Harold Carmichael and Isaac Bruce will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. The former Philadelphia Eagles great and St. Louis Rams star will become the 28th and 29th wide receivers to be honored with a place in Canton, OH. The Hall site draws a distinction, interestingly, between wide receivers and ends. There were seven “ends,” who played prior to 1945, that wound up in Canton.
Lance Alworth
In 11 pro seasons, Alworth caught 542 passes for 10,266 yards and 85 touchdowns. During his nine seasons with the Chargers, “Bambi” averaged more than 50 catches and 1,000 yards per season. He was named All-AFL from 1963-69 and played in the league’s last seven All-Star games. He caught at least one pass in every AFL game he played, including a then-record 96 straight regular-season games.
Raymond Berry
Raymond Berry led the league in receptions three consecutive years and caught a then-record 631 passes for 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns in his 13-year career. A first- or second-team All-Pro choice in 1957-61 and again in 1965, he was selected to play in six Pro Bowl games during his career. Berry fumbled once in 13 years. Perhaps his greatest moment came in the famous overtime 1958 NFL Championship Game. He set a then-record with 12 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown.
Fred Biletnikoff
Fred Biletnikoff caught 589 passes for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns during his 14-year career with the Oakland Raiders. At the time of his retirement, the former Florida State star owned several significant NFL marks. Along with another Hall of Fame receiver, Raymond Berry, Biletnikoff held the record for having caught 40 or more passes in 10 consecutive seasons. His 70 receptions, 1,167 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns in 19 post-season games were also NFL post-season career records.
Tim Brown
Another Raider great, Tim Brown recorded nine straight 1,000-yard seasons and 10 consecutive years with 75 or more catches. His best season came in 1997, a year in which he became the Raiders’ all-time receiving leader. He caught 104 passes for 1,408 yards to win the NFL receiving title. He set a team record with seven 100-yard games and tied an NFL mark with five games with 150-plus yards receiving. Brown was named first-team All-AFC six times – once as a kick returner, once as a punt returner, and four times at wide receiver. He was also named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s.
Isaac Bruce
Isaac Bruce totaled 1,024 receptions for 15,208 yards and 91 touchdowns during a 16-year career with the Rams (1994-2007) and San Francisco 49ers (2008-09). His receptions total ranked fifth and his receiving yardage placed him second in NFL history at the time of his retirement.
Harold Carmichael
Harold Carmichael’s career stats include 590 receptions for 8,985 yards and 79 TDs. He was named First-Team All-Pro in 1973, Second-Team All-Pro three times, received First-Team All-NFC three times and Second-Team All-NFC four times. Named to NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1970s, Carmichael was selected to four Pro Bowls.
Cris Carter
Cris, Carter played full 16-game seasons in 13 of his 16 years in the NFL. He finished his 234-game career as the NFL’s second all-time leading receiver with 1,101 receptions for 13,899 yards. A member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s, Carter had 10 or more touchdowns in a season six times and led the NFL in receiving touchdowns three times (1995, ’97, and ’99).
Tom Fears
Tom Fears’ career marks include 400 receptions for 5,397 yards and 38 touchdowns. Although originally drafted as a defensive back, Rams coaches realized his ball-hawking skills would be best utilized on offense. It was a wise decision. Fears went on to lead the league in receptions in each of his first three NFL seasons.
Marvin Harrison
Marvin Harrison, who was a six-time All-Pro and an eight-time All-AFC selection. He achieved most of his success with Peyton Manning as his quarterback. In 158 games together, the duo connected on 953 passes for 12,766 yards and 112 TDs, the most completions, yards and touchdowns by a tandem in NFL history.
Bob Hayes
The “World’s Fastest Human,” Bob Hayes was named first- or second-team All-NFL four times. Three times he led the Cowboys in receptions, including back-to-back titles in 1965-66 when he caught a total of 110 passes for more than 2,200 yards and 25 touchdowns. For his 11-year career, Hayes accumulated 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns.
Elroy Hirsch
Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch played professional football in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Chicago Rockets from 1946-48 and in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1949-57. During the 1951 season, Hirsch helped lead the Rams to the NFL championship and tied or broke multiple NFL records with 1,495 receiving yards, an average of 124.6 receiving yards per game and 17 touchdown receptions.
Michael Irvin
“The Playmaker” Michael Irvin recorded 1,000-yard seasons in all but one year from 1991-98. Along the way, the Cowboys made four straight appearances in the NFC Championship Game (1992-1995) and captured three Super Bowl titles with back-to-back wins over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. Irvin made 750 receptions for 11,904 yards. A member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s, he had 100 or more yards receiving in a game 47 times during his 159-game career.
Charlie Joiner
Charlie Joiner played pro football for 18 years, longer than any other wide receiver in history at the time of his retirement. When he retired at the age of 39 after the 1986 season with the San Diego Chargers, he ranked as the leading receiver of all-time with 750 catches. Joiner averaged 16.2 yards per catch and accounted for 12,146 yards and 65 touchdowns.
Steve Largent
At the time of his retirement, Steve Largent held six major career pass receiving records – most receptions (819), most consecutive games with a reception (177), most yards on receptions (13,089), most touchdowns on receptions (100), most seasons with 50 or more receptions (10) and most seasons with 1,000 yards or more on receptions (8).
