2011 Pro Football Hall Of Fame Inductee Richard Dent gives thanks for what he became

CANTON, Ohio — During his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech Saturday, Richard Dent said he “wanted to be someone special my mother and father and brothers could look up to.

” Dent accomplished that and so much more during a 15-year career mostly spent with the Bears where he wowed fans on the lakefront and wreaked havoc in opposing backfields.

Dent finished his career with 137½ sacks, third all-time when he retired behind Reggie White and Bruce Smith, and was the MVP of the 1986 Super Bowl. Those Bears epitomized the Monsters of the Midway.


He had 10 or more sacks in eight seasons, and was also a strong defender of the run, which impressed teammates like offensive guard Tom Thayer, who always appreciated the fact that Dent was a three-down player.

“Buddy Ryan challenged Richard Dent,” Thayer said. “Buddy said, ‘Make sure that you can stop the run, or else you’re not going to play in my defense,’ and then Richard Dent lived up to everything that was required of him on the field.”

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RICHARD DENT: His ‘wildest dream’

CANTON, OH — Dreaming big came naturally to Richard Dent.

“I grew up in a town where a man always said, ‘I have a dream,’ and that man was Martin Luther King,” Dent said. “And as a kid growing up at that time, listening to him, all I could do is dream. I wanted to be someone special that my mother and my father and my family looked up to.”

That kid from Atlanta exceeded his dreams.

Saturday night, he stood as a man inside Fawcett Stadium and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“Not in my wildest dream did I think I’d be here,” the 50-year-old Dent said as he looked back on his unlikely path, first to college and then to becoming an NFL superstar with the powerful Chicago Bears of the mid-1980s.

“None of us get anywhere by ourselves,” Dent said, as he thanked dozens of family, friends, teammates and coaches for helping him along his journey. Men such as high school coach, William Lester, and his Tennessee State defensive coordinator, Joe Gilliam, played a huge part in him becoming an NFL player.

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Tennessee State University's Richard Dent Joins Pro Football Hall Of Fame In Class Of 2011

Chicago, IL - Back in 1983, defensive end Richard Dent was an eighth-round selection out of Tennessee State by the Chicago Bears. Twenty-eight years later, Dent will find himself in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. A member of the storied mid-1980s Bears defenses, Dent made his reputation in the league by becoming a feared sack artist. His 137-1/2 career sacks have him tied for sixth all-time with 2010 Hall of Fame inductee John Randle. But that doesn't tell the whole story of Dent's dominance.

After playing in all 16 games as a rookie, Dent followed that up in 1984 with 17-1/2 sacks, third best that year. He didn't let up in 1985, leading the league with 17 sacks. He was in midst of recording double-digit sacks in eight of 10 season from 1984-93. In 1993, Dent, 33, had 12-1/2 sacks, his last great season. He would float around the league for the next four seasons to San Francisco, back to Chicago, then in Indianapolis and finally finishing things with Philadelphia.




Dent garnered a number of awards during his 15-year career. He was the 1985 Super Bowl MVP, which saw him record 1-1/2 sacks in the Bears' 46-10 romp over the Patriots. He made four Pro Bowls...

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Tennessee State star Richard Dent enters Pro Football Hall of Fame today

Excerpt:
TSU Took a Chance
The defensive coordinator at Tennessee State, Joe Gilliam happened to be teaching a graduate course in public health. One of his students was William Lester, Dent’s coach at Murphy High in Atlanta. Gilliam was also responsible for recruiting in Georgia, and one spring day, he stopped by the school. Lester put in a tape and asked what he thought.

“I said, ‘I have cornerbacks that are bigger than Richard Dent and he’s an offensive tackle. He just won’t cut it, Coach,’” Gilliam said.  Lester wouldn’t take no for an answer, though, and when fall practices started, Gilliam said he showed up with Dent in tow even though there was no scholarship offer.

“He says, ‘We can’t leave him in Atlanta. He won’t make it, Coach.’ I said, ‘I can understand. He comes from a pretty rough area and all that, but I just don’t have a scholarship for him.’ He says, ‘Coach, I can’t leave him. So I brought him.’ He says, ‘You do what you can for him. I know you'll do that.’ ”

He remembers Lester telling him, “Well, you got him” and then leaving.

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TSU's Aristocrat of Bands part of Dent's Hall of Fame weekend

Ed Graves and the TSU band will perform at the Hall of Fame.

Nashville, TN - Richard Dent did not wait to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame to ask Tennessee State marching band director Ed Graves for a favor. Not long after the former TSU defensive end retired from the NFL in 1997, he informed Graves he wanted the band to be a part of his enshrinement weekend.

“He always said, ‘If I ever get that call I want the band to be there,’” Graves said.

So when Graves saw that Dent was voted into this year’s class, he put a trip to the Aug. 6 ceremony in Canton, Ohio, on the schedule for the 200-member Aristocrat of Bands. TSU’s summer commencement was originally scheduled for next weekend, but the administration delayed it until Aug. 13 so that alumni, students and fans may attend the Hall of Fame festivities.



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Tennessee State University's Dent among Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists

Photo: Atlanta native, Richard Dent #95 is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The former TSU star was selected in the 1983 NFL Draft, Round 8, Pick 203 by the Chicago Bears.

PHOENIX — Richard Dent knows he can’t go back and change anything. So he’s hoping what he did in his 15 NFL seasons is enough to get him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when voters meet here Saturday.

The former Tennessee State and Chicago Bears star, the Super Bowl XX Most Valuable Player, is among 15 modern era finalists. “I look forward to the opportunity, I think I am deserving,’’ Dent said. “I feel support from people, people who felt like I should be there and can’t understand why I’m not. “But I’ve done all I can do. My work is done; I can’t come back and make it any better than it is." At the time of his retirement following the 1997 season, Dent ranked third all-time in sacks with 137.5, trailing only Reggie White and Bruce Smith.

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