Champ Bailey Voted In, 1st Broncos Defensive Player In The Pro Football Hall Of Fame
(CBS4) - Champ Bailey has been voted in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The former Broncos star cornerback received the honor in his first year of eligibility. Broncos owner, Pat Bowlen, was also elected.
Bailey was drafted by the Washington Redskins and spent the first five years of his NFL career there. In 2004 he came to Denver through a trade (running back Clinton Portis was sent to Washington) and stayed in Denver through the 2013 season. He retired in 2014 due to a foot injury.
Bailey becomes the first Broncos defensive player to make the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.
"It's amazing. I really didn't know that for a while. I had no idea. I just assumed that we had a defensive player in. But then I realized that we didn't get our first one until I got to Denver with (John) Elway. So, I was like 'OK, we don't have a defensive player.' But now I'm just proud to represent that franchise because they took care of me all my years," Bailey said on Saturday.
Bailey told CBS4 after it was all over that the end of his last full season as a pro was his proudest time.
"I never thought that that would be the end, but I'm kind of glad that it did end like that, because not a lot of people can win their last home game and go out saying that they won it, even though we lost in the Super Bowl," Bailey said of the AFC Championship win over the Patriots and the loss to the Seahawks. "We did win that game (vs. NE) at home for our fans. That's going to be a lasting memory for me."
CBS4 asked Bailey at the time about the best wide receiver he's had to cover in his career.
"There were some tough ones. I could say Randy Moss, Terrell Owens … Michael Irvin, Chad Johnson; all of these guys were tough," Bailey said. "But what made them tough was the quarterback, and playing against Marvin Harrison in Indy when he had Peyton (Manning), that was the toughest matchup you're ever going to see."
Bailey made the Pro Bowl 12 times in his 15 year career and also made eight All-Pro teams. He was also on the the all-decade team of 2000-2010. He recorded 52 career interceptions and 908 tackles over the course of his career.
"This represents the first time multiple Broncos have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the same class. Bowlen and Bailey become the sixth and seventh Broncos to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame," the Broncos said in a news release.
Bailey and Bowlen (as well as Ty Law who was briefly on the Broncos at the end of his career) join the other following Broncos who are in the Hall:
John Elway (a Bronco from 1983-1998)
Shannon Sharpe (1990-99, 2002-03)
Gary Zimmerman (1993-1997)
Terrell Davis (1995-2001)
Brian Dawkins (2009-2011)
Floyd Little (1967-1975)
Willie Brown (1963-1966)
Tony Dorsett (1988)
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The enshrinement ceremony for Bailey and other members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will take place on Saturday, Aug. 3 in Canton, Ohio.
