Sapp mementos on exhibit

{GALLERY}The Pro Football Hall of Fame received a major gift from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in recent weeks. The Bucs, in honor of Warren Sapp’s upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame, donated several artifacts from the defensive tackle’s career for permanent preservation in the museum.

Sapp is just the second longtime member of the Tampa Bay franchise, joining Lee Roy Selmon, to earn election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Among the artifacts now on display in a special exhibit dedicated to the Class of 2013 are the jerseys worn by Sapp during the 1996 and 2000 seasons. Sapp, who earned NFL All-Decade honors in the 1990s and 2000s, enjoyed one of his best seasons during the 2000 campaign. Not only did he have a career high 16.5 sacks, but his total was the third highest for any defensive tackle in NFL history.

Two seasons later Sapp was an integral part the franchise’s first and only Super Bowl victory. To commemorate that accomplishment, the team sent a special collector’s edition bobble head of Sapp following the Bucs win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII and a commemorative issue of Sports Illustrated which chronicles Tampa Bay’s run to the Super Bowl. Sapp is featured on the magazine’s cover.

Sapp and the six other members of the Class of 2013 – Larry Allen, Cris Carter, Curley Culp, Jonathan Ogden, Bill Parcells, and Dave Robinson – will be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 3.