Former San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys pass-rusher Charles Haley was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, and he gave his induction speech on Saturday.
Charles Haley tells the best golf story in his Hall of Fame speech
Charles Haley seems to have a lot of good stories about former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
He started his speech with a great story about going golfing with former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, Ronnie Lott and Joe Montana, and how he was driving his golf cart onto the green. He said they kept laughing at him and telling him not to drive on the green, and after three or four times, he held up his arms and said “Man, all this shit is green!”
There was a pretty long pause as everyone in the building was laughing.
During Haley’s video package from NFL Films prior to his speech, DeBartolo told a funny story about how Haley was ejected from a Monday Night Football game. DeBartolo, who said he felt close to Haley, went into the locker room to check on him during the game and Haley said “Oh my God, Mr. D, they ejected you too?”
“You know, Mr. D, we were talking in the back, I had this written down to tell this story he just told,” Haley said at the start of his enshrinement speech, “So now I gotta change it, you know?”
Charles Haley
Haley hit all the “thank-yous” you’d expect him to hit, spending a lot of time on his family. He called his father a “true champion and a true warrior.” After talking about DeBartolo, he went on to talk about Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and then ex-49ers coach Bill Walsh. He said Walsh was the most helpful person he’s ever met, and even two days before his death was calling Haley asking how he could help.
“I will always love him with all of my heart,” Haley said on Walsh.
He also noted that DeBartolo should be in the Hall of Fame. He talked about how DeBartolo has five Super Bowls just like he does, and said, “If the standard is winning, why is he not here?”
“I pray that Mr. D becomes in the Hall of Fame sooner than later.”
It's been a long time coming for Haley, who had been a finalist for the Hall of Fame several times. He's the only player in NFL history to have five Super Bowl rings as a player, with wins in Super Bowl XXIII and XXIV with the San Francisco 49ers and XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX with the Dallas Cowboys.
This is a guy whose career was cut short due to injury, but he still posted six double-digit sack seasons and finished his career with 100.5 sacks. He was named the Defensive Player of the Year twice (in 1990 and 1994), and made the Pro Bowl five times (1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995). Already a member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, this Hall of Fame enshrinement is icing on the cake for one of the more under-appreciated pass rushers in NFL history.
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