JUNIOR SEAU ELECTED TO PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

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February 1, 2015 (San Diego)--Former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau was elected for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in his first year of eligibility. Seau died in 2012.

Seau headlines the 2015 Hall of Fame class, joining running back Jerome Bettis, wide receiver Tim Brown, defensive end Charles Haley, guard Will Shields, center Mick Tinglehoff and former NFL executives Ron Wolf and Bill Polian. The class of ’15 will be officially inducted this summer at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Dean Spanos, Chargers Chairman of the Board President, recalls, “From the day we drafted Junior, we knew he was special. He was such an energized, charismatic person. He attacked life the same way he attacked ball carriers. It’s that passion that turned him into the Hall of Fame player he is. His athletic ability was clear, but it’s his passion and energy that separated him from the rest of the league. It’s that same passion for life that made him an icon in San Diego. Junior certainly is deserving of being a first-ballot inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”

While the Hall of Fame Selection Committee elected Seau in his first year of eligibility, it failed to recognize the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of former San Diego Head Coach Don Coryell. 

Former Chargers Head Coach Bobby Ross called Seau “the absolute best as a player” and said the honor is “richly deserved.”

ESPN’s Mike Tirico of ESPN recalled Seau as the player who “made the scripted play and the unscripted play,” noting that it’s rare for a linebacker to become the face of an NFL franchise.  The Chargers have had great players in recent years including LaDainian Tomlison, yet Seau was “the face, the energy and the passion of the Chargers,” Tirico concludes.

Few players in sports have influenced a franchise the way Seau impacted the Chargers.  Only the third player in team history to have his number (55) retired, Seau was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2011. A key member of San Diego’s defense for 13 years after being selected with the fifth overall pick in the 1990 draft, Seau played in 200 games for the Bolts, notching 1,396 tackles, 45.5 sacks and 14 interceptions.  Seau was voted to a team-record 12 consecutive Pro Bowls from 1991-2002, and was named to the All-Decade Team of the 1990’s by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was a first-team All-Pro pick six times, was named the Chargers’ Most Valuable Player a team-record six times and Defensive Player of the Year twice. 

Following 13 seasons in San Diego, Seau continued his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. For his career, he notched 56.5 sacks, 18 interceptions and recorded 10 or more tackles in a game 64 times.

Seau’s Career Highlights

•          Voted to team-record 12 consecutive Pro Bowls (1991-02 seasons); became only 4th NFL player since 1970 to be selected to the Pro Bowl 10 or more straight times, joining Randall McDaniel (12), Mike Singletary (10) and Lawrence Taylor (10).

•          First-team All-Pro selection eight times.

•          Named the NFL Alumni Association’s Linebacker of the Year in 2000.

•          In 2000, named to the Chargers 40th Anniversary Team.

•          Named to the All-Decade Team of the 1990s by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

•          Selected the Chargers MVP five straight seasons (1997-2001), while he shared the award with Leslie O’Neal in 1993.

•          Voted the Chargers Defensive Player of the Year twice (1998-99).

•          Voted by his teammates as the Chargers Most Inspirational Player in 1997.

•          Voted first-team All-Pro by Associated Press six times (1992-94, 96, 98, 00); second-team twice (1995, 99).

•          First-team All-Pro by College & Pro Football Newsweekly twice (1992, 94) and second-team three times (1993, 95, 99).

•          First-team All-Pro pick by Pro Football Weekly on four occasions (1992, 1994-95, 1998).

•          First-team All-Pro by the Pro Football Writers of America four times (1992-95).

•          First-team All-Pro selection by USA Today in 1996.

•          Recorded 10 or more tackles in a game 64 times.

•          Led team in tackles in 89 of his 230 career regular season games.

•          Led the Chargers in tackles in eight of his 13 seasons in San Diego.

•          Averaged 116 tackles a season and more than seven tackles a game over his San Diego career.

•          Is tied for second on San Diego's all-time list for games played with 200.

•          Registered 56.5 sacks during his 20 seasons.

•          Selected by the San Diego Chargers with the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. He played in the NFL longer than any other first-round choice that year.

Seau died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and  an analysis of his brain by the National Institute of Health found damage from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a denerative disease with depression caused by multiple concussions incurred during his illustrious NFL career.


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