Shane Crawford: 'Footy was fun. Sam made it fun', inducting Sam Mitchell into Hawthorn FC Hall of Fame - 2024

17 April 2024, Regency Ballroom, Melbourne, Australia

[Congrats] to all the inductees tonight, a special mention to the Chief [Jason Dunstall was announced as an AFL Legend the same week] Well done. We all thought you were already a legend. So well done Jase.

Luke Hodge, obviously not speaking about Luke, but when he first arrived the Hawthorn, we needed him to be our saviour. There was a lot of pressure on him and he was our saviour. He was incredible. So good on your Hodgey.

Allan Jeans, he once babysat my mum. He was friends with my grandma and he gave me the best advice I've ever received. I’d just started training at Hawthorn, and we finished a skills session and I went over to Mr. Jeans and I said, how did I go?' And without taking a breath, he said, 'you don't train hard enough. When the balls come out, you go flat out. Darrin Pritchard, Tony Hall, they run through the ball. You need to do that.' And I thought, shit. I thought I trained hard. So that was the best advice I've ever had. So it's great that he's been inducted as a Legend.

Sam Mitchell. Okay, I'll be nice.

Sam Mitchell has always been doubted, even when he finally got himself drafted, there were always concerns and doubts and question marks. Is his endurance good enough? Is he quick enough? Can he play on both sides of his body? Is he tall enough? (He's not very tall. He's got a long torso and short little legs and looks a little like a little ball. But, that's as mean as I'm going to go. He's a little unusual and [to Mitchell] your head's probably too big for your body anyway.)

So anyway, he was doubted. There were lots of question marks. And the great David Parkin, and I'm pumped to be sitting next to David tonight, he gave Sam some wonderful advice when he started out, he said, 'You're very good at winning the ball. Don't be good. Be great.'

And guess what? Sam took that on straight away. He went to work on his strengths and he turned himself into one of the all time greats, especially when it comes to contested footy. And you've got to remember, he was tagged every game. And that's back when taggers were able to harass you, manhandle you and abuse you. Sam took it all in his stride. So much so that there were games when we played and Sam wasn't tagged, he used to come up to me and he used to crack the shits. He was offended the opposition weren't tagging him! He actually didn't know how to play without an opponent. That's how often he was tagged.

Sam had an unbelievable appetite for the game. He worked his butt off. He was so professional. A wonderful attitude. Amazing belief. Even when times were tough, it just made him more determined. He had so much courage. Courage to put his body on the line, courage to put his head over the ball. Courage to tell you what he thought, even though his teammates didn't appreciate it a lot of the times. Sam was always grabbing the ruckman after training and doing ball-ups and throw-ins nonstop. He was working at his craft.

Every pre-season, Sam would come at the end of endurance runs in the midfield group, which was good for some of the midfielders because they knew that they probably weren't going to come last. But, I always say that if you had a football and you took on Sam Mitchell one-on-one, no matter who you are, he would win eighty out of a hundred times.

Even if he was fatigued, he'd still find a way. Mental strength. I've never seen anything like it. I loved playing with Sam. You always knew what you were going to get. He was so reliable, so consistent. He was so good. He trained so much on the opposite side of the body that the coaches had to demand that he start kicking on his good side of the body.

There was nothing better than quick discussions in the middle of the MCG after kicking a goal. And this is sort of how it went, and this was later in my career when I had retired from winning the hard ball, and we would quickly talk to the ruckman. I would be in there with Sam and we'd go, ‘Okay, this is what's going to happen. Ruckman, you hit it to Sam. Sam, you take on three or four opponents and I'll be doing a fly by at nine o'clock or three o'clock and kick the ball into the forward line.' And sure enough, Sam would beat all the opposition, I would do a fly by, I actually felt like Tom Cruise from Top Gun. The ball would be handed on a platter and I would kick the ball inside.50.

Footy was fun. Sam made it fun.

Grand final 2008. Great day. [applause] That's what I'm talking about!. It was half time. It was hot. We were all sitting in the rooms trying to catch our breath. No one was making any noise. And all we heard from Clarko's rooms, the coaches' rooms, was someone absolutely copping it like I've never heard before. Deep down I was laughing, that it wasn't me. And it just happened to be Mitch. And I do remember talking to Luke Hodge at the time saying, 'we need to get around him. We need to get him going for the second half.'  When Mitch came out of the rooms, I locked eyes on him and I said, 'that seemed to go well.'

But what did he do? He didn't put up a white flag. He put up a premiership flag. His second half was magnificent. He dominated. He got away from his tagger, Cameron Ling, the mighty Geelong player he was. He kicked a goal. He turned himself not into a premiership player, but also a premiership captain. It was incredible. And that's what Sam was all about. When the times were tough, he'd find a way. He'd just find a way.

So I'm looking forward to coming back in a few years time to induct you as a Legend, after you coach the Hawks to your very first premiership as coach. But I’m not getting ahead of myself tonight, it gives me great honour to induct the great Sam Mitchell into the Hawthorn Hall of Fame. Good on you Sam.

Bill Cowher: 'The game is about the players', Pro Football Hall of Fame - 2021

Watch speech on youtube. The NFL doesn’t allow it to embed here.

8 August 2021, NFL Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio, USA

Thank you for your unconditional friendship, thank you, guys.

Secondly I talk about the players. It started with Pop Warner Football. To high school. To my NC State crew that's out here. To the Cleveland Browns, to the Philadelphia Eagles. No, no, no, don't go there! I've got two kids who were born in Cleveland!

You know, playing football is about comradery and having each other's back. It's all about building Relationships and friendships through the workout, practices, and games and all the time we spend together. Thank you, guys.

The players who played for me as a coach from the Cleveland Browns to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since our last enshrinement, we saw tonight we've lost a number of players. but there's one player who's not with us tonight, but embodies what this whole thing Is about. Hall of famer Kevin Green. Tara Green is with us tonight. He was a special man who I had the privilege of coaching. He embraced life, and his passion exuded in everything he did. He's with us in spirit tonight.

But the game is about the players. For all you guys that played for me, I want to thank you for all your sacrifice, commitment, and trust.

As a coach, you ask people to trust. What is trust? Trust is something as a coach you have to earn. Trust is unconditional, and trust can be powerful. To each and every one of you, whatever role you played, I want you to know it never went unappreciated. You were a reflection of our culture. To the coaches and support staff, to all the coaches who coached me, thank you for pushing me and believing in me and teaching me. People like Chuck Amato, my linebacker coach at NC State. Thanks, coach. I know I was a handful at times, but you always set me straight. To all the coaches who have coached with me. I always said the NFL assistant coaches are teachers, and I learned from all of you. Thank you for your sacrifice, dedication, and loyalty. You know, coaching, like playing, it’s a brotherhood. You share the joys of winning, The frustration of losing, and thrive on the next opportunity to do it again. During the season we spend more time together than we do with our families.

I want to give a special thank you to the coaches' spouses, tor running the home. It takes a special partner to be a coach's wife. to the sports staff, to the trainers and doctors, to the assistants, and front office and personnel departments. You lean on them. You can't operate without their expertise. Thank you for all of you for being patient with me.

Lastly, my family. It all started for me in Crafton, Pennsylvania. My mom and dad. Dorothy and Bill, and my two brothers Phil and Doug. We were a close family. Our schedules were formed around sports, practice, and whatever summer jobs we had. We had a special set of parents that loved each other and their boys unconditionally. They supported us and instilled in us the values we have today. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

To my late wife Kay and our three daughters Megan, Lauren, and Lindsey. We're a very insulated family. Kay was the rock. She was a great partner. You three girls gave me the balance and perspective and drive to succeed. I just want to make you proud to say that I was your father. I love you, guys, and the women you've become. And to my wife Veronica, Queen V as she's known, thank you for all you bring to the family. We needed a little music and harmony to blend this journey Together.

Thank you, and I love you.

And last i just want to say to my two main mentors, two Individuals who helped shape and mould me into the person I am today.

First Marty Shottenheimer, the only head coach i ever worked for. He talked me into coaching when I never coached before.

He gave me the opportunity to be a defense coordinator, when I'd never done it before. He won over 200 games in over 20 seasons. He had many assistant coaches that went on to become NFL coaches. four of which have won a Super Bowl. He was a master motivator, a stickler to detail, and it started with preparation. He's not only influenced the game, but he's influenced anyone that's ever played for him, coached with him, or coached against him. I speak on behalf of many, thank you, coach. You did so much for so many, for so long. One day you will be in the Hall of Fame.

I also want the say thank you to Pat. Thank you for all you did for Kay and I as you took us under your wing. And Kristen, your father, my first meeting with him was a Saturday basketball game of yours. He was coaching me through you. So thank you for having a good game.

And last, Dan Rooney and the Rooney family. I came to Pittsburgh at age 34. I knew of the tradition and expectation of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I grew up there. What i didn't know was how it worked on the inside. Who were the Rooneys? There I grew in every aspect of my life. Dan was a visionary leader. He never missed a teaching moment and inspired those around him. The Rooneys were about community and doing the right thing, and isn't that what this Hall of Fame family is all about? Let's use this platform to make a difference. Winning was a by product of Dan. In 2005, prior to our historic run as the first sixth seed to ever win a championship, that Monday he came into me, and Dan Rooney gave me these rosary beads. I said Dan, I'm not catholic. Dan said to me without missing a beat, “Coach, it doesn't matter. Every little bit helps.” Well, Dan, I still have them today. To those who unfortunately aren't with us, my parents, my wife kay, Marty, and Dan and Pat Rooney, you are here in spirit. I feel you, I love you, and hope you're as proud of me as I am of you.

Thank you Steeler Nation.

Darrell Green: 'You bet your life I'm gonna cry'. Hall of Fame speech - 2008

2 August 2008, Canton, Ohio, USA

Thank you. Deacon Jones said I would cry. You bet your life I'm going to cry. You bet your life I'm going to cry. You bet your life, I will. That's my boy. That's my boy right there.

It ain't this 'n' that. It's that [son]. Thank God. What a great day. What a great day. I want to thank the committee, the selection committee, the ones who put me up here, some men and women that watched my career over those 20 seasons and said he should be here and he should be here now. Thank you, guys and ladies. The Pro Football Hall of Fame, this city, this organization, thank you for hosting me and my family and friends. Jared, you are the man. I'll tell you I haven't seen everybody, but I've seen a lot in the world and material and so forth. And I have a clear vantage point, a crystal-clear vantage point, of what things are really important. It's Jesus Christ, his people, his family, it's your sons and daughters, your brothers and sisters. It's what makes me excited today.

