Former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates voted into Pro Football Hall of Fame
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NEW ORLEANS — Antonio Gates always dreamed of being in the Hall of Fame.
The basketball Hall of Fame, that is.
The Chargers’ legendary tight end instead took his “plan B” and manifested another dream, being selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday in a four-man class that also included Jared Allen, Sterling Sharpe and Eric Allen.
Gates spent his entire 16-year career with the Chargers, becoming an icon at his position with an NFL-leading 116 touchdown catches. After he transitioned from college basketball at Kent State, the undrafted free agent and former power forward became the Chargers’ franchise leader in receptions, yards receiving, and touchdown catches.
“It’s really so hard to describe in words,” Gates said during one of his numerous interviews after the announcement. “The thing I come up with most is it’s just an amazing feeling. I’m so happy. It’s like a world of weight off my shoulders. I finally made it. I finally reached the pinnacle of sports.”
Antonio Gates was such a dominant force at tight end, quarterback Philip Rivers said the Chargers employed a “Gates rule” that overruled the playbook.
Gates was introduced in New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre by his former Chargers teammate and fellow Hall of Famer, LaDainian Tomlinson. Other Hall of Famers wrapped Gates in bear hugs as he strode across the stage. Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis grasped Gates’ face with a wide grin.
The four-person class was the smallest in 20 years. Former Rams wide receiver Torry Holt and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning were among the finalists who did not make the cut.
Holt, who was a finalist for the sixth consecutive year, had 920 catches for 13,382 yards and 74 touchdowns during his 11-year career, 10 seasons comingwith the Rams. He was a key component to the “Greatest Show on Turf,” helping the Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV as a rookie. His Rams teammates Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce are enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
“Every year when this time comes, you look at the stats and I’m dumbfounded that he still doesn’t have a gold jacket,” Warner said on the red carpet before the event. “Being next to other Hall of Famers and still doing what he did … if you’re sharing the ball with those guys and you have that kind of production and consistently, year in and year out, go to championship games, win championship games, for all of us it’s overdue.”
Last year Gates was confident he would get the call as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Other players assured him he would. When it didn’t come, he was surprised at how much it hurt.
It felt as if no one recognized just how hard he worked to go from mid-major college basketball star to eight-time Pro Bowl player.
Gates transferred to Kent State after Nick Saban, then the football coach at Michigan State, discouraged him from playing both sports for the Spartans. Gates helped the Golden Flashes reach the Elite Eight as a junior. He was an Associated Press All-American honorable mention as a senior, averaging 20.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, but the stands still were full of NFL scouts. They had gotten a tip from Saban that one of the best football players in the country was on the basketball court.
Rams first-round draft pick Jared Verse is selected the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year. The Bills’ Josh Allen wins MVP ahead of Eagles’ Saquon Barkley.
Even now, Gates’ friends and family from Detroit still consider him more of a basketball player.
“Every year, I wanted to just constantly prove I’m one of the best athletes on this planet, regardless of what sport it was,” Gates said. “It was just that little person in your head, like they didn’t believe you were good enough. The NBA, the Lakers didn’t want to draft you. It helped me flourish to becoming the all-time reception leader, the all-time touchdown leader for the Chargers, essentially, and getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
After retiring in 2018, Gates has remained connected with the Chargers as the team’s legends ambassador.
When he saw Dean Spanos in the press tent before sitting for a news conference, Gates, wearing a red and blue plaid blazer with navy slacks, wrapped the Chargers owner in a hug.
“Finally,” he said.
Staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this report.
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