Eight inductees were named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, including former Green Bay Packers safety LeRoy Butler, ex-San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Bryant Young and late New Orleans linebacker Sam Mills.
Others named to the Hall of Fame from the NFL Honors celebration at Los Angeles included late Raiders wide receiver Cliff Branch, New England Patriots and Raiders defensive lineman Richard Seymour, Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Tony Boselli, Super Bowl-winning head coach Dick Vermeil and former referee and director of officiating Art McNally.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony is set for Aug. 6 at Canton, Ohio.
Butler played 181 games over 12 seasons as a second-round draft pick out of Florida State. He led the Packers in interceptions five times and picked off 38 passes in his career.
“Family, friends, teammates, coaches, fans, and everyone in the Packers organization, WE MADE IT!” Butler wrote on his website leroybutlerinc.com “I will forever be thankful for all of the love and support you have shown to me, both personally and professionally. And, while I am sure I will be working hard to express my thanks to all of you, I want to make sure that my Packers teammates, especially that special 1996 team, are thanked.”
Young played 208 games over 14 seasons, all with the 49ers. The first-round pick in 1994 out of Notre Dame was named to the Pro Bowl four times. Bryant had 89.5 sacks in his career.
The 49ers issued a statement that read in part, “Congratulations to Bryant Young for receiving the ultimate honor of being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. B.Y.’s tenacity, dedication and leadership throughout his illustrious 14-year career earned him respect from his teammates and the 49ers Faithful alike, helping him garner numerous career accolades highlighted by a Super Bowl championship. While he inspired us all through his courageous play, his legacy derives from the integrity, class and character he exemplified to all of us at the 49ers and in the community.”
Mills, who died from cancer in 2005 at the age of 45, played the first nine seasons of his 12-year career in New Orleans. He finished with the Carolina Panthers and totaled 1,265 tackles with 20.5 sacks and 11 interceptions.
“It’s probably one of the more inspirational stories because this is a guy that never gave up, that was told: ‘You can’t, you can’t, you can’t,'” former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said, according to The Athletic, about the 5-foot-9 Mills. “But that never stayed with him. He just kept doing it and kept doing it. It tells people the right message. In spite of all those things, you can succeed.”
Branch, who died in 2019 at age 71, was a three-time Super Bowl champion and four-time Pro Bowler. He had 501 career receptions for 8,685 yards and 67 touchdowns.
Seymour, who played 164 games over 12 seasons, was the sixth overall draft pick in 2001 out of Georgia. He had 57.5 career sacks and was on seven Patriots teams that won at least 10 games.
Boselli played 91 games over seven seasons after he was the Jaguars’ first-ever draft pick, selected No. 2 overall in 1995 out of Southern California. A first-team All-Pro in three consecutive seasons, Boselli helped the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game in his second NFL season. He becomes Jacksonville’s first Hall of Famer.
“Tony’s well-deserved selection for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is long overdue and one of the greatest moments in the history of our franchise,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said. “Tony embraced being a Jaguar from the moment he was drafted and from there fought for Jacksonville as one of the greatest offensive linemen to ever play the game.”
Vermeil led the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl title after the 1999 season. As coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, the Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs, he went 120-109 in 15 NFL seasons.
“I am overwhelmed. I’m not sure I belong there,” Vermeil said.
McNally is a former official who became supervisor of officials from 1968-90. He worked as an NFL officiating observer and trainer until 2015.
–Field Level Media