A lot of people have traveled this with me. It's been a long time. The most special of them all is my parents. Both of my parents are deceased. They're the most special of them all, because I'm not here, I'm not here if they weren't here first. My dad, my dad, Leonard Green Sr., everybody said, "You're too little, you can't do it." He said, "Boy, you can run that ball."

They said no. And he said go. (Crowd laughs.) The most encouragement you can ever get in life is when a dad encourages his son. Encourage your son, that's what he did for us. I'd sure like to have a drumroll right now because I'm going to talk about the greatest mother in the world.

Am I going to cry? You gotta be kidding me. You don't know my momma and daddy. Gloria Green, baby, Gloria Green. She told me a story one day. I was about 10 years old. She said, "You know, the day you were born, I was in the room there, and they had me up on these things and nothing was happening. You weren't doing anything, and everybody left out of the room, maybe 20, 30 minutes." And all of a sudden she heard a scream. Somebody said, "Catch that baby!" She said, "You were about to hit the ground."

When I got into football, she said, "Don't let them big boys hurt you now." I remember the first day you were born. My parents were the best. My parents were the best. They were the best.

I thank the Lord for them. Even though my parents are gone, I thank the Lord that I can celebrate my accomplishments with the people that they left behind. Starting with the best seven siblings in the world. That's what I'm talking about. My two sisters, Linda Flannagan, Deborah Green. My oldest brother, Leonard Jr. My brother Lester, the real athlete, the one who taught me the ropes. My two younger brothers, Reggie and Elwin. And you asked me again, am I going to cry?

I even have 12 brothers- and sister-in-laws. Cathy, Katrina, Dana, Yolanda. That's on the Green side of the aisle. My brother Elmo. My brother-in-law Rick. And Len, his wife, Robin. Rudy, Greg, Cheryl on my wife's side, tons of aunts and uncles and nieces, nephews. And I can further on my mother as I acknowledge her three sisters. Fred, you talked about your dad. I have an aunt here. If I'm correct, she's 88. My aunt Odessa. She's representing my mom. I love you. Happy birthday.

My aunt Marie Lucas. She's here representing my mom and supporting me and my aunt Edith Howard. Love you, and thank you so much for coming and being with me. My uncle John is here as well. I thank all of you today. From the Redskins, 20 years she was like a mother. Her name is Ms. Barbara Fry, just like a mother to me. From the capital city, my nanna, Dr. Bernadine Lacy. No one can ever take the place of my mom, though. But this lady, for 23 years, she tried, and she's coming close. It's my mother-in-law, Ms. Francis Fenner. Thank you. I love you.

And out of this same group, I'll add to that group, a man who treated me like a son, a Hall of Famer, Mr. Bobby Mitchell. Thank you.

And my late father-in-law, Mr. Rudy Fenner Sr., they all had me covered. I love you all so much. Boy, I could use another drumroll right here, because I want to introduce the first family, the greatest family in the world, starting with my son. You guys obviously have seen him. Jared. They're probably sick of me telling you how much I love you, man. I love you, buddy. My oldest daughter Crystal is here with us today. My middle girl Jerrell. My baby girl, Joi. Joi Elizabeth. They're here with me today. (Crowd laughs.) And then there is the queen. My lovely wife, over 23 faithful, faithful years, Ms. Jewell Green. I love you, baby.

My biggest supporter. A true Hall of Fame wife. I love you. Just a quick going through this process of trying to acknowledge friends. Quick shout-out to Jesse H. Jones High School and community. To young people in that community, this is what you can do. This is what you can do.

To my college football alma mater, Texas A&I, the Javelinas of Kingsville, Texas. My teammates. You guys can stand up with your blue on. It's a Redskins day. The people of Kingsville, Texas. And also to my friends down at St. Paul's College, where I finished up my academic degree, thank you.

It's a lot of teammates and a lot of years, over 20 years of football. I have a few guys here, and I'd like to try to acknowledge a few. I can't do them all. I had three roommates in those 20 years. And I didn't like any of them. (Crowd laughs.) My friend Vernon, VD, Dean, was one. Scott "Shall Rock" Turner. And my man, a brother from another mother, Tim, I won't call him big anymore because he's a pastor, Johnson, at Orlando World Outreach Center. You guys were good roommates and teammates. Other guys here, my buddy Johnny Thomas. Martin Mayhew is not with us today, but Kent Coffey, Curtis Jordan, Ricky Sanders, Gary Claude, Rick Walker, Mark Mosley, Jim Irsay, Ray Brown, Charles Mann, Ken Harvey, Kinnard Lane. And a very special recognition for the late, just this year, Kevin Mitchell, DeShawn Taylor, two young men. That's right.

The Redskins Nation stick together. OK. I gotta get through this. Other special friends on the Redskins from years back. Mr. John Cooke and coach Larry Peccatiello on the defense and Torgy Torgeson, GM Charley Casserly, B.J. Blanchick, my assistant, Dan Riley, Jay Byrd, Al Bellamy, John Jenkins and Lego, they used to take care of the football field. That's how I could play 20 years. Those guys took care of the field. We didn't have the synthetic stuff. Thank these guys. And also the late Nate Fine and Joe Cuso, just to name a few. But they were the best. I finished up my last season probably three or four seasons under the great leadership, and I thank him today of Dan and Tanya Snyder.

And any of you all, as they used to say in my church, if you know prayer, pray for Tanya Snyder. She's been under the weather. Just pray for her. She's a good friend. Arlette Snyder, Dan's mom, and Michelle, and my good buddy, the late Jerry Snyder, who I consider my personal friend. Dwight Short and the rest of the management team who supported us for so many years as well, thank you so much for being here with me.

To the most football knowledgeable faithful, most caring folks in the world, the Redskins' faithful, our fans:

We share this day with all of you. Here and all over the world, back home and everywhere else. God bless you. Thank you. Now, I'd like to move on real quick.

Now, over the last six months I've been trying. I've been living in a constant state of what I call introspective meditation. Basically trying to discover my story. It's been hard. And in doing so I found that there's so many stories within my story. And so I guess they can start the clock now. I'm going to try to finish this up. I've already mentioned to you an incredible story my mom told me about the day I was born, and just the mercy and grace of someone seeing me. This is 1960. You can imagine what it was like then.

And so I'm grateful for that. And there's another story, unique story. I met in 1971, I think I was in sixth grade, I met two guys. One was Carnel Green and one was Clem Greenwood. These guys over time became my closest friends. Throughout my entire childhood, my school-aged years. We went over to Addicks Junior High School in the seventh grade. We decided, Clem and I, we were going to play football. We decided we would go and play for Bastian Elementary School, the school we just graduated from. We decided we would make the mile run home each day, because it would be better for us to play with kids more our size as opposed to kids our age.

And so we did it. Coach Jefferson and Coach Smith, they welcomed us and gave us an incredible opportunity. After we finished up that season, we were eighth graders, and though Addicks had eighth-grade football, Clem and I decided, you know what, we probably ought to just skip it. We're not going to play anymore. And so we went on through life and in 11th grade I went over to Jones High School. And I met coach John Smith and Coach Bayer, coach Roland Rogers. In 11th grade Clem didn't come and I said, "Coach, I'd like to play football." He looked at me, obviously about 5-foot-nothing and 100-and-nothing pounds, but they put me on the junior varsity and I played. I did well. And the next year, coach James Bo Humphrey, he's here with us today, he invited me to play and start at the cornerback position. About 145 pounds on my senior team as a varsity player.

And at that point I realized I was on my way, baby. I'm on my way. Hey, Coach, I see you back there. Yes, sir. Thank you. Coach, I'm going to tell on you, they told me this was the first time ever flying in your life and you're 79 years old. You all think that Hall of Fame is that important. Give him a hand.

But I was on my way at that time. And I needed to figure out how I could take this thing to the college level. An opportunity came again in the form of coach Fred Jonas. He came up and met with Coach Humphrey, and Coach Humphrey said, "I've got a little kid you might want to look at." Came over and talked to me and said, "Look here, son, I think I'll give you an opportunity. I don't have a scholarship for you, but we can get a grant." I said, "Coach, let me check my options first. I'll take it." (Crowd laughs.)

So I went with him. And when I went to school, Carnel went with me, too. He wasn't a football player but he went as well. And I was homesick from day one. As a matter of fact, Coach, you got my $20 my momma gave me. I want it back. (Crowd laughs.) She gave me $20 to ride the Trailway home, and I attempted on several occasions to escape, and he took my money. But one day Carnel said, "Man, I've got us some guys. We're going home." Met a guy from another school. He drives a car. And somehow our wires got messed up and they left me. I cried the whole weekend.

And Monday morning they were talking about this car wreck. And it was Carnel and them. And he didn't make it. He didn't make it. And I didn't make that ride either. I went home after that last game, Coach, remember? I went home. I couldn't take it. I was homesick. I lost my friend. I went home and got a job, went to night school. Grew up a little bit. And I came back to A&I a year and a half later.

Fred was gone. We had a new coach, coach Ron Harms, and he welcomed me in real quickly. Started me right off the bat. And a new opportunity came to me again in just those short three years. Now I'm about 165, 170, depending on who is saying it, and an opportunity came knocking again. A man by the name of Bobby Benson.

So they drafted me. They drafted me, put me in the draft. I'm going to the Redskins, and two weeks before I get ready to go, I'm at home. I'm pulling up on a Sunday morning to my mom's house after church. This young girl from the community runs up to my car and she's screaming and hollering. And she said Clem took his own life. And so I came to Washington, D.C., both of my buddies were gone. My sixth-grade best buddies. It was tough.

But when I went back to A&I, I met a family. They were the Melendez family and a good friend named Doug Taft, and they told me about a man named Jesus. Jesus saved my soul, gave me a different perspective on life. He showed me I could be a man and walk right, the things my son talked about. I can have integrity. I can be honest. I can be faithful. I can be true.

And so I brought what my parents had taught me and what Jesus had said, and I put that to work in my NFL career. And God told me not to leave Washington, D.C., so I was there for 20 years. That was during free-agency time.

