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  • Associated Press

    Little Rice
February 7, 2010

Smith, Rice lead 7 into Hall of Fame

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Here’s how you stop Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith: Put them in the Hall of Fame and watch them break down and cry.

The men who tore apart NFL defenses couldn’t handle the emotions Saturday when they were elected to the shrine along with five others.

“They told me ‘Don’t cry,’” Rice said, his eyes wet with tears. “It meant the world to me, just like winning a Super Bowl. On draft day, I didn’t take that for granted. I didn’t take this for granted.”

He could have.

A nominee needs 80 percent approval from the 44 media members who vote and Rice and Smith were slam-dunks in their first year of eligibility. Vote totals aren’t announced.

“I am just honored ... to stand up there with greatness,” Rice added.

Smith teared up when speaking about his father and how “I was living his dream.”

“We are blessed to achieve this level of greatness together,” Smith said, referring to Rice.

They will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 7.

Rice and Smith each won three Super Bowls and was the MVP in one of those victories. Smith was the 1993 league MVP, as well.

Rice, the NFL’s career receiving and touchdowns leader, and Smith, the top rusher, were joined in the Hall by John Randle, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau. Little and LeBeau were elected as senior committee nominees.

Grimm, a member of the Washington Redskins’ famed Hogs offensive line, won three Super Bowls. A guard, he made four Pro Bowls and was selected to the all-decade team of the 1980s.

LeBeau, the current defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is considered one of pro football’s great defensive innovators as a coach. But he was voted in for his outstanding work for the Lions from 1959-72. LeBeau finished with 62 interceptions, second among cornerbacks when he retired.

“They say anything worth having is worth waiting on,” LeBeau said. “It has been a long wait. I can’t imagine anything else that could be any more rewarding.”

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