Former Packers WR Sterling Sharpe Finally Gets Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The wait is finally over for former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. He has now been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This weekend was a celebration of his career accomplishments. While the former South Carolina star only had a seven-year NFL career before injuries forced him to retire at 29, he earned his ticket to Canton, Ohio, with dominant play.

Former Packers WR Sterling Sharpe Inducted into the Hall of Fame: A Short but Great Career

It’s almost ironic that an injury ended Sharpe’s career prematurely. In his seven seasons with the Packers, he never missed a game due to injury.

Sharpe led the NFL in catches three times, led the league in receiving yards once, and twice led the league in touchdown catches.

In 1992, Sharpe won the receiving triple crown. He led the NFL with a then record 108 catches, he led the league with 1,461 yards receiving and caught 13 touchdown passes which was the most in the NFL.

Sharpe was named to the Pro Bowl five times in seven seasons and earned All Pro honors three times. While Jerry Rice’s prime overlapped his, Sharpe was considered the second best wideout in the NFL for almost all of his NFL career.

In short, he was dominant, which is necessary for any player with a shortened career if they hope to make the Hall of Fame. Other players like Gale Sayers and Terrell Davis also earned Hall of Fame honors despite short careers because they were also dominant.

Career Highlights

There were many magic moments in Sharpe’s NFL career. It was Sharpe who caught the last-minute touchdown pass against the Bears in the 1989 “Instant Replay Game.” The touchdown was initially called back because the referee claimed Don Majkowski was over the line of scrimmage when he released the ball. Replay proved he was not, the play was correctly overturned, and the Packers beat the Bears 14-13. It was Green Bay’s first win over the Bears in five years.

In the 1993 playoffs, Sharpe caught five passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-24 win over the Lions in Detroit. It was the Packers first playoff win since the Ice Bowl more than 25 years earlier. He caught the winning touchdown in the final minute on a 40-yard desperation bomb from Brett Favre. Ironically, Sharpe was playing through a painful turf toe injury in that game. One week later, he caught six passes for 128 yards and a touchdown in the Packers playoff loss to Dallas. These would be his only career playoff games, and he shined in both of them.

Sharpe finished his career with 29 regular-season 100-yard receiving games and 12 games of two touchdown catches or more. At the time of his retirement, Sharpe was the Packers all-time leader with 595 catches. That was better than greats like Don Hutson, James Lofton, and Boyd Dowler. He currently stands third on the Packers all-time list behind Donald Driver and Davante Adams. He is also third in Packers history in receiving yards with 8,134 and fourth in touchdown catches with 65.

Former Packers WR Sterling Sharpe Inducted into the Hall of Fame: Praise from Teammates and Coaches

Sharpe’s teammates and coaches recognized his excellence and why he deserved to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “If he hadn’t gotten hurt, he would’ve been a first-ballot Hall of Fame,” former Packers coach Mike Holmgren said. “That’s the only explanation I could give. I had the privilege of coaching Jerry Rice and being around great receivers, and Sterling’s right up there with those guys. He was special.”

“He was so much more physically fit than the other guys,” Holmgren added. “Receivers are tall and lanky a lot of times. He was built, he was strong. He ran routes, he was smart, yards after the catch, he had good speed to go deep, he had everything you wanted.”

Jon Gruden, the Packers receivers coach during part of Sharpe’s career. “The more times Sterling touches the ball, the better chance we have to win,” Gruden said when asked about Sharpe. “It’s no different than when the Chicago Bulls rode Michael Jordan for those three championship rings.”

Favre also praised Sharpe for what he brought to the table as a receiver. “He was not the fastest, he was not the tallest, but he was by far the smartest — maybe the smartest football player I ever played with. And that’s saying a lot,” Favre said.

Sharpe gets one more unique honor this week. He and his brother Shannon will forever be the first brothers to both be inducted into the Hall of Fame.