Yes, I was a part of that. I was a part of that free agency. But God had a plan for me. I stayed the course. Not only did I stay the course on the field, I stayed the course faithfully to this woman for almost 24 years. Faithfully to my community. Faithfully to my pastor, pastor Brett Fuller, and the Grace Covenant Church in Chantilly, Va., faithful to my community and the centers and the other works and faithful to the people.

And so I stand here today, and I'll say to you something that is somewhat unique. But before I do, I want to say as well I acknowledge Bobby Benson that turned me over to Joe Gibbs.

And he turned me over to Richie Petitbon. He turned me over to my Hall of Fame buddy, coach Emmitt Thomas, and later on coach Tom Hayes. And a real shout-out to my good friend who helped me even from the offense, Terry Robiskie.

And I continue to move forward. Continue to stand strong. But these are the men and women, the people who have given me the opportunity to stand up here. They've given me the support to stand up here. And so as I prepare to close, folks, there's two things that I know: Number one, no matter how gifted you are, or how hard you work, there's no one willing to give you an opportunity, it doesn't mean a thing.

Secondly, I believe that this day is a part of the continuation of God's sovereign purpose and righteous destiny for my life. And that being knowing Jesus, loving him and making him known. I did that even as a professional football player everywhere I went.

And that was done through the visibility, the influence, the access, all that God gives us, the Lord gives us, while we play a childhood game. Can I tell you today at the expense of sounding real self-righteous, I belong here. I belong here.

I belong here. I belong here because I know what to do with it. I know what to do with God's fame, with God's dollars, with God's visibility, God's influence and relationships. I know what to do with it.

To Jesus be the glory. Thank you. Bless you.

Kurt Fearnley: 'An athlete whose sport has been born out of the back fields of rehabilitation hospitals', Sport Australia Hall of Fame, The Don award - 2018

If I could take a moment to acknowledge a few people, the family of Sir Donald Bradman, his son John, and his grandchildren, Greta and Nick. The chairman of Sport Australia Hall of Fame member and legend John Bertrand AO, the selection committee chairman Rob De Castella AO MBE. Sport Australia Hall Of Fame members, board members, dignitaries, sport leaders, ladies and gentlemen.

The fellow 2018 Don Finalists, Madison de Rozario and Lauren Parker, two of the strongest people that I know, and also people that I value not only as my peers but also as my friends.

To Sam Kerr and Ellyse Perry… two people within our community that we just know there will be statues built of them, so generations will be able to learn about your journey.

Will Power and Daniel Ricciardo… They fly the Australian Flag in places we rarely get to see, and you just feel proud that they are out there fighting.

And to Mark Knowles, who is one of the most truly decent people that not only I have been able to share the Australian uniform with and stage with but someone who I feel grateful to have even crossed paths. It’s an honour to share this role as The Don finalist with all of them.

Apologies for my absence, I am in Chicago, I am competing, but more importantly I am spending time with my wife, Sheridan and my boy Harry, and my little girl Amelia, who have seen me at a distance for far, far too long.

I grew up with an understanding about The Don and it was as much about integrity and humility as it was about excellence in sport. And I recognise tonight that I am the first within our Paralympic movement to hold up this prestigious award, but I have no intention of self-congratulation, I have to point back behind me to the generations of proud men and women with disabilities who allowed me to become the person and athlete that you see fit to receive this award.

An athlete whose sport has been born out of the back fields of rehabilitation hospitals. That was created by men and women who had the desire to see not only what was physically possible but was humanly possible.

I’ve heard the stories of Paralympic forebears who speak about losing friends, who felt too much shame in their experience with disability - and that is within our own community. There was too much shame and there wasn’t enough hope. So our sport was born out of that hope. Hope that somebody can be judged by substance and not image. That the difference that we each hold can be celebrated and not used to be segregated.

Through the medium of sport that’s what our movement represents…Hope.

Hope, that if sport can adjust to include those with disabilities, maybe the community can follow. And when our community is shifting to this idea of perfection where life, within even a picture, is filtered within an inch of humanity.

Our movement has greater importance than ever because the image of perfection isn’t real, it’s not sustainable and it’s not healthy. And our ability to share beauty and strength in this perceived imperfection, it just cannot be matched. I fundamentally believe that sport can lead this country and I believe the Paralympic movement is a jewel within the sporting crown.

I know that there’s a few people out there now saying I should just accept this award and bugger off. But sport within this country has never been about the individual… It’s been about the uniform leading.

I recognised earlier that I am first that I am the first within the Paralympic movement to receive this award, and I am incredibly grateful to have been given this opportunity – but I will guarantee that I won’t be the last. But we need every person within this room to embrace our community of people with disabilities, not only on the sporting field but within administration, in executive and within board and in governance roles.

Let’s lead the way. We won’t regret it. There is strength and substance in this community. Enough to build a country on.

Sir Donald Bradman once said that athletes who receive recognition, they also have a duty to mankind. Well I am honored to receive this recognition and I am honored by ‘The Don’ Award and I will do my best to be worthy of it.

Jerry Kramer: 'You can if you will', Pro Football Hall of Fame - 2018

4 August 2018, Canton, Ohio, USA

We’ve got to go back to Sand Point High for just a minute. Wonderful town, wonderful times. Small town – 3,000 people, big lake. We had a great football team. This clumsy ox, a sophomore, showed up for practice one fall. I had grown about a foot and I couldn’t walk and chew gum at the time. I was just a mess. I wanted to be a fullback. I didn’t want to be a lineman. I wanted to be a fullback. My coach says, ‘Well, Jerry, that’s wonderful. If you want to be a fullback, you’ll sit on the bench. But if you want to be a tackle, you’ll probably start.’

Oh, boy, I don’t want to sit on the bench. I think I’d rather start.’ So, I started but I wasn’t all that excited about playing in the line. We had a line coach, an older fellow named Dusty Klein, that came up one day and knew who I was and knew that I was struggling. He grabbed my hand and looked at my hand and said, ‘Son, you’ve got big hands, you’ve got big feet. One of these days, you’re going to grow into them. He said, you’re going to be a hell of a player one of these days.’ I looked at him and I was curious and a little amazed, a little amused, a little bit of everything and looked me in the eye and said, ‘You can if you will.’ He started to walk away and I said, ‘Can what?’ He said, ‘You can if you will.’ And he walked away and left me to think about that.

...

The feeling of team is a wonderful thing. It’s the thing that I think most of us play for is because there’s a team and we want to be part of the team. I got drafted in the fourth round by the Green Bay Packers. My classmate, Wayne Walker, who played with Detroit for 15 years, was waiting for me when I came out of class. He said, ‘You got drafted!’

I said, “‘Great, what round was I?’”

“‘Fourth round.’”

“‘Wonderful.’”

“’Who drafted me?’”

“‘Green Bay.’”

“‘Green Bay? Where the hell is Green Bay?’”

“We honestly got a map. ‘Oh, it’s way back there by Chicago. Oh, it’s by a big lake. Oh, that is a big lake.'

...

We were having a wonderful time playing football in Green Bay. We were professional football players and we were making a few bucks and life was good. Our record wasn’t so hot. We were 1-10-1 (in 1958) and had the worst record in the history of the Green Bay Packer organization. We played the Baltimore Colts one Sunday afternoon. They beat us 56-0. They had a white colt that ran around the field every time they scored. We damn near killed him.

...

We went onto Green Bay. I went to the Shrine Game and had a big contract negotiation. I’m sure these young guys would be excited by the numbers and the whole process. We’re playing in the Shrine Game and the general manager for the Packers calls me over and says, ‘We’d like to talk contract with you.’ We didn’t have agents, we didn’t have any information that was printed, we didn’t have any idea what the guys were making. I go to my college coach, I said, ‘What kind of money should I ask for?’ He said, ‘Jerry, if you can get $7,000, you’ll be doing really good.’ So, I went to San Francisco and went in to negotiate with the guys and my general manager said, ‘Jerry, we’d like to sign you to a contract. What are you thinking about?’ I said, ‘$8,000.’ (He said) ‘OK, sign here.’ So, I left a few bucks on the table. But then I recovered quickly. I said, ‘I want a signing bonus, too.’ He said, ‘What about $250.’ (I said) ‘That’d be great. That’d be super.’ I get to Green Bay and we get our first game check after the preseason and there’s a $250 deduction from my check. I go to the general manager and he says, ‘Jerry, that was an advance. That wasn’t a bonus.’  So, I didn’t get a bonus.

...

Coach Lombardi arrived and the world turned around. First of all, he came in and said, ‘I’ve never been a loser and I’m not about to start now. If you’re not willing to make the sacrifice, to pay the price, to do the things that you have to do to win, then get the hell out!’ We kind of looked at him and said, ‘Can’t be that bad.’ He said, ‘We’re going to work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life. There’s only three things in your life: your God, your family and the Green Bay Packers.’”

...

He worked us harder than we had ever worked in our lives. We had guys losing consciousness every practice. Every exercise session, two, three guys would lose consciousness. One kid showered after practice, got on the bus, went back to the dormitory, got to the line in the chow hall and passed out. We were not real receptive to his philosophical comments but he would talk to us every night about principles that he believed in. He started with preparation – how you must be physically, mentally, emotionally prepared for the game. He would go on and on and on and we’d go, ‘Well, everybody’s got to be prepared. We’ll give you that. We’ll give you preparation. But that’s it!’ Then he would talk about commitment – mind, body, heart, soul and most of all self. ‘Well, maybe. You’ve got to be committed if you’re going to do something. If you’re really going to be involved, you might as well be committed. So, I’ll give him commitment, too.’ And discipline. ‘You don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time.’ So, we got into discipline, consistency, pride, tenacity, belief in your team and believe in yourself. It was an incredible experience to be with him.

...

