Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Dame and USC are the two schools tied for the most representation in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 12 apiece. Brown also became the sixth Notre Dame alumnus ever to make both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. The others were 1933-35 end Wayne Millner, 1946-47 lineman George Connor, 1954-56 quarterback/all-purpose player Paul Hornung, 1964-66 defensive lineman Alan Page and 1971-73 of- fensive tackle/tight end Dave Casper. A finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame each of the last six years, the 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Brown set 19 school records during his Fighting Irish career, but that has no bearing on the NFL honor. Selected sixth overall in the 1988 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Raiders, Brown played 16 seasons with the franchise and one more season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 1988, Brown set the NFL rookie record for most combined yards gained (2,317) while leading the NFL in kickoff returns, return yards and yards per return. At the time of his retirement, his 14,934 receiving yards were second highest in NFL history, his 1,094 receptions were third and his 100 touchdown catches were tied for third. A member of the NFL 1990s All-Decade team, Brown was named to nine Pro Bowls — which is tied with Page for the most by a Notre Dame graduate — and he hauled in an NFL-record 75 receptions in 10 straight seasons. In 2001, he became the oldest player to return a punt for a touchdown, and Brown also holds the record for most consecutive games with more than one reception (147 games). Bettis has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist each of the past five years. He turned pro after his junior season at Notre Dame in 1992 and was selected as the 10th overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft. Like Brown, he made an instant splash as a rookie when he ranked second in the league in rushing yards (1,429) and was the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year and United Press International NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year. Bettis joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1996 and eclipsed 1,000 yards rush- ing in each of his first six seasons with the franchise. At the time of his retirement, his eight 1,000-yard seasons were tied for third-best in NFL history and his 13,662 career rushing yards ranked fifth in league annals (he is now sixth). Bettis was a member of the Super Bowl XL championship team and collected 43 yards on the ground in the Steelers victory over Seattle in his hometown Detroit. He played in the Pro Bowl six times and was named to the All-Pro team on three occasions. Bettis added 1,449 receiving yards and 91 total touchdowns over his 13-year NFL career. The other 2015 inductees will be three modern-era players in defensive end/linebacker Charles Haley, Seau and guard Will Shields, plus senior finalist Mick Tingelhoff, and contributors Bill Polian and Ron Wolf. Previous inductees with Notre Dame connections are Casper (2002), Nick Buoniconti (2001), Joe Montana (2000), Page (1988), Hornung (1986), Connor (1975), Millner (1968), George Trafton (1964), Curly Lambeau (1963) and John "Blood" McNally (1963). — Lou Somogyi BETTIS BROWN