Chargers great Junior Seau is scheduled to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday in Canton, Ohio.
The Oceanside native linebacker also played for the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots during his 20-year National Football League career.
He’ll be inducted alongside seven other NFL luminaries including Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, Oakland Raiders receiver Tim Brown and executive Bill Polian, most known for his work with the Buffalo Bills.
Seau was selected as the Chargers‘ fifth choice in the 1990 NFL draft after playing at Oceanside High School and USC, and spent the first 13 seasons with the team.
He was selected for 12 consecutive Pro Bowls, matching the third-longest overall Pro Bowl streak and longest by a Charger. Seau was named the Chargers’ MVP a team-record six times.
“From the day we drafted Junior, we knew he was special,” Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos said when his selection to the Hall of Fame was announced.
“He was such an energized, charismatic person. He attacked life the same way he attacked ball carriers. It’s that passion that turned him into the Hall of Fame player he is.”
Seau completed his NFL career by playing for the Miami Dolphins from 2003-05 and New England Patriots from 2006-09. He died at the age of 43 in May 2012 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Oceanside home.
Since Seau is deceased, no one will give a speech to introduce him at the induction ceremony.
However, daughter Sydney Seau will be interviewed about her father, a decision that headed off a controversy over whether the NFL was trying to silence the family, which has been outspoken about brain injuries suffered by players.
The Hall later drew the ire of Chargers fans by unveiling a banner with all eight inductees — and showing Seau in a Patriots uniform.
— City News Service