He could be both very, very harsh and very, very gentle. We’re working awfully hard and I’m having a bad day. We’re all having a bad day on offense. We’re on the 1-yard line and we’re scrimmaging the defense and we’re about 30 to 40 minutes into practice and we’re getting stopped and we’re really having a difficult day. I missed a block and I come in for some attention. A little bit later, I jumped offside. The coach comes running across the field and he gets about 10 inches from my nose and he goes, ‘Mister, the concentration period for a college student’s about 5 minutes, high school’s about 3 minutes, kindergarten is 30 seconds! And you don’t have that? Where’s that put you?’ (Kramer hangs his head.) It put me checking my shoe shine. “Practice ended shortly after that and I go up to the locker room. He’s out with Bart (Starr) and the wide receivers for about 40 minutes longer and I’m sitting in front of my locker, took my hat and my shoulder pads off, looking at the carpet and wondering what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. I’m thinking about maybe another football team, maybe another job, maybe something else. I’m deep in thought and totally wrapped up in it and he comes in the door, sees me down at the far end of the locker room, comes down, pats me on the back of the neck, messes up my hair, slaps me on the shoulder. ‘Son, one of these days you’re going to be the best guard in football.’ A surge of energy entered my breath and filled me up. It was his approval and belief in me that he was passing on to me and it made a dramatic difference in my life. Approval and belief, Mom, Dad, approval and belief. Powerful, powerful tools. From that point on, I wanted to play a perfect football game. If he believed in me, I could believe in me. So, I tried to play a perfect game and we had a wonderful group of guys.

...

Just an incredible group of guys but we also had a wonderful team that believed in team, that played as a team and lived as a team and enjoyed one another as a team. My best example of that is the 1965 season. I had nine operations. I came back the next season and weighed 189 pounds at one point during the offseason. When I got done, I got up to 218 and I went into the coach’s office to talk contract with him. He said, ‘Jerry, go home. Just go home. I’ll pay your salary, take care of all of your hospital bills, take care of everything. Just go home.’

“‘Coach, I can’t go home. If I go home, I’ll never play again. I’ll miss the whole season, I’ll probably never play again.’”

“‘Well, I can’t count on you.’”

“‘I don’t care if you can count on me. I’m going to play.’”

“‘Jerry, I wish you’d just go home.’”

“‘No, I’m not going home.’”

“We did this for 45 minutes. Finally, he says, ‘OK, I’m going to put you with the defense.’ I said, ‘Great, I always wanted to play defense, anyway.’” So, I was (a little) cocky because I was getting on the field and I certainly wasn’t prepared for it. Months later, I’d take the field and I’m about 220. We had a tradition when we’d run three laps around the field. I ran a lap-and-a-half and my lungs seized up. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t get any air, I couldn’t do anything at all. Don Chandler, my teammate and kicker, came over to me and said, ‘What’s wrong, pal?’ I said, ‘I can’t breathe.’ He says, ‘How much did you run?’ I said, ‘a lap-and-a half,’ He said, ‘I’ll run the other lap-and-a-half.’

“He said, ‘You and I are going to sit together during calisthenics. You’re going to do whatever you can do. If you can only do five sit-ups and they do 50, I’ll do 45. I’m a kicker and I don’t have to do anything if I don’t want to and I don’t normally. If they do 50 push-ups and you can only do three, I’ll do 47. Between you and I, we’ll do what one of those guys does.’ So, Don Chandler set beside me for 35 days and he helped me every step of the way. At the end of 35 days, I could do the calisthenics. I weighed about 235 at that point and I could do all the exercises, so they put me back on offense and we won a title in ’65, we won one in ’66, we won one in ’67, my book was published in ’68, so a great part of my life followed that probably would never have been without Don Chandler.

...

I’ve got a couple thoughts from other voices that I’d love to share with you about accomplishments and approval and those kinds of things. There’s a poem called, ‘Invictus’ (by William Ernest Henley). If you’re go be an achiever, you’re going to be a doer, you’re going to make something out of yourself, there’s certain principles and certain qualities you need. At this point, it kind of reflects the thought process of an achiever. It goes something like:

Out of the night that covers me, 
Black as the Pit from pole to pole, 
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.  

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud. 
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.  

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years  
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.  

It matters not how strait the gate, 
How charged with punishments the scroll, 
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

...
There was a fellow by the name of William Jennings Bryan who was a warrior and a really brilliant man. He said, ‘Success in life is not so much a matter of chance as it is a matter of choice.’ We choose to do the right thing and we choose not to do the right thing. So a great deal in life is a matter of choice. Coach Lombardi, to sum it all up, after the game is over, the stadium lights are out, the parking lot’s empty, you’re back in the quiet of your room, championship ring is on the dresser, the only thing left at this time is for you to lead a life of quality and excellence and make this world a little bit better place because you were in it. You can if you will. You can if you will. Thank you.

Frank Thomas: 'You can't win any game without teammates, and I had the best of them', Baseball Hall of Fame induction - 2014

27 July 2014, Cooperstown, New York, United States

Give me a second. Thank you, Mr. Commissioner, Ms. Jane Forbes Clark.

Today I would like to thank the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the baseball writers for selecting me as a first ballot selection in this 2014 Hall of Fame class. I'm so humbled and honored to be a part of this historic class of first ballot Hall of Famers. To share the stage in front of all the legendary men who made the game better for us all, I'm speechless.

I want to personally thank you all for being great role models and making this great game what it is today. Hard work, dedication and commitment. No short cuts to success, thanks for having me in your Club.

I would like to thank my parents, Charlie Mae Thomas, who’s here today, and the late Frank Thomas, Sr., for giving me the love and support that keep me involved in team sports in a lovely town Columbus, Georgia.

I would also like to thank my parents for working so hard to instill core values to make the best of life. We didn't have much but my parents worked tireless for me and my four siblings. Frank Sr., I know you're watching and smiling from heaven. Without you, I know 100 percent I wouldn't be here in Cooperstown today.

Thanks for pushing me and always preaching to me: You can be someone special if you really work at. I took that to heart, Pops. Look at us today. We're a long way from Columbus, Georgia. Mom, thanks for hanging in there and believing in the same vision. I know it wasn't easy, but I thank you for the motherly love and support.

Raising all of us was tough, but you and Dad made sure we made it. You guys made it look easy for us. I thank you and I love you, Mom.

I would now like to thank my beautiful wife, Megan, and my five wonderful children: Sterling, Sloan, Sydney, Frankie and Ashleigh Kate for making life so unforgettable for me. I know all five of you are different, and all five of you complete me day by day.

That's what makes me feel so blessed. You guys are my everything. There are no words to describe how much I love you guys.

I especially want to say thanks, Megan, for coming into my life 15 years ago. When we met, life was throwing me a curveball, one I could not hit. But meeting you really put pep in my step and made me believe in love again.

I thank you for teaching me the value of family first. You took my three older kids immediately as your own and changed my world forever. I know this wasn't easy but you proved your love for me from day one. I'm so blessed to be married to such a wonderful person. You complete me; I love you baby.

I would like to thank my siblings for all the love and support. My older sister, Gloria, Mary, Sharon and Michael. I can't name all my extended family and friends, I know you’re here, and I love you guys, but thank you for coming.

My older brother, Michael, thanks for being my best friend and for always having my back. Mike World, I can tell you everything and you always have advice for me, some good some and some bad, but thanks for being honest. I love you, Bro.

In life, you have infrastructure. I would like to thank my team who has kept me grounded and in touch with reality from day one. First, the late Robert Fraley. I know you're not here, my friend, but thanks for watching my career and giving me professional guidance you gave me. It's priceless.

Robert, you once said to me, "Life is not fair. You have to work hard and earn your respect." You were so right. I thank you for being honest with me. I know you're somewhere in heaven directing traffic because that's what true leaders do.

I would like to thank Frank Bumstead. I thank you for becoming my father figure in my life after I lost my father. Robert Fraley introduced us, and without you, I have no clue where I would be today. I love you, man. Taryn Anderson, thank you for dealing with me on a daily basis, keeping me straight. I appreciate everything you do, because I know it's not easy. Thank you.

And Lisa Rybicki, I thank you for managing my life for 16 long years. Without you, my career could have fell off a long time ago. I thank you for keeping everyone in check. You did a wonderful job. Thank you, Lisa.

Also like to thank Arn Tellum and Joel Wolf for picking up the pieces later in my career and guiding me to new beginnings in Oakland and Toronto. I thank you guys.

Now, I would like to thank the Chicago White Sox organization for drafting me into professional baseball. Special thanks to Jerry Reinsdorf, Eddie Einhorn, Larry Himes, Al Goldis, Howard Pizer and Mike Rizzo for taking a chance on a kid from a small town with many big dreams.

Jerry, thanks for a long and wonderful ride in that Chicago White Sox uniform. You did a lot for me and you still mean a lot to me. Thank you, my friend.

Also I would like to thank all my general managers and managers along the way in Chicago: Ron Schuler, Danny Evans, Jeff Torborg, Gene Lamont, Terry Bevington and Kenny Williams, Jerry Manuel and a special thanks to Ozzie Guillen, 11 years as a teammate, three years as a manager, and I can thank you for getting me my only ring because we had that special bond for many years. I thank you, Ozzie, thank you very much.

A special thanks goes out to Ken Hawk Harrelson. Hawk thanks for penning me the Big Hurt. Your nickname for me really changed my life forever.

Hawk, I’d also like to thank you for being a friend and a source of guidance all those years on the plane, through the ups and downs, through the good and bad times, it was priceless picking your brain. Thank you, Hawk.

I would like to thank the Oakland A's and Toronto Blue Jays for believing in me as a free agent and signing me into their organizations. Lou Wolf, Billy Beane, Dave Forrest, thanks for taking a chance on me, twice. That 2000 season was magical. Without it, I doubt I would be speaking here today.

JP Richardi, Alex Anthopoulos, I thank you and the wonderful Toronto organization for bringing me to Toronto. Hitting No.500 in that Blue Jay uniform was a dream. Thanks for taking a chance on a 39 year old, I really appreciate that.

In my career, I had so many magical moments in all three uniforms. It was a career filled with great memories and great people in all three great organizations. I will always be thankful for all of you. I would like to thank all the coaches who really made me tick and put in many hours of hard work with me.

You know I couldn't forget you guys. Bobby Howard, I know you're here somewhere, it started with you. You made me grow up in a hurry. Your no nonsense approach to the game was needed at an early age. Winning was the only option. You preached that and you made me work for it. Playing for you set my foundation for life. Love you and I thank you.

I would like to thank Pat Dye, Jay Jacobs, Hal Baird, under your guidance at Auburn University I became a man and you guys pushed me to new heights and instilled toughness and a will to win that I really never knew existed.

Coach Barrett, thanks for treating me like a pro before my time. I thank you, my friend. I know I couldn't make it here today, but I thank you.

