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Antonio Gates' path to Canton is one of a kind

Sat Aug 2 6:09pm ET
Field Level Media

It's hard to be the first of anything when it comes to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But when tight end Antonio Gates was inducted on Saturday afternoon, he became the first Hall of Famer who didn't play college football.

Gates certainly took the odd route to football stardom, but he was immortalized along with wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, defensive end Jared Allen, and cornerback Eric Allen at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

Gates, 45, first made a name of himself by being a star college basketball player at Kent State, helping the team reach the Elite Eight of the 2002 NCAA Tournament and putting up even bigger numbers the following season. But NBA franchises weren't too fond of 6-foot-4 power forwards.

Earlier in his college career, Gates was at Michigan State and hoping to play basketball for Tom Izzo and football for Nick Saban. But the latter coach wanted Gates to focus on football, which turned out to be a good deal for Kent State.

When his college hoops career ended, NFL teams were interested in Gates as a tight end, and he eventually signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Diego Chargers.

"Tim Brewster, at the time, was the tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers," Gates said during his speech. "Tim Brewster saw something in me. He would come and watch me play basketball, but he was confident I'd be an All-Pro tight end in three years."

"Switching sports can be a life-changing experience," he continued. "The unexpected opportunities are often the most powerful ones, because they can completely redirect your life -- if you're ready to take advantage of the opportunity."

The switch certainly paid off for Gates as he earned the first of eight straight Pro Bowl selections in his second season when he caught 13 touchdown passes. He had 955 receptions for 11,841 yards and 116 touchdowns in 236 games in 16 seasons (2003-18) with the Chargers -- the first 14 played in San Diego and the last two in Los Angeles.

The 116 touchdown catches are the most by a tight end and rank seventh overall.

Sharpe, whose career was ended by a serious neck injury at age 29, is the second football playing brother of his own family to earn induction. Younger brother Shannon Sharpe, a stellar tight end, was inducted in 2011.

During his speech 14 years ago, Shannon Sharpe said he was only the second-best player in his family.

So naturally, Sterling Sharpe asked his brother to join him at the podium on Saturday.

"The last time I was here, you said you were the only pro football player in the Hall of Fame that could say this, that you were the second-best player in your own family," Sterling Sharpe said, before cracking up the crowd with the finishing comment. "Well, I agree with that statement."

Sterling Sharpe, now 60, entered the Hall in his 26th year of eligibility.

Sharpe was a force for the Green Bay Packers from 1988-94, topping 1,100 receiving yards five times. He caught 18 touchdown passes in his final season and had 65 in 112 regular-season games to go with 595 catches and 8,134 yards.

Jared Allen also took the hard route to the NFL.

He played at small-college program Idaho State and was a terror at that level, winning the Buck Buchanan Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2003. That helped prompt the Kansas City Chiefs to select Allen in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft.

Allen, 43, was a pass-rushing force and had 10 or more sacks on eight occasions during 12 NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2004-07), Minnesota Vikings (2008-13), Chicago Bears (2014-15) and Carolina Panthers (2015).

He had a career-high 22 sacks in 2011 and finished his career with 136.

"My definition of fear is a healthy fear of failure," Allen said. "It motivates you to do whatever you can to succeed. It's about getting knocked down, learning why it happened and working towards making sure it doesn't happen again."

"The pursuit of greatness -- I had the NFL sack leaders taped up in my locker so I could see greatness every day I came in," he remarked. "Seeing that picture looking back at me meant that I never got complacent."

Eric Allen finally received the call in his 19th year of eligibility.

Allen, 59, played 14 NFL seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (1988-94), New Orleans Saints (1995-97) and then-Oakland Raiders (1998-2001).

Allen had 54 interceptions, returning eight for touchdowns. He set a then-NFL record with four interception returns for touchdowns in 1993 for the Eagles and later had three for the Raiders in 2000.

The six-time Pro Bowler was often considered one of the best all-around defensive players in the entire NFL during his tenure with the Eagles.

"Thank you to the legend, Buddy Ryan, for drafting me in 1988," Allen said of the late defensive-minded Philadelphia coach. "It was an honor to wear those Kelly Greens and represent the City of Brotherly Love. Whether it was Buddy's Boys or Bud Carson's Gang Green, we did so much damage on the football field."

Antonio Gates' path to Canton is one of a kind

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