leaders in NFL history in yards from scrimmage played running back, but the record holder is still Jerry Rice. Even more incredibly, Rice holds the career record for all-purpose yards, despite having very little rushing or return yardage to pad his numbers. Number 2 on that list is Brian Mitchell; eight of the top 20 spent a significant chunk of time as a returner, and Rice and Tim Brown are the only players in the top 15 that didn't play running back in the NFL. Rice is also the only non-kicker to play in 300 NFL games.

* Rice was named to the Associated Press' first-team All-Pro squad in ten different seasons; the only other player to match that feat is Jim Otto, who earned nine of his ten All-Pro selections in the AFL. Rice was a Pro Bowler in thirteen different seasons, third most in league history and the only non-linemen to be selected so many times.

* Rice topped 1,000 yards in fourteen different seasons, by far most in league history; Randy Moss is the only other player to hit the 1,000 yard mark in ten seasons. 1200 yards? Rice did it an astonishing 11 times; Moss is second with eight, and no other receiver has more than six. 1400 yards? Rice has six of those years under his belt, while Moss (4), Marvin Harrison (4) and Larry Fitzgerald (3) are the only ones in earshot of him. His 1,848 receiving yards in 1995 stands as the all-time record. Rice had fifteen receiving touchdowns in five different seasons, while Moss (4) is the only other player to hit that mark more than twice. Rice led the league in receiving yards six times, receiving touchdowns six times, and receptions twice (in addition to four second place finishes). He is, by far, the all-time leader in game-winning touchdowns and he's scored more touchdowns in the post-season than anyone else, too.

* Rice has a SB MVP (1988-89), two OPOY awards from the AP (1987, 1993) and was named MVP by three of the four major sources in 1987 (NEA, BBA, PFWA). He also appeared in four Super Bowls (with three different coaches and three different quarterbacks), winning three of them. Despite playing for only five seasons in the '80s, he was one of only three unanimous selections by the voters of the All-Decade Team of the 1980s. If there was a stronger way to make vote for someone than unanimously, that's how Rice would have been chosen for the All-Decade team of the '90s. Lastly, he was the youngest offensive player chosen on the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team when that team was selected in 1994.

For a better formatted version of the part above, and the rest of the post, read it here: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=5473

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I like his early bio, such as:

"Reportedly was put on the football team at his high school by a school administration official. The official, who was a pretty fast runner himself, caught Jerry trying to skip out one day and ran after him, but Jerry was so fast he got away from him and left him in a cloud of dust. After disciplining him the next day, the official took him to the football coach thinking "anyone who can run that fast should be playing sports".

the son of a brick mason, Jerry Rice developed his hands while working for his father by catching bricks that his brothers threw at him. Rice later recalled that working for his father also taught him "the meaning of hard work."

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Who says Jerry Rice is a HOFer?

 

[Chase Stuart]

I like his early bio, such as:"Reportedly was put on the football team at his high school by a school administration official. The official, who was a pretty fast runner himself, caught Jerry trying to skip out one day and ran after him, but Jerry was so fast he got away from him and left him in a cloud of dust. After disciplining him the next day, the official took him to the football coach thinking "anyone who can run that fast should be playing sports". the son of a brick mason, Jerry Rice developed his hands while working for his father by catching bricks that his brothers threw at him. Rice later recalled that working for his father also taught him "the meaning of hard work."