Coach Dye, it's the same. I know you couldn't make it either, but I really thank you for letting me play both sports. The decision changed my life. I thank you for letting me follow my dreams. Your passion for what's right led me to my current package in baseball. I thank you Coach Dye and War Damn Eagle.

And this is a tough one. I have a special love for this man, Walt Hriniak, my favorite hitting coach of all time. I thank you for being honest from day one. You taught me to only want to be the best. You would always say to me, "Anyone could be good, Frank. But the special ones want to be great." Our work sessions were very consistent every day. It didn't matter if we were 10 for 10 or 0 for 10. It was the same process every day, no free lesson. Consistency and dedication was what made you tick, and I'm so grateful for your tutelage.

Having you first in the big leagues made it difficult for me when you left. Preparation for games wasn't the same any more, but I can always remember you saying, "Keep your f'ing head down and finish, Frank."

Thanks, Walter. Without you, I know I wouldn't be here in Cooperstown here today. Thanks to my other coaches who put in time with me. Sorry I can't ramble all day. I've been told by the rookie has to hurry you have.

Doug Mansolino, Mike Gellinger, Ron Jackson, Greg Walker, Gary Ward, Tom Pachoriek, Gerald Perry, Ron Washington, Ken Macha, John Gibbons, Mickey Bradley, Wallace Johnson,Dave Laroche, Joe Nossek, Cave Man Art Kushner, Mark Salas, Tommy Thompson, the late Kevin Hickey, Chet Demedio, Steve Odgers, Walt Pasternak, Allen Thomas, Clarence Cockrell and Donovan Santas and a special thanks to my friend and coach, Jim Fannin, I know you're here somewhere, Jim. You told me to live in the zone, on and off the field, and even today, I thank you, Buddy.

A heartfelt thanks to all my trainers. Thanks for all the hard work getting me to the post every day. Herm Schneider, I thank you for all the overtime you put in with me, 16 years of TLC. Hermie, thanks my man, you gave me the best professional care year in and year out. I'm so appreciative of you.

Mark Anderson, Brian Ball, Larry Davis, Steve Soupy Sales, Walt Horn, George Poulis - my main man George Poulis, Dave Abraham, Scott Takoe, Amy George and Tim Soder, I thank all of you for your help along the way. Just like to say special thanks to my clubhouse managers, I know they never get any love. Clubhouse managers, pr managers, traveling secretaries; the late Chicken Willie Thompson, Vinnie Fresso, Gabe Morrell, Steve Vuchinich, Jeff Ross, Scott Refeirt, Jay Steinhouse, Glen Rosenbaum, Mickey Morabtio, Mike Shaw, I thank you all for taking care of me. You're all great at what you do. Thanks for all the love.

I want to have a special thanks to all my doctors, I couldn't include all of you today, but a few of you, I'd like to say, thanks again, James Boscardin, Dr. Price, Lowell Wyle, Sr. Dr. Elliot Schwartz, I know Elliot is here. Thank you for what you did for me in Oakland, you're a friend and buddy.

But I have to say one special thank you to Dr. Richard Ferkel. Yes, Dr. Ferkel is here. You repaired my navicular fracture when everyone said I was done. I was sitting at 452 home runs and you looked at me and said, "I'm going to get you back on the field." You never doubted putting me back there and you helped me finish my career. And getting to Cooperstown, I never thought it would happen. I thank you, you mean so much to me and you mean more to me now as a friend. Thank you, Dr. Ferkel.

Getting here was a reflection of my teammates. You can't win any game without teammates, and I had the best of them. Over 850 of them in my time. Getting here as a series of reflections of their talents. I don't have all day here, I only have ten minutes and I might be over – I’m sorry, I'm an emotional guy because I wear my heart on my sleeve. So I'm going to give my guys a verbal montage, please bear with me.

Please bear with me: One Dog, Rock, Grabek, R.V., Ozzie, Joey, Pudge, Karko, Psycho Lyons, Bo, Ellis, Black Jack, the Deacon, Sugar Ray, Alex, Wilson, Bere, Roberto, Thiggy, James Baldwin, Billy Bob, Buehrle, Hot Rod – thanks for the program Hot Rod. D. Bo., Magglio, Carlos, Rowand, Jermaine Dye. He’s here today along with Aaron Rowand. Ivan, Phil, Paulie, Crede, Uribe, Charles Johnson, Sandy, T. Phillips, Harold, Melido, Howry, Foulke, Mike Jackson, Flash, Kenny, Sandy, A.J., Robbie, McElroy, Marullo, Spanky, Julio, Willie Chill, Singleton, Mouton, Davey, El Duque, Fordyce, Leifer, G. Bell, C. Everett, Danny Pasqua, D.J., McCaskill, Paul, Huff, Valentin, Abbott, Devereaux, Kammy Kam (mentioned him twice by accident), John Kruk, Sirotka, Magrane, Freeman, Krueter, Norton, Tartabull, D. Lew, Scott Eyre, Navarro, Bradford, Castillo, Mark Johnson, Garland, Lowe, Eldred, Graffanino, Marte, Bartolo, Cotts, Glover, Loaiza, Contreras, Freddy, Politte. I know it’s long. Sorry. Jenks, Lee, B.A., Podsednik, Blanton, Kiko, Duke, Gaudin, Harden, Haren, Kotsay, The late Joe Kennedy. He left us too soon and was a special friend of mine. Saarloos, Huston, Zito, Kendall, Melhuse, Swisher, Chavy, Crosby, Ellis, D.J., Scutaro, Milton, Kielty, J. Payton, Doc Halladay, Accardo, A.J., Downsie, Frasor, Rios, Casey, League, McGowan, Marcum, B.J., Towers, A. Hill, Vernon, Johnny Mac, Orlando, Reed, Raja and Big Red.

Yeah, it was real. You guys are my family away from home. I miss all of you, I’m glad to have known all of you, I’m sorry I couldn’t name the rest of you guys. I’d probably be getting hit on the head right now from the guys in the back, but I thank you man.

In closing I would like to say thank you to the city of Chicago. You guys make the Big Hurt who he was in the greatest sport town in America. I know I'm biased, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment playing for you all. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Oakland and Toronto, I thank you for great fan bases, also making me feel at home. It was short lived but I appreciate the love from both of you great cities.

To all you kids out there, just remember one thing from today. There are no shortcuts to success. Hard work, dedication, commitment, stay true to who you are. God bless you all, and I thank you.

Bob Uecker: 'When he called me about wrestling, I didn’t really want to do it', WWE Hall of Fame: 2010

27 March 2010, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Thank you very much. Thank you Richie (Dick Ebersol), long time friend. I had a lot to say but that (Antonio) Inoki guy (who spoke in Japanese) said the same stuff I was going to say. I was back there saying, ‘What’s he doing? He stole my stuff.’

Anyway, I wasn’t always a great player. People say, ‘You can talk the way you do because you were always a great ballplayer.’ Well, I wasn’t. Signed for a very modest $3000 bonus with the Braves. Which aggravated my old man because he didn’t have that kind of money to put out. But the Braves took it. And from there, I went on, was with the Braves twice actually. they didn’t believe I was as bad the first time, the second time I proved it . St Louis Cardinals where I showed up for every game, which i think showed great team spirit. And those I didn’t show up for I always tried to catch on the radio.

I played for the St. Louis Cardinals, where I won a world championship in 1964. Bing Devine was the general manager of the Cardinals at that time. He asked me to do him a favor that would really help the club. I said, ‘Sure, I’m a team guy.’ He said, ‘We want to inject you with hepatitis. That will allow us to call somebody up to take your spot.’ I said, ‘Can I sit on the bench?’ He said, ‘Yeah, we’ll put a plastic thing around you. Maybe you can go over and shake hands with some of the Yankee players and infect them.’ We went on to win the World Championship that year.

Actually, the first sport I tried when I was a youngster was football. My dad didn’t know a lot about sports but he wanted me to do what all the other kids were doing. He gets me this football. We were passing it and trying to kick it. I couldn’t throw it. He can’t throw it. We were really getting aggravated and stuff like that. Then a nice-enough neighbor came over and put some air in it, and it made a huge difference.

Actually, I took an interest in wrestling, in high school. I wasn’t a very big guy. I was about 5-11. I weighed, I don’t know, maybe 75, 80 pounds. A couple guys used to wear my supporter as a wristband. I came from a family that didn’t have a lot of money. My mother made my supporter out of a flour sack. Little specks of flower came dropping out of it. In the front, it said ‘Pillsbury’s Best.’

Tonight, I wore my Hall of Fame ring from wrestling. They gave everybody one from the WWE, thank you very much. All the other wrestlers got a diamond. I got a zircon. And theirs is not adjustable like mine. At the awarding of the championship rings the following year, that’s what every player’s dream is, a world championship. I remember opening night in St. Louis, 1965, they’re presenting the rings and they threw mine out in left field. I found it and put it on. Nobody else got theirs thrown. They had to hand it to them (shrugs).

I set a lot of records. I never stole a base in the major leagues. I never attempted to steal a base in the major leagues. I showed up for every game, which I thought showed great team spirit. The ones I didn’t show up for, I always tried to catch on the radio.

Meeting (NBC Sports and Entertainment Chairman) Dick Ebersol a long time ago. Midnight Special. Saturday Night Live. All those shows through Richie I participated in. When he called me about wrestling, I didn’t really want to do it. I was doing baseball Spring training was when Wrestlemania III was going to take place in Detroit. I kept telling him no but he came out there and we finally agreed to do it, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life.

I remember going to Los Angeles to do the promotion stuff. It was Hulk Hogan, (Andre) the Giant, (Bobby) the Brain (Heenan), Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, who coincidentally said, ‘Uke, why don’t you take a picture with Damian?’ I said, ‘Who’s Damian.’ He said, ‘He’s in the bag.’ I said, ‘So am I. Give me a couple more beers.’ So he took the snake out and I put him around me. He said, ‘Don’t worry. He’s big and he's strong.’ He got his tail around my leg and I’m holding him and I’m looking at Jake and he’s got this huge scar right here (on his chest). I said, ‘What is that?’ He said, ‘That’s where Damian bit me.’ I said, ‘Oh, what a great time that must be. I hope he bites me, too.’

I remember the one thing with Jake with Donald Trump’s wife, Ivana. He put that snake down at her feet and she left Wrestlemania so fast, she just left Donald there and she ain't seen him since, I guess.

