WR Cris Carter deserves to be elected to the NFL Hall of Fame

Fryingpan Sports

WR Cris Carter deserves to be elected to the NFL Hall of Fame

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By Bill Smith

Technorati Tags: NFL, NFL Draft, Carter, NFL Hall of Fame, College Football, Ohio State, High School, Ohio, Eagles, Vikings, Drugs

In the voting announced on Saturday, Cris Carter was omitted from the list of inductees to the NFL Hall of Fame. That is really a shame. He deserves to be in the Hall but not just because of his numbers. The story of Carter includes his time at a crossroads of his life where he could have taken the low road to drug abuse and ruin or the hard path to success and fame. He chose the harder path and has made every effort to help others find themselves and that path up to success.

Carter was highly recruited out of Middletown Ohio High School where he played both football and basketball. He went to Ohio State he explained because his Mom was an Buckeye fan.

He was drafted by the Eagles in the 4th round of the 1987 supplemental draft. He was very successful in Philly catching 11 TDs in 1989. But he got in with wrong crowd and was involved in heavy drinking and cocaine abuse.

He needed a shock to make him see what he was doing to his health, his career and his team. He got that shock when he was cut before the 1990 season. His former head coach, Buddy Ryan, told the media that all Carter did was catch TD passes.

It was the low point of his life. The road to recovery usually requires the person to hit bottom. Cutting him was the best thing that a friend could have done. And Ryan was a friend to Carter. Carter could have gone on to become just another statistic of drug abuse. But he chose to turn his life around and clean up his act.

Carter credits Ryan for helping him take that path back to the NFL and success. Carter was picked up by the Vikings. He didn’t play a lot for them in 1990. But in 1991 he became the top receiver for the Vikes. Carter made 8 straight pro bowls and 3 all pro teams. He retired from the league in 2002 with 1,101 total catches, 13,899 yards, and 130 TDs. That is second all time behind only Jerry Rice for the most catches and most TDs. That should be enough to get him into the Hall.

But beyond that, he has dedicated his life to helping young people stay away from drugs and live out their dreams of sports success. He speaks to kids groups telling them frankly about his struggles with drugs and that they need to stay clean. He is coaching his son’s high school team.

I am glad that Mr. Wilson, owner of the Bills, got into the Hall before he died. And I have no argument with any of the other 5 that were voted in. But the second best receiver in NFL history deserves to be there as well.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for NFLDraftDog.com and edits fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on and edits .

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3 thoughts on “WR Cris Carter deserves to be elected to the NFL Hall of Fame”

  1. I also thought Carter would get in this year but maybe the voters wanted to limit the number of inductees this year. I think he’ll get in next year.

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  2. He should be in the Hall of Fame as older players are in that did not have the stats that he put up.

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  3. I didn’t realize what a big Ohio State fan he was until I read about the birth of his son and how Chris got a room overlooking Ohio Stadium in the OSU Hospital.

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