Kurt makes HOF

Third time’s the charm: Warner makes Hall of Fame

Jim Thomas

HOUSTON • What a journey. The Kurt Warner story now has gone from that Hy-Vee grocery store in Iowa to Canton.

Warner, the triggerman for the electric St. Louis Rams offenses known as the “Greatest Show on Turf,” was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. A finalist for the third year in a row, Warner made it to the final 10 candidates in each of the previous two years but no further in the selection process.

But this year, he broke through. The two-time NFL regular season MVP and MVP of Super Bowl XXXIV will be fitted for a gold jacket in August, during induction ceremonies at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Also selected to the Class of 2017 as modern-era inductees were kicker Morten Andersen, running back Terrell Davis, running back LaDainian Tomlinson, and defensive end Jason Taylor.

But after a marathon selection meetings of 8 hours 49 minutes, there was not good news for the two other finalists with St. Louis ties. Neither wide receiver Isaac Bruce, a stalwart of those Greatest Show teams, nor the late Don Coryell, who coached the exciting “Cardiac Cards” teams of the mid 1970s for the St. Louis Cardinals, were voted in.

Both were eliminated in the first round of cuts Saturday when the field of 15 finalists was initially trimmed to 10.

Warner becomes the fourth member of those Greatest Show teams voted into the Hall of Fame, joining running back Marshall Faulk, defensive back Aeneas Williams, and left tackle Orlando Pace.

Those high-scoring Rams became the first team in NFL history to score 500 points in three consecutive seasons _ from 1999-2001. The ’99 team defeated Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV; the ’01 squad was upset by New England in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Williams joined the part late, playing on the ’01 squad in his first season with St. Louis.

Warner becomes the 26th quarterback in the Hall of Fame, right on the heels of last year’s QB inductee Brett Favre. Warner was in camp with Favre in Green Bay way back in 1994, but was released in training camp.

That began a long-winding road that included stints in the Arena Football League with the Iowa Barnstormers, NFL Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals, and then another shot in the NFL when the St. Louis Rams signed him as a street free agent in 1998.

Warner was set to be Trent Green’s backup in 1999, but then Green suffered a season-ending knee injury in the team’s third preseason game. The then-obscure Warner stepped in as the starter, and the rest is NFL and St. Louis sports history.

Warner threw for a Super Bowl-record 414 yards against Tennessee, and still owns the three highest-passing yardage total in Super Bowl history. For all the great things he did in St. Louis, Warner probably wouldn’t have made the Hall of Fame without leading the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl to conclude the 2008 season.

Two other Rams who played in St. Louis also are in the Hall of Fame, although they weren’t in the Gateway City for long. Running back Jerome Bettis played in St. Louis in 1995, the team’s inaugural season in the Midwest, before being traded to Pittsburgh during the 1996 draft. Offensive tackle Jackie Slater played just one game for the ’95 Rams before retiring _ he had played his first 19 seasons for the Los Angeles Rams.

Hall of Fame Highlights: Kurt Warner

Celebrate QB Kurt Warner’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with this highlight montage.

http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/Hall-of-Fame-Highlights-Kurt-Warner/fdba85aa-6d6b-4da4-a5ee-54ed53e27f44