We did the promotional stuff. I got to work with Mary Hart. Beautiful lady, great sport and all that. When we go to Detroit to do the show, I’m having the time of my life. And when the Giant came out and choked me, and let me go, I didn’t know he was going to do that. I really didn’t. I was supposed to talk about Vanna White. He didn’t care about Vanna White. He wanted to kill somebody. When he choked me and let me go, now if the camera stays on, you see me on top of Andre. Oh yeah. Vince McMahon was screaming, ‘Get off him. He’s got a match.’ I got him in a step-over toe hold, I don’t really know what it was. It wasn’t all Andre. I remember later on, when I was changing underwear (laughter)… I wasn't going to let that guy get away with that.

As I said earlier, some of the greatest times I’ve had in sports, entertainment, anything else, was to be around Richie, Vince McMahon and all these wrestling greats. The old-timers back there, back when I wrestled, I think got more interested in wrestling, when I was 8 or 9 years old, my mother started taking in wrestler’s laundry to make a couple extra bucks. I remember taking Dick ‘The Bruiser’s’ tights and putting them on. They were tight, nice. He came in the booth one day. I was doing play by play, imitating Dick ‘The Bruiser.’ (Gruff voice) Swing and a miss, struck him out. One day he came in and said, ‘Let’s see if you think you’re funny now.’ He was a football player with the Green Bay Packers, Dick ‘The Bruiser.’ All the wrestlers that came to Milwaukee in those years wrestled at the (indistinguishable) Hall. I started becoming a wrestling fan. I got a kick out of that. I still do today. Unbelievably strong, athletic. It reminds me of myself when I was younger.

When I look back, I was a right-handed-hitting, strikeout artist. Sooner or later, I was going to hit .200. It tied me with another sports great, Don Carter, one of our top bowlers. To have been a member of baseball team, to broadcast baseball today, to mess around with television shows and movies and all of this stuff, and tonight especially to be here with you. When I walked in here tonight and looked around, I said, ‘Man, this pace is jam packed.’ I know it will be tomorrow, too, for Wrestlemania. I'll be there, too.

Anyway, I wanted to thank you for your time tonight and patience. To all the members of the WWE, like I said before, great athletes, unbelievable entertainment. I don’t know how you guys do it, I really don’t All the body punches you take. That’s why I didn’t want to play and get hurt. Getting a hit once a month was OK. Hitting .200, that was OK. If you did more, they’d expect more of you. One hit a year, let’s leave it at that. Anyway, thank you very much for your time. Thank you."

Rick Davies: 'If you're going, nick off, if not, shut up about it', AFL Hall of Fame acceptance - 2013

4 June 2013, Parliament House, Canberra, Australia

Andrew McLeod: 'There were certain periods in my career, and games and moments, where everything was in slow motion', AFL Hall of Fame induction - 2014

5 June 2014, Crown Palladium, Melbourne, Australia

Whateley: Twice he went to grand final day, on both occasions we walked away with the Norm Smith Medal, along with the premiership medallion. Andrew McLeod, welcome to the hall of fame. Tell me Andrew, when notification of this arrived, what did you go through? What were your emotions?

It was quite interesting, I was heading out the door with my wife, and I can't remember where we were going, and something caught my eye in the letter box. So, I marched over and grabbed it, and I get a lot of mail from the AFL being a 300 game player, and I looked at the letter and I saw Tony Peek's name on the back, and I went: "Geez, I don't often get mail from Tony Peek, so something's going on." And I walked back to the car, and my wife Rachel was sitting in the passenger seat, and I handed her the letter, and said: "You better open this, because if I do, I think I'm going to cry." So, I got her to open I, and she was like: "What are you going to cry for? What's going on?" And I said: "Well, have a look at the letter." I'm like: "No duh, Tony Peek."

 And she opened the letter and started reading it, and for about ... I guess it's like a bit like when you were ... When the premiership, that first 15 seconds, just the emotion of it. And all these thoughts went through my head, freaked out, there was a couple of tears. And yeah, I just was like: "I've got to ring my dad." You know, so that was probably my first instance ... My first instinct, from there, ring my dad, tell him about it. And yeah, like I said, then after that emotion had settled down, I was like: "Phew."

Whateley: Does it hit home, how far you've come? A displaced family after cyclone Tracey and Katherine. All the way to presenting before the United Nations, honoured backer footballer, and here you are in the hall of fame, it's quite the journey.

It is, yeah I often think back and go: "Well, wow." You know, a little pudgy boy from Katherine, growing up and you know, got the opportunity to follow a dream, play on a bigger stage that I could ever have imagined. And you know, play a game, I loved it for my career of 16 years, I couldn't ask for anything better. And I've got this thing in my head that, one of my mates was mentioning before about my brother always said ... My dad said to me when I was a young bloke, that you can't eat footballs, and you know, can't be a footballer as a career, but I proved him wrong.

Whateley: Your football journey actually goes back through the generations. The Genesis is your great-grandfather.

It is, and my great-grandfather was one of the first Aboriginal [inaudible 00:03:54] players to be registered to play. You know, back in the Territory, back in the early 1900s, his name, or my family name - the Amat name is emblazoned on the entrance gates at TIO Stadium, it's named after my great-grandfather. So, I guess it was inevitable that I was going to play footy, you know, he played for the Darwin Buffalos, or back in the day they changed names a lot of times, the Vestey's, now the meat works was part of that. And yeah, I guess it's one of those things you don't realise until you're a bit older, that I guess what that impact is on you as a person. But back in those early days, you know, he paved the way for myself and a lot of the other guys that've come through.

Whateley: And did you always have a strong sense, when you played, that you were representing your community?

Oh, always, you know. Coming from the Territory, I was pretty lucky in ... My favourite player was Michael McLean, growing up - Magic McLean. And he's married to my cousin, so I was pretty fortunate that at Christmas lunches, I got a bit of time with him. And I was just a pest I guess, and asking him 100 million questions about footy and what it's like to play in the big smoke. And he was real good to me, and then I had guys like Maurice Rioli to look up to. Michael Long, who I saw here earlier, Gilbert McAdam, Darryl White, and the like, that were fantastic role models for me. And you know, when I got the opportunity to pursue my dream and a career in footy, I want to be just as good a role model as those blokes were. So, it was something that ... And because of, you know, the impact that my family have had, and my grandfather and his story as well, that it's important for me to be able to ... A little snotty nosed kid from the Territory, that I could actually do something, and give other kids the aspiration to be able to reach their dreams.

Whateley: You're a beautiful footballer to watch, and I don't doubt it was exhilarating to play. Can you put us inside it, when it all lined up for you. Was it like playing the game in slow motion?

Yeah, it was in certain times. It's one of those things I get ... I think as a footballer, you love to be able to bottle those moments, when you're caught in certain periods in my career that ... And games and moments where everything was in slow motion, and I think that's when ... For me, it's when I played my best football. There was always ... I felt like ... It felt like I was one step ahead all the time, and I could read the play, and I knew where the ball was going to go. And you know, I was fortunate enough ... I wish I could have produced more of those moments, as we all do. You know, in our careers, that didn't happen as often as you'd liked it to do, but in those moments when it did happen, you know, you almost felt like you were unstoppable. But you know, you could ... And that's what footy did to you, and that's ... I mean, that's what I did in the living room in my moms and dad's house, when I used to break my moms vases growing up, kicking socks around the house, and in the back yard breaking their palm trees, and used to get sworn at out the back window.

But that's just the things that I was doing as a kid, in the back yard. And when I played, you know, on some of the biggest stages in the world, in terms of the MCG, or at AMI stadium, or wherever that was. It just felt like I was doing ... I was recreating those moments, that I was playing as a kid.

Whateley:  And those two grand finals, which are such a part of the focal aura of your career. Two Norm Smith Medals, and playing in front of 100 000 people, which would have been more than the whole population of where you grew up. How do you reflect on those two memorable days?

I was very lucky that, you know, we obviously had Malcolm at the time, who was just fantastic in ... One: being able to put things into perspective, and give you confidence, and allow you to go out and be calm. But that was one thing in the grand finals, I wasn't ... I was never really nervous when I played in the GFs, I was quite comfortable, because like I was about playing those games, I've played in 100 grand finals, in my Mum's lounge room. And, you know, I'd been there before, so I knew what to expect, sort of. But until that moment, and you walk out onto the MCG, and there's nearly 100 000 people, and the first thing I did was go: "Wow, there's more people here than where I live, than where I come from." And that was the most scary thing, and then it was like: "Oh, what did Blighty say?"

You've got to soak it all up and embrace it, and don't get caught in the moment, but yeah it was just fantastic days. And like, you go out there and for me as a ... And the other thing too, was the pressure I always felt because, the only two guys that have ever played in the grand final before me, one was named Maurice Rioli, one was named Michael Long, and they both won Norm Smith Medals. So, I sort of felt that pressure a little bit, but I think it is nice to be able to embrace it. And them, two of my great idols growing up, how good would it be to be able to emulate that.

Whateley: And emulate it, you did. You've left us with so many great memories, maybe a thank you or two as you finish.

Yeah, I would ... Yeah, I think I better thank my wife first because she's an integral part of obviously, my life and from growing up in Katherine and ... Sorry, in Darwin, and going to school together. You know, as a young bloke, and we embarked on this dream, I was a bit wet behind the ears, didn't know what was going to happen. And a bit like some of the other guys who I just wanted to play one game, and I was lucky to play it for 16 years. And you know, my wife has been a special part of that, and I thank her dearly. She's ridden a lot of the highs and the lows, and you know, she's ... I guess she's my rock as well.

To my two beautiful children, you know they ... It's one of those things in your footy career, when you have children, and before that everything is about yourself, and the way that you go about it, and your preparation. And trying to do everything you can, and then your kids come along and then you find yourself, you know, getting inspired and fired up by the Wiggles, or something like that. You find out quickly that you're not that important. So, my children, they keep me humble and grounded, and I'm just dad to them, and that's what I love about it.

To my mum and dad, who I guess I'm indebted to, I owe a lot to. They drove me to training as a kid, and gave me the opportunity to pursue a dream, and to ... You know, they just ... They sacrificed so much, and I do wish my mum was here to be able to share in this moment.

