Today, this year's NFL Hall of Fame class was announced at the Super Bowl in Tampa Florida. It's a star-studded group featuring such standouts as the late Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs and Rod Woodson, the talented defensive back perhaps best known for his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The class really belongs to Bills fans however, as Ralph Wilson, the only man to ever own the Bills and one of the founders of the American Football League joined the Hall. Alongside him is one of, if not the greatest player in Buffalo history Bruce Smith.
Smith, The NFL's all-time leader in sacks with 200, was the #1 overall pick in 1985 out of Virginia Tech. During his time in Blacksburg, "The Sack Man" amassed 71 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for a total of 504 yards lost by the opponent. Smith won the 1984 Outland Trophy as America's top lineman and was a consensus All-American the same season.
In addition to his record number of sacks, Smith had 1,224 tackles, 43 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions in his illustrious NFL career resulting in 11 Pro Bowl selections. Smith was a crucial cog in the Bills teams that won 4-consecutive AFC championships, though they failed to win a Super Bowl.
This video kind of downplays Bruce a little towards the end, but it highlights the most memorable sack of his career for me. I remember vividly when Bruce knocked Boomer Esiason unconcious, I'm not sure if Boomer remembers it quite as clearly.
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