Elation. And a sigh of relief.
That was my immediate response to reports Nebraska football great Roger Craig was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in his 28th season of eligibility. Though eligibility never runs out, inclusion on the ballot can.
For reasons unknown, Roger wasn’t elected sooner, given his resume. You’ve probably seen it, but if you haven’t, here are some significant accomplishments.
(You’ll see why I’m using a first name later.)
First, Roger played in 11 NFL seasons — eight with the San Francisco 49ers, one with the Los Angeles Raiders and two with the Minnesota Vikings.
Most notably, he was the first NFL player to gain 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. He rushed for 1,050 yards and caught an NFL-leading 92 passes for 1,016 yards in 1985. He was listed as a fullback on the Bill Walsh-coached 49ers, playing in the famous West Coast offense. Only two players have had 1,000-yard seasons in rushing and receiving since, Marshall Faulk and Christian McCaffrey.
Roger played in four Super Bowls with the 49ers, three of which they won. So he’s a three-time Super Bowl champion, including after the 1988 season, when he was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Roger was a second-round NFL draft pick following a distinguished career at Nebraska, which earned him induction in the Husker Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
He played primarily on the freshman team his first season, rushed for 760 yards and 15 touchdowns as a back-up his sophomore season, finished third in the Big Eight in rushing and earning first-team all-conference recognition as a junior and battled injuries as a senior while playing behind Mike Rozier.
That was when you saw Roger’s character. With Rozier at I-back, Roger agreed to try fullback in the Huskers’ still developing option offense.
When Roger got to San Francisco, he began training on “The Hill,” a reflection of his determination and conditioning. His success was no accident.
OK, I’ve delayed including this because I didn’t want to seem biased in my support of Roger over the years. Plus, it’s another reflection of his character.
As a sportswriter for the Lincoln Journal and Star, I connected, you might say, with Roger (who followed brother Curtis to Nebraska) during his time as a Husker. Times were dramatically different without social media and on-line outlets. Only a handful of reporters covered post-practice interviews, two or three writers and a television reporter or two.
After a daily meeting with Coach Tom Osborne, you could track down an assistant or player and if they were willing, do a one-on-one interview. Some players even preferred talking before practice, and you could meet them outside the South Stadium locker room, by the equipment window.
During the 1994 national championship celebration at Memorial Stadium, former Husker and NFL safety Russell Gary (may he rest in peace) told me he remembered two off-the-field things about his time at Nebraska: Valentino’s pizza and me in or around the equipment room, waiting to interview someone. Equipment manager Glen Abbott (may he also rest in peace) allowed me in.
All of this to explain why I could connect with Craig. One Saturday, I was going to Woods Park in Lincoln to watch my son compete in something, probably football, and my young daughter darted across the street, just as a car was coming. I don’t recall that she was hit directly, or hit at all, but she went down and we immediately took her to the emergency ward, where she was cleared.
That week after practice, a member of the sports information office handed me a recruiting brochure (for lack of something else) Roger had signed with a note of positivity to my daughter.
So Roger’s been in my Hall of Fame ever since then — and probably before.