Dante Lavelli
Dante Lavelli played for the Cleveland Browns in the AAFC and NFL from 1946-56. Lavelli was an integral part of a Browns team that won seven championships during his 11-season career. “Lavelli had one of the strongest pairs of hands I’ve ever seen,” Browns coach Paul Brown once said. “When he went up for a pass with a defender, you could almost always count on him coming back down with the ball.”
James Lofton
James Lofton caught 764 passes for 14,004 yards – an average of 18.3 yards per catch. Nine times he recorded more than 50 catches in a season. His 14,004 career-reception yardage mark was an NFL best at the time of his retirement, while his 43 games with 100 or more yards receiving ranked third.
Don Maynard
At the time of his retirement following the 1973 season, Don Maynard was one of five players to record more than 50 receptions and more than 1,000 receiving yards in five different seasons. A four-time AFL All-Star, his 633 career catches for 11,834 yards were both pro records at the time.
Tommy McDonald
A six-time Pro Bowl selection (1959-63 and 1966), McDonald played seven seasons with the Eagles (1957-63), one with the Dallas Cowboys (1964), two with the Los Angeles Rams (1965-66), and one each with the Atlanta Falcons (1967) and the Cleveland Browns (1968). He caught at least one pass in 93 consecutive games. Used primarily as a kickoff and punt-return specialist during his rookie season, McDonald ranked sixth all-time in receptions (495), fourth in yards receiving (8,410) and second in touchdown catches (84) when he retired following the 1968 season.
Bobby Mitchell
Bobby Mitchell retired with 14,078 combined net yards, which was the second highest total in NFL history. He also scored 91 touchdowns. Eighteen of his touchdowns came by rushing, 65 on receptions, 3 on punt returns, and 5 on kickoff returns. He amassed 7,954 yards on receptions and 2,735 yards on rushes.
Art Monk
Art Monk went from White Plains High School to Syracuse to Washington. Nine times during his 16-season career with Washington, the New York Jets, and Philadelphia Eagles, Monk had more than 50 catches in a season and five times gained more than 1,000 receiving yards. He also set NFL records for most catches in a season (106), and most consecutive games with at least one reception (164). His consecutive games with a reception streak extended to 183 games. In 1992, with his 820th career catch, he became the NFL’s then-all-time leader in receptions. He finished his career with 940 receptions.
Randy Moss
Randy Moss caught 10 or more touchdown passes in nine seasons and had 10 seasons with 1,000 yards receiving. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Moss received first-team All-Pro honors four times and was named to the NFL All-Decade Team of the 2000s. He finished his career with 982 receptions for 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns.
Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens’ career totals were 1,078 catches for 15,934 yards, 14.8 yards per catch and 153 TDs. The yardage total ranked second all-time and his touchdown reception total was third most in NFL history at the time of his retirement.
Pete Pihos
The only Hoosier in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pete Pihos was nicknamed “The Golden Greek.” He made six Pro Bowls and helped lead the Eagles to back-to-back NFL titles in 1948 and ’49.
Andre Reed
Andre Reed played 15 seasons with the Bills (1985-1999) and one final year with Washington (2000). In the process he was selected to play in seven consecutive Pro Bowls (1989-1995), rewrote the Bills’ record book and added several entries in the NFL’s record book.
Jerry Rice
Jerry Ric was named first-team All-Pro 11 consecutive seasons and voted to 13 Pro Bowls, is also a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Teams of the 1980s and 1990s and NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team. The G.O.A.T. led the NFL in receiving yards six times including a then-record 1,848 yards in 1995. Rice also led the NFL in touchdown receptions six times. Some of the more notable career records include receptions (1,549); receiving yards (22,895 yards); most 1,000-yard receiving seasons (14); total touchdowns (208); and combined net yards (23,546).
John Stallworth
John Stallworth caught 537 passes for 8,723 yards and 63 touchdowns, all Steelers team records at the time of his retirement. A veteran of six AFC Championship Gmes and four Steelers Super Bowl triumphs (IX, X, XIII, XIV), Stallworth was named All-Pro in 1979 and All-AFC in 1979 and ’84. He also played in four Pro Bowls following the 1979, ’82, ’83 and ’84 seasons.
Lynn Swann
Lynn Swann was all-Pro in 1975, ’77, and ’78, Swann was also voted to the Pro Bowl after each of those seasons. Swann was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1970s, and to the Super Bowl Silver Anniversary Team.
Charley Taylor
Charley Taylor’s 649 receptions for 9,110 yards and 79 touchdowns rank him among the game’s elite. He led the NFL in receiving in both 1966 and ’67, his first two years as a wide receiver, and caught more than 50 passes in a record-tying seven campaigns. With 1,488 yards rushing and a smattering of kick return yardage, he amassed 10,803 combined net yards to also rank among the best in that category.
Paul Warfield
Paul Warfield caught 427 passes for 8,565 yards and 85 touchdowns. His 20.1 yards-per-catch mark ranks among the best in the history of the game. Warfield was a six-time All-NFL choice who was elected to eight Pro Bowls,