But also to my brother, who's not here, I wish he was here but my brother is one of those people that puts things into perspective a lot. And when I told him I was getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, he said: "I already thought you were there." But like most big brothers, I always wanted to be like him, and he was my hero.

Who else have I got? Oh, my mates that are sitting over there on the table, four of my great mates who have been there through most of my career, growing up and as a kid, continue to inspire me and give me great strength. And I appreciate your friendship for that.

To the Adelaide Football Club, who's part of my family, and has been part of my family for a long time now, for about 20 years. I will forever be indebted to the Adelaide Football Club, they gave me an opportunity as a boy, to pursue my dream and turn me into a man. So, all the past and present at the Adelaide Football Club, I thank you very much.

And to the game of football itself, along with my family and my friends, I am forever indebted, thank you.

Whateley: He's given us another beautiful memory tonight, Andrew McLeod, as a member of the Australian football hall of fame.

Jeff Thomson: 'It’s all those people that help you as kids', Hall of Fame - 2016

27 January 2016, Crown Palladium, Melbourne, Australia

Don't worry, I won't keep you long.

Cricket was something I could do for fun ... I think anyone who knows me would realise that, and we were lucky in our day, we could play for fun.

I admire these guys who play now, they’ve got to work their arses off, they got to play that much cricket, I mean all the stuff they’ve got to put up with. All the press, all the media everything like that.

We didn’t have to put up with any of that stuff.

I know this is going to shock you, I’m actually gone a bit soft in my old age ... no it’d be hard work, it’d be hard work.

We flew under the radar. I used to play football in the off-season so I could get away from cricket. I didn’t have to do it 12 months of the year. I don’t know how they do it 12 months of the year, these blokes. They wonder why they all break down, why wouldn’t they break down. Christ almighty.”

I’m amazed, myself here tonight. You get old ... I’m 65 years old and everything shrinks when you get older, that’s why I’m happy to wear coats and all this shit— you don’t show your arms, y’know. .

“Even my eyeballs are shrinking. I had to go to Specsavers the other day and you wouldn’t believe it, the only good thing about getting old I found, they gave me these glasses for close up so they magnify everything.

I used them in the shithouse just before and I was pretty happy with what I had down there.

I’ve just got to get a pair for my wife.

No seriously. I’ll tell you why it’s a big honour, to follow Wally Grout. Now seriously, Nelma used to umpire me, I mean how do you reckon that went, Wally Grout’s daughter used to umpire me at Toombul -- Wally and I both played for Toombul, not together, she was the umpire in the games.

I was a quiet bloke, I think Nelma will tell you I didn’t sledge too much, especially girl umpires and that. We had a great time. And several other blokes ... Ian Davis came up and played with us. So we had a few Australian players in that side. In that club, throughout the years.

So it’s a real big buzz.

For me it’s all about the kids, my wife down there, all the shit she’s had to put up with for 40 years, I mean she didn’t get all the trips you girls down here get now, I’ll tell you that

 Mate, we had to sneak them in on planes ... they used to stay in some shit-hole down the road. I’m serious. All the blokes will tell you ... no wonder half of them are divorced. No, not really.

She’s a wonderful girl, and to put up with all of my crap is so good, and I got three wonderful boys from them,

But it’s all about, I mean the reason you’re here, What I’m happy about is all the parents — my parents, my old man is dead, my mum is still alive, she’s 97 … thank Christ, I hope I don’t last that long … not the way I drink. I’m going to run out of money very shortly, especially tonight —

It’s all those people that help you as kids ... you know the ones that don’t come in this room tonight, the ones that do all the shit when you’re a kid, taking you to the games.

And they never be here. They’re never the recognised ones … but they’re the ones that took you to all those game,and they sit back, and they’re the ones that ring you up and say ‘well done’.

So it’s for those people, yeah. Thank you.

John Greening: 'They can play in safety now', Collingwood Hall of Fame - 2011

11 March 2011, Collingwood season launch, Melbourne, Australia

Thank you. I apologise because I should be still here now. But something happened, I fell over my shoelaces.

I’ll tell you a story. It’s not doom and gloom, because we’ve got a great side coming on.

I was at Caulfield Rehabilitation Centre standing on a rocker board. A rocker board--- trying to get the paralysis out of the right side of my body. I was standing there, six foot one, strapping, fit guy, looking terrific. Except I had a problem. I could hardly move it.

Little boy in a wheelchair over in the corner. Little boy – don’t know what happened to him, he was about 14 or 15 I think, the only way he could move was with his little crippled hand, push a stick. He could go forward, to his right, or back.

Only way he could get to have a meal, they'd feed him.

Only way he’d get to go to bed, they’d pick him up and put him in his bed, his mum and dad, or in this case, like I was, he was an inpatient, it was the nurses .

One day I was standing on the rocker board, getting this problem, out, and this little boy, he gets his little hand, he pushes over, and stood there. I looked over the railing. He said to me, ‘what - are - you - doing - here?’

About twelve or fourteen months later I made a comeback. I made it because I wanted to prove something. I just wanted to prove something. And sure it was a waste of a life and so forth ... but look we've had a terrific ...

We’ve got the guys coming on this year, they're going places, give them the support, they can play in safety now, they can play and earn an income for their families, and their children, I don’t know how young they are.

When I got off that plane I was fifteen. I said I was going to be the best. I wanted to be the best and that’s how life evolved.

But like that little boy in the wheelchair, I never had a problem. This kid wouldn’t get out of his chair.

And when you wake up in the morning, and start grizzling, ‘oh it’s bloody cold and miserable’ you haven’t got a problem. Lift your spirits up, and support all our players, give them the best, give them everything on and off the field, because we are the best, and this is Collingwood, and I still get letters from Collingwood people. I love Collingwood, and I will go to heaven, or wherever may be, loving Collingwood.

Thank you, and have a great night.

Richie Benaud: 'Meeting people and being mixed up in cricket has been one of my great joys', Hall of Fame speech - 2007

5 February, 2007, Crown Palladium, Melbourne, Australia

Distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen, thank you.

That is one of the most moving receptions I’ve ever been given, and I’m extremely grateful and privileged to be inducted into the hall of fame this evening.

In the twenty five who are already in the Australian cricket hall of fame, I played with or against eight of them , and I watched another eight from various stands around the Sydney Cricket Ground. And as I believe this particular hall of fame to be the best in the world, because it is, well it’s quite difficult to get into,  but I do believe it’s the best in the world. I’m a selector and I know how many great players are not in there at the moment, and it is an outstanding thing Cricket Australia and the Melbourne Cricket Club have done to set it up and have, now, twenty-seven people in there.

I was lucky when I started off in cricket with New South Wales because there were three players in there who were mentors. Ian was kind enough to mention that I in some small way might have helped him by being a mentor. I had Arthur Morris and Keith Miller and Ray Lindwall in the New South Wales and Australian side when I first played, and they were simply wonderful.

For all young players, not just me, but for every young playerthat they came across, they showed them the way to play, and the way to behave, and taught them that cricket had a lot of spirit in it, and could be played with spirit, but it had always to be, the right spirit.

You saw a little earlier Sir Donald Bradman talking about Charlie Macartney, and it’s a particular honour for me to be inducted with Charlie Macartney tonight. Don Bradman was talking there seeing Charlie Macartney make 170 in the whitewash series of 1920-21, and the thing was he had gone to the ground with his father, and he’d said that he’d never rest until he played on that great ground, once he’d seen Macartney make that 170. Well coincidence is everything because my father, in 1921 was aged sixteen, and he was a pretty good country schoolboy cricketer, and his parents gave him for his seventeenth birthday present, he was born on Feb 28, for his seventeenth birthday present they gave him the train tickets from Coraki which is way up on the north coast, and money for the accommodation, so that he could see the test match. And whenever I asked him about the great players, he said, ‘well I know that Bradman must be the best, because everyone says he is and players who played with him say Bradman was the best.’ He said, ‘but aw, Macartney, he was the greatest player that I ever saw. ‘ And there was always a touch there that he’d feel disloyal, if he hadn’t mentioned Macartney in the same breath or even better than Don Bradman.

We had Glenn McGrath talking about being a country boy over there, and all the land he owns in the outback at the moment. Well I’m a country boy as well. In the Herald Sun this morning,  there was a photograph of a little kid, that was me, with a bat almost as tall as myself, batting behind a motorcar. And that was when, my father was a schoolteacher, and we’d been to Penrith and to Koorawatha and Jugiong, my father was playing for the Jugiong school, and then he played for the representative Jugiong side if that’s not too grandiose a term, and the motor car was a 1929 Chevrolet, when you have a look at the Herald Sun later when you get home, you’ll see that it was pretty old. Now I was six years old at the time, and that was the match Jugiong against Berramagra, and I’ll bet not even Glenn McGrath has been to Berramagra.

Now one of the great things about being in cricket is the people you meet. I came to Adelaide and bowled against Ian Chappell very early in his career and he made a hundred against New South Wales. And it was a pretty good hundred I can tell you. But there was one thing about it that worried me. Les Favell was a good mate of mine. He was Chappelli’s skipper at the time. And we got off the field and it was 106 degrees, and we were absolutely knackered. And I went and said to Favell, ‘what’s with this young Chappell? He’s a pretty good player, ‘ and he said, ‘Yeah he is, he gave you a bit of a hammering, didn’t he?’ I said ,  ‘yeah, but he kept grinning at me. Is he all right?’ And Favell said, ‘Don’t worry about that. He was just gritting his teeth and he does it every ball, and he’ll make a lot of runs.’

Meeting people and being mixed up in cricket has been one of my great joys. I thank you all very much indeed, it is a privilege and an honour to be inducted, I’ve had a lot of assistance along the way from players in whose teams I played, and captains, and from everyone else whose had the pleasure of playing this game, this great game, and also from Daphne, a splendid lady who is much loved.

Thank you.

Michael Irvin: 'Look up, get up and don't ever give up", Hall of Fame induction - 2007

4 August 2007, Canton, Ohio, USA

Thank you. Father, I'd like to thank you for allowing us all to travel here safely, thank you in advance for the same in allowing us to travel home.

Father, thank you for the man that you sent me to help me in Bishop T.D. Jakes, my spiritual father. I ask you now to put your arms around my Hall of Fame classmate Gene Hickerson and his family. Father, hold them tight and love them right. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen.

