Aikman, Wright answer Hall's call
Football: Aikman, Wright answer Hall's call
Web Posted: 02/05/2006 12:00 AM CST
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
DETROIT — As an ESPN draft analyst in 1989, former Washington Redskins star Joe Theismann ripped the Dallas Cowboys for selecting UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman with the No. 1 pick.
"They're taking Aikman to sell tickets," Theismann said. "He's not an impact player like Randy White or Tony Dorsett."
Not only did Aikman prove Theismann wrong, but, like White and Dorsett, he's now a Hall of Famer.
"I remind Joe every year that he said we should have taken (offensive tackle) Tony Mandarich instead of Troy, and I'm thinking about Joe now," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Saturday after Aikman and 1970s-era offensive tackle Rayfield Wright became the franchise's eighth and ninth members who spent most or all of their careers with the team to be chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"It's a great day for Cowboys fans," Jones said.
The 39-member selection committee rejected Michael Irvin, Aikman's favorite receiver, a second-straight year.
"Any disappointment I may feel for my name not being called is suppressed by the joy I feel for my quarterback getting in," Irvin said. "Last year at this time, I was laying in bed crying."
Irvin was arrested last year and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. The Hall's bylaws prohibit voters from considering citizenship issues.
"I wouldn't want to get into why he didn't make it," Aikman said. "I don't know what constitutes a Hall of Fame receiver. But from a biased opinion, if there ever was a Hall of Fame wide receiver, it's Michael Irvin."
Other members of the class of 2006 are Warren Moon, the Hall's first black quarterback; the late Reggie White, a defensive end who retired in 2000 as the NFL's all-time sacks leader; John Madden, who coached the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl title after the 1976 season; and Harry Carson, a nine-time Pro Bowl linebacker who helped the New York Giants win two Super Bowls.
Aikman, White and Moon made it in their first year of eligibility. Madden and Wright were seniors committee candidates. It was Carson's seventh year as a finalist. Six is the maximum number of candidates that can be selected.
Moon played 17 seasons in the NFL, including his first 10 with the Houston Oilers. He entered the league in 1984 after six seasons in the Canadian Football League.
"All African-American quarterbacks who played before me should share in this," said Moon, who passed for nearly 50,000 yards and 300 touchdowns. "I don't want to make this a racial thing, but I think it is significant. It shows we have arrived at the pinnacle of the sport."
Aikman passed for 32,942 yards and 165 touchdowns during his 12 seasons. He said he has always been proud to be known as Jones' first draft pick.
"Any quarterback that has aspirations to be successful and win world championships has got to have an owner willing to spend the money and do what it takes to win," Aikman said. "There are a lot of owners who talk about winning, but they don't do what is necessary to win. There are a handful of guys who do that and do it very well, and Jerry Jones happens to be one of them."
The Cowboys won three Super Bowls with Aikman. He won 90 games in the 1990s, the most in one decade by an NFL quarterback."I don't know how fortunate you can be to come into the NFL and the very first player you had an opportunity to associate yourself with was Troy Aikman," Jones said. "We wouldn't have gotten out of the shoot without him."
Wright wiped away tears after he was selected 22 years after he first became eligible.
"I'm so overwhelmed," he said.
Wright was a seventh-round draft choice out of Georgia's tiny Fort Valley State who Tom Landry switched from tight end to tackle.
"When he asked me to play tackle, I said, 'If you believe in me coach, I'll give it everything I have,'" Wright said. "He said, 'I believe,' and we shook hands."
With Wright protecting quarterback Roger Staubach's blind side, the Cowboys went on to play in five Super Bowls, winning two.
The class of 2006 will be inducted on the weekend of Aug. 5-6 in Canton, Ohio. Jones said he hopes the Cowboys can play in the Hall of Fame game, although there are plans for the team to open the preseason against the New Orleans Saints in Louisiana.
Web Posted: 02/05/2006 12:00 AM CST
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
DETROIT — As an ESPN draft analyst in 1989, former Washington Redskins star Joe Theismann ripped the Dallas Cowboys for selecting UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman with the No. 1 pick.
"They're taking Aikman to sell tickets," Theismann said. "He's not an impact player like Randy White or Tony Dorsett."
Not only did Aikman prove Theismann wrong, but, like White and Dorsett, he's now a Hall of Famer.
"I remind Joe every year that he said we should have taken (offensive tackle) Tony Mandarich instead of Troy, and I'm thinking about Joe now," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Saturday after Aikman and 1970s-era offensive tackle Rayfield Wright became the franchise's eighth and ninth members who spent most or all of their careers with the team to be chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"It's a great day for Cowboys fans," Jones said.
The 39-member selection committee rejected Michael Irvin, Aikman's favorite receiver, a second-straight year.
"Any disappointment I may feel for my name not being called is suppressed by the joy I feel for my quarterback getting in," Irvin said. "Last year at this time, I was laying in bed crying."
Irvin was arrested last year and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. The Hall's bylaws prohibit voters from considering citizenship issues.
"I wouldn't want to get into why he didn't make it," Aikman said. "I don't know what constitutes a Hall of Fame receiver. But from a biased opinion, if there ever was a Hall of Fame wide receiver, it's Michael Irvin."
Other members of the class of 2006 are Warren Moon, the Hall's first black quarterback; the late Reggie White, a defensive end who retired in 2000 as the NFL's all-time sacks leader; John Madden, who coached the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl title after the 1976 season; and Harry Carson, a nine-time Pro Bowl linebacker who helped the New York Giants win two Super Bowls.
Aikman, White and Moon made it in their first year of eligibility. Madden and Wright were seniors committee candidates. It was Carson's seventh year as a finalist. Six is the maximum number of candidates that can be selected.
Moon played 17 seasons in the NFL, including his first 10 with the Houston Oilers. He entered the league in 1984 after six seasons in the Canadian Football League.
"All African-American quarterbacks who played before me should share in this," said Moon, who passed for nearly 50,000 yards and 300 touchdowns. "I don't want to make this a racial thing, but I think it is significant. It shows we have arrived at the pinnacle of the sport."
Aikman passed for 32,942 yards and 165 touchdowns during his 12 seasons. He said he has always been proud to be known as Jones' first draft pick.
"Any quarterback that has aspirations to be successful and win world championships has got to have an owner willing to spend the money and do what it takes to win," Aikman said. "There are a lot of owners who talk about winning, but they don't do what is necessary to win. There are a handful of guys who do that and do it very well, and Jerry Jones happens to be one of them."
The Cowboys won three Super Bowls with Aikman. He won 90 games in the 1990s, the most in one decade by an NFL quarterback."I don't know how fortunate you can be to come into the NFL and the very first player you had an opportunity to associate yourself with was Troy Aikman," Jones said. "We wouldn't have gotten out of the shoot without him."
Wright wiped away tears after he was selected 22 years after he first became eligible.
"I'm so overwhelmed," he said.
Wright was a seventh-round draft choice out of Georgia's tiny Fort Valley State who Tom Landry switched from tight end to tackle.
"When he asked me to play tackle, I said, 'If you believe in me coach, I'll give it everything I have,'" Wright said. "He said, 'I believe,' and we shook hands."
With Wright protecting quarterback Roger Staubach's blind side, the Cowboys went on to play in five Super Bowls, winning two.
The class of 2006 will be inducted on the weekend of Aug. 5-6 in Canton, Ohio. Jones said he hopes the Cowboys can play in the Hall of Fame game, although there are plans for the team to open the preseason against the New Orleans Saints in Louisiana.
posted by The Gryphon at 12:20 PM
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