Gold Jacket Spotlight: Isaac Bruce’s journey to Canton — 6 bus, 3 bus and 9-99 routes
Gold Jacket Spotlight
Published on : 8/26/2024
As a 17-year-old graduate of Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ISAAC BRUCE travelled from South Florida to Los Angeles to initiate his trek from junior college football to Division I competition and eventually the National Football League.
“When I go back to L.A., it’s funny because I still see the buses, and I know exactly where they’re going,” Issac told ESPN senior writer Arash Markazi in 2016.
A glimpse at Isaac’s rise from bus rider to Super Bowl-winning receiver is the focus of this week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight.
Those buses Isaac referred to? They are etched in his memory through navigating from his residence to West Los Angeles for one year and to Santa Monica the next.
“I lived on Arbor Vitae Street, and I would catch the bus right at the bus deport next to the airport. It brings back so many memories,” Isaac told Markazi.
“I would walk to the rental car center, which wasn’t far from my place, and they would take me to the airport. I would catch the 6 bus that goes to Culver City, and I would take that bus to the Fox Hill Mall and that would take me to west L.A. My second year, I would get on the 3 bus that goes on Lincoln and takes you all the way to Santa Monica and Pico, and I would go to school in the morning and come home the same way.”
Isaac’s efforts at the California junior colleges afforded him an opportunity to join the University of Memphis in 1992. Playing in the city often referred to as the “Home of the Blues,” Isaac made an immediate impact for the Tigers and often caused opposing defenses to feel blue.
During Isaac’s junior season, he started all 11 games, was the team’s second-leading receiver with 39 receptions for 532 yards and five touchdowns. Capturing the attention of NFL scouts, Isaac finished the 1993 season with then-school records of 74 catches for 1,054 yards. He scored 10 touchdowns.
In the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft, the L.A. Rams selected Isaac with the 33rd overall pick. His excitement about returning to L.A. was tempered when the organization announced its relocation to St. Louis after the wide receiver’s initial season.
Through Isaac’s 13 seasons in St. Louis, the team developed into the “Greatest Show on Turf,” characterized by their unselfish nature.
Mike Martz, considered the mastermind of the Rams’ offense, once described the experience this way: “It’s a special place in time that I don’t know if we’ll ever see again. It was not only a collection of talented guys, but talented guys that were very unselfish. They cared about each other and cared about winning.”
That winning included a pair of Super Bowl appearances.
During Super Bowl XXXIV in the Georgia Dome, Isaac scored the game-winning touchdown on a 73-yard reception from Hall of Fame quarterback KURT WARNER.
Coincidentally, that play call was the same call utilized when Isaac scored his first professional touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the same venue.
“The play is called 9-99, and it was my first touchdown pass against the Falcons, and I celebrated like we won a Super Bowl,” Isaac told ESPN.com. “Well, in the Super Bowl, the same play call, same side of the field, same city, same stadium and the same catch was for the touchdown that won the Super Bowl.”
The final destination of those L.A. bus routes and the 9-99 pass route delivered Isaac to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
“When I go back to L.A., it’s funny because I still see the buses, and I know exactly where they’re going,” Issac told ESPN senior writer Arash Markazi in 2016.
A glimpse at Isaac’s rise from bus rider to Super Bowl-winning receiver is the focus of this week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight.
Those buses Isaac referred to? They are etched in his memory through navigating from his residence to West Los Angeles for one year and to Santa Monica the next.
“I lived on Arbor Vitae Street, and I would catch the bus right at the bus deport next to the airport. It brings back so many memories,” Isaac told Markazi.
“I would walk to the rental car center, which wasn’t far from my place, and they would take me to the airport. I would catch the 6 bus that goes to Culver City, and I would take that bus to the Fox Hill Mall and that would take me to west L.A. My second year, I would get on the 3 bus that goes on Lincoln and takes you all the way to Santa Monica and Pico, and I would go to school in the morning and come home the same way.”
Isaac’s efforts at the California junior colleges afforded him an opportunity to join the University of Memphis in 1992. Playing in the city often referred to as the “Home of the Blues,” Isaac made an immediate impact for the Tigers and often caused opposing defenses to feel blue.
During Isaac’s junior season, he started all 11 games, was the team’s second-leading receiver with 39 receptions for 532 yards and five touchdowns. Capturing the attention of NFL scouts, Isaac finished the 1993 season with then-school records of 74 catches for 1,054 yards. He scored 10 touchdowns.
In the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft, the L.A. Rams selected Isaac with the 33rd overall pick. His excitement about returning to L.A. was tempered when the organization announced its relocation to St. Louis after the wide receiver’s initial season.
Through Isaac’s 13 seasons in St. Louis, the team developed into the “Greatest Show on Turf,” characterized by their unselfish nature.
Mike Martz, considered the mastermind of the Rams’ offense, once described the experience this way: “It’s a special place in time that I don’t know if we’ll ever see again. It was not only a collection of talented guys, but talented guys that were very unselfish. They cared about each other and cared about winning.”
That winning included a pair of Super Bowl appearances.
During Super Bowl XXXIV in the Georgia Dome, Isaac scored the game-winning touchdown on a 73-yard reception from Hall of Fame quarterback KURT WARNER.
Coincidentally, that play call was the same call utilized when Isaac scored his first professional touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the same venue.
“The play is called 9-99, and it was my first touchdown pass against the Falcons, and I celebrated like we won a Super Bowl,” Isaac told ESPN.com. “Well, in the Super Bowl, the same play call, same side of the field, same city, same stadium and the same catch was for the touchdown that won the Super Bowl.”
The final destination of those L.A. bus routes and the 9-99 pass route delivered Isaac to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
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