The Haggar Gold Jacket Report - Issue 13

The members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012 completed their site surveys with CURTIS MARTIN’s visit to the Hall this past Monday. Martin met with staff, media and toured the museum and city of Canton in preparation for his enshrinement in August. The former running back, who rushed for 10 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, was particularly enamored with the Hall of Fame Gallery, which is home to the iconic bronze busts.

In addition, Martin also visited the Hall of Fame’s Archives and Information Center where he reminisced about his own playing days and the history of professional football. Before leaving Curtis sat down to share some thoughts about his upcoming enshrinement during an interview for the Hall of Fame’s website.

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While the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012 is set and awaiting their formal induction this August, the NASCAR Hall of Fame has just announced the 25 nominees for their Class of 2013 who would be enshrined next January. Interestingly, one of the names on that list is Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker LES RICHTER.

Richter, who was posthumously enshrined last year, achieved extraordinary success as a linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams. After his pro football playing days, he became a highly successful NASCAR executive. Les brought an incomparable work ethic to his second career when he became president and general manager of Riverside International Raceway in 1961.

The Fresno, Calif. native, affectionately known as “Coach” throughout the motorsports industry came to NASCAR in 1983 and evolved into one of the most important advisors to then-NASCAR Chairman/CEO Bill France Jr. as NASCAR's popularity expanded. Richter was named NASCAR's executive vice president of competition in 1986 and the senior vice president of operations in '92.

If elected it would be the third Hall of Fame of which Richter is a member. He was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

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Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver JERRY RICE is playing in and hosting the TPC Stonebrae Championship in Hayward, Calif. for the third year. Rice began playing golf in 1986, but has truly been able to dedicate more time to work on his game since he retired from a 20-year NFL career. The Class of 2010 enshrinee joined the Nationwide Tour in 2010. He loves spending time with other players on tour as they hone their skills in order to become members of the PGA Tour.

One of those players who made the jump from the Nationwide Tour to the PGA Tour is 2012 Masters Champion Bubba Watson. Rice played in a skills challenge with him once and was blown away by the creativity of his swing and resourcefulness of his shots. Rice said he knows that he needs patience on the golf course if he is going to play well.

Rice took some time out of his preparation for the event to visit Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley earlier this week. The NFL legend turned heads as he walked through the ICU and trauma centers talking and visiting with patients.

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Former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle and Pro Football Hall of Famer CORTEZ KENNEDY recently made sure he was well represented in the Hall of Fame by donating several artifacts from his NFL career to the museum.

Kennedy, one of the most dominant defensive tackles of his era, was a member of NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s and was tabbed as a first- or second-team All-Pro five times. He was also voted to the Pro Bowl eight times, which was a Seahawks' record at the time of his retirement.  His donation Included his 1993 Pro Bowl jersey as well as a pair of well-worn shoulder pads and a pair of cleats he used from his NFL career that spanned from 1990-2000.

Links Related to this story:

HOF Bios: Cortez Kennedy | Curtis Martin | Jerry Rice | Les Richter
More: Kennedy’s donation | VIDEO: Martin interview | NFL All-Decade Team of the 1990s

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Issue 12 (April, 6) | Issue 11 (Mar. 30) | Issue 10 (Mar. 23) | Issue 9 (Mar.16) | Issue 8 (Mar. 9) | Issue 7 (Mar. 2) | Issue 6 (Feb. 24) | Issue 5 (Feb. 17) | Issue 4 (Feb. 10) | Issue 3 (Feb. 3) |  Issue 2 (Jan. 27) | Issue 1 (Jan. 20)