Hall of Famer Steve Largent Inspires Students on His Perseverance

Gold Jacket Steve Largent got to the Hall of Fame by overcoming adversity and he recently shared his story with the Boys and Girls Club in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Largent, who also appears in the Hall's new immersive hologram show "A Game for Life," spoke in detail about those same values of never giving up.

Last week, Gold Jacket Andre Reed's foundation renovated a Boys and Girls Club in Philadelphia, where Reed too echoed the same sentiments of his fellow Gold Jacket, Largent.

Learn more about Reed's help with the Boys and Girls Club 

The Hall's new sponsor Centene is working with the Boys and Girls club as part of Gold Jacket Darrell Green's "Strong Youth Strong Communities" an initiative that the Pro Football Hall of Fame is committed to and hopes for a prosperous relationship. The first two-day program with the Hall and Centene kicks off at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh with Hall of Famers Aeneas Williams, Anthony Munoz and Darrell Green on April 11 and 12.

Also, the former Congressman Largent spoke to a group of 250-300 at Broken Arrow High School athletes on the same he addressed the Boys and Girls Club, at the BA High School Multipurpose Facility Indoor Practice Field. The main goal of his talk was to get the kids of BA High School focused on getting a solid education.

After revealing how he barely graduated from Putnam City High School in 1974 with a 2.0 grade point average, he advised the student-athletes not to make the same mistake, and to concentrate on getting good grades. According to a recent article by Tulsa World, Largent drove this message home to the kids.

“I did not get a good high school education, not because the teachers weren’t teaching, but because I wasn’t learning,” said Largent, who played 14 years with the Seattle Seahawks, retiring as the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. “There’s just one person who controls whether you’re going to get your education or not, and that’s you.”

“I got into the University of Tulsa and basically changed my ways, I found the light,” added Largent, who served as U.S. Representative from the 1st Congressional district in Tulsa from 1994-2002. “I said, ‘I’m going to get my education, I’m going to get it in four years,’ and that’s exactly what I did. I was a biology major at the University of Tulsa, had a 3.2 grade-point average, and that is probably one of the crowning achievements in my life. It’s not sports, it’s not being in the Hall of Fame, it’s not any of that stuff — it’s getting my degree in four years.”