Thank you.

I want to send a special love to all the people in Dallas, Texas, special love to all the Dallas Cowboy fans all over the world. Special love goes to my hometown of South Florida and all the Miami Hurricane fans, St. Thomas Aquinas fans.

I want to send love to every fan everywhere because you hear so often that people say, Oh, these are the guys that built the game. No. It's your hunger and your love for the game, your love for what we do that make this game what it is. I thank you for loving the game like we love it.

Jerry, those were kind words. Thank you. You know, when I first met Jerry he had just purchased the Dallas Cowboys. He had a bit of a concerned look on his face. I said to him, I said, We will have fun and we will win Super Bowls. You see, I knew Jerry had put all he had into purchasing the Cowboys. That's the way I see Jerry. He's a man that's willing to give all he has and all he wants to bring the Cowboy family Super Bowls.

Jerry, I appreciate your commitment to family, the Dallas Cowboy family and your own family. He has a beautiful wife, Jean. I tell her this. I just love her to death. Her spirit exudes beauty. Her mannerisms exude class. She's one of a kind. Jean, I do love you.

They have beautiful kids, daughter Charlotte, son Steven and Jerry, Jr. Each have played a role in my life and I thank all of them.

A heartfelt thank you to the selection committee, especially Rick Gosselin and Charean Williams. Charean is the first woman to have a seat on the selection committee. Charean, congratulations to you.

These gentlemen behind me, these men, they inspired me to become the player that I became. As I spent this week with these gentlemen that I've admired growing up, I kept thinking about how gifted they are. Man, they're gifted to run and cut, gifted to throw and catch, gifted to run through blocks and make great tackles.

And then I met their wives and their families and I realized that it's not only about the gift God gave us, but equally important is the help that God gave us. It's the people that God put in place to support us on our journey. So I will try to put the credit in the right place tonight and share with you my help and my journey.

I thank God for the help of my father Walter Irvin, whom I lost at the age of 17. He was my hero and he loved, I'm telling you, he loved the Dallas Cowboys. I woke up this morning smiling knowing that my father had not be here in the flesh but that he is in heaven watching and celebrating with his all time favorite coach, Coach Tom Landry.

Also Tex Schamm, Derrick Shepard and Mark Tuinei. Those guys, we think about them here, we feel them here. They will always be with us.

Before my father made his journey to heaven I sat with him. His final words to me were, Promise me you will take care of your mother. She's a good woman. As you've heard, my mother raised 17 children, most of whom are here tonight. There were challenges. But she would never complain. She always walked around the house and said, God has promised me that my latter days will be better than my former days. My mom and my Aunt Fanny, her oldest sister, they are part of my travel squad now.

As we travel, all they want is a nice room and an open tab on room service. When my workday is done I get to come by their room and we tell stories and we laugh and we have fun. We always end the night with them telling me, Baby, this is what God meant when he said, Our latter days will be better than our former days.

I can't tell you how it makes me feel to know that God uses me to deliver His promise. I love you, mom. I love you, Aunt Fanny.

For better or for worse, those are the vows we take before God in marriage. It's easy to live with the for better, but rarely can you find someone who sticks around and endures the for worse. Sandy, my beautiful wife, I have worked tirelessly, baby, to give you the for better. But I also gave you the for worse, and you didn't deserve it. You didn't deserve it.

But through it all I experienced the depth of your love and I thank God for you. I love the mother that you are, the wife that you are, I love the way that you take care of our family, our daughters Myesha and Chelsea, and our sons Michael and Elijah. I thank you from a place that I can't mention, I can't even express, baby, for keeping our family together. I love you so much.

My football family, as Jerry told you, began at St. Thomas Aquinas High School under the wise tutelage of a great coach named George Smith. George Smith dedicated 37 years to that great program. He's a great man. I thank all the people at St. Thomas for believing in a young man like me.

And then I went on to the University of Miami. I think most of y'all know how I feel about the U. Yeah, the U. You better believe it. After that I was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys where I played and worked with some of the best to ever be around this game. For example, Emmitt Smith. Emmitt Smith is the all time leading rusher.

The great thing about that, his rookie year he said to me he was going to become the all time leading rusher. I doubted him like I think everybody would have. But what an inspiration to be in a room and see a man set a goal so high and then be persistent, be dedicated, and accomplish that which he set out to accomplish. Emmitt, you're an inspiration to so many.

The third part and the third member The Triplets is Troy Aikman. My quarterback, our leader. Troy Aikman led us to three Super Bowls. When I said "led," I mean led, to three Super Bowls. He's the winningest quarterback in the decade of the '90s. If you talk to him and you ask him what's his most memorable game, he will tell you that '94 NFC Championship game that everybody's talking about.

It's a game we were down by 21 and we lost, but we never gave up. That's the mark of a true leader. All he wants is for each player to give all he has all the time. That's Troy Aikman.

That game is one of my most memorable games for all those reasons, but it had a little something extra for me. We were down 21. Troy came to that huddle with those big blue eyes and he looked up and he said, Hey, I'm coming to you no matter what. Whew, let me tell you. As a wide receiver, that's all I ever wanted to hear. Just come to me no matter what. And he did, he did. He came to me no matter what.

But, Troy, you've always come to me no matter what, and I'm not just talking about on the football field. For that, you have a special place in my heart. You always will no matter what. I love you, Troy. I love you deeply.

As The Triplets, we received most of the press, the credit. But we were surrounded with some great guys, great players, talented guys. Guys like Darren Woodson, Dallas Cowboys all time leading tackle. My Cowboy counterpart Jay Novacek, what a great tight end he is. Daryl Johnston, the unsung hero, Moose. Larry Allen and Eric Williams are two of the better linemen, if not the best linemen, to ever play this game. The big fella, Nate Newton. Jim Jeffcoat. And one of the best cornerbacks and the finest athlete I've ever been around, that's Deion Sanders, Prime Time.

So, so many more.

You can't accomplish what we've accomplished with just great players. You also need great coaches. And we had that. We had guys like Norv Turner, Dave Wannstedt, Dave Campo. My position coach, coach Hubbard Alexander, who is my heart. Coach, you took me as a young man out of high school, and I know I gave you a lot of mess through the years. Thank you for being there, Coach. And our head coach, he had always be my head coach, that's Jimmy Johnson.

We worked hard. We had the best, and I'm telling you the very best, and I'm willing to take an argument with anybody on this, strength and conditioning coach in the world. His name is Mike Warsick. He has six Super Bowl rings. Six, people. Twice he has won three Super Bowls in four years, once with us and now with the New England Patriots. So if anybody wants to take an argument, I am a debater. I am here and ready.

Mike Warsick, you are, man, the very best. You put me back together from that knee injury. As we always tell each other when we say good bye, MissPaw (phonetic), which means may God hold you till we see each other again.

I also walked on campus at the University of Miami the same day with our PR director, Rich Dalrymple. I know some of you are saying it's fitting that you are tight with the PR director, Michael. But Rich has been a great friend. When I walk in his office now Rich has a picture of us. He has pictures of us at the University of Miami with this nice beautiful black hair, and then he has pictures of us now when he's all gray.

He says to me all the time, You see these gray hairs? I say, Yeah. He says, You gave them to me. I tell him, I say, Well, you see those four championship rings you have? I gave them to you, too.

I have experienced all this game has to offer on the football field, the losing, going 3 13, even 1 15. In my second season the career threatening knee injury, thinking I would never play this game that I love again. And even in 1999, the career ending neck injury. That which football players fear the most.

But I've also had some beautiful victories. We won three Super Bowls in four years. I can't tell you what that feels like. And we did it with guys that we loved to play with and guys that we loved. Folks, I'm telling you, that's the true essence of a football family, and that's exactly what we are not was what we are. I love all of those guys that I played with.

Since retiring I have developed a deeper awareness and understanding for this game. First as a fan and then as an analyst. That is why I've learned it's so much more than merely a game. Thanks to ESPN. Thank you, ESPN, for giving me the opportunity to travel to NFL stadiums throughout this country, visiting with fans, and seeing this game from a completely different perspective.

The movie, Remember the Titans, is my favorite movie, staring Denzel Washington. I love the way in this movie the game of football brings those boys together, it unites those boys on that football field. It unites a whole town, black, white, old, young, rich and poor. It happens every year around this time in NFL locker rooms and NFL stadiums. So don't tell me it's just a game.

My favorite day was Monday, September the 25th, 2006. New Orleans, Louisiana, site of the Superdome. I watched our people who had suffered so grievously through Hurricane Katrina fill a stadium hours before a game and stay hours after the game. I witnessed those fans as they looked for each other, hugged one another and just be thankful to be in that stadium.

You see the game flexed its greatest muscle that day: the ability to heal. I experienced a football game that contributed to the healing of a city. So don't tell me it's just a game.

You know the Bible speaks of a healing place. It's called a threshing floor. The threshing floor is where you take your greatest fear and you pray for help from your great God. I want to share something with you today. I have two sons. Michael, he's 10, and Elijah, he's 8. Michael and Elijah, could you guys stand up for me. That's my heart right there. That's my heart. When I am on that threshing floor, I pray. I say, God, I have my struggles and I made some bad decisions, but whatever you do, whatever you do, don't let me mess this up.

I say, Please, help me raise them for some young lady so that they can be a better husband than I. Help me raise them for their kids so that they could be a better father than I. And I tell you guys to always do the right thing so you can be a better role model than dad. I sat right here where you are last year and I watched the Class of 2006: Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Harry Carson, Rayfield Wright, John Madden, and the late great Reggie White represented by his wife Sara White. And I said, Wow, that's what a Hall of Famer is.

Certainly I am not that. I doubted I would ever have the chance to stand before you today. So when I returned home, I spoke with Michael and Elijah . I said, That's how you do it, son. You do it like they did it. Michael asked, he said, Dad, do you ever think we will be there? And I didn't know how to answer that. And it returned me to that threshing floor. This time I was voiceless, but my heart cried out. God, why must I go through so many peaks and valleys?

I wanted to stand in front of my boys and say, Do it like your dad, like any proud dad would want to. Why must I go through so much?

At that moment a voice came over me and said, Look up, get up, and don't ever give up. You tell everyone or anyone that has ever doubted, thought they did not measure up or wanted to quit, you tell them to look up, get up and don't ever give up.

Thank you and may God bless you.