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Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 swings through Repository, Sterling Sharpe opens up
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- Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 swings through Repository, Sterling Sharpe opens up
CANTON— The lay of the land for Hall of Fame week led to the Class of 2025 hanging out at the Canton Repository on Thursday, July 31.
Antonio Gates , Sterling Sharpe , Jared Allen and Eric Allen appeared in the newspaper's ornate lobby to chat about a little bit of everything having to do with going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement on Aug. 2.
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The week seems to have gotten Sharpe in some deep thinking, beyond the novelty of now being part of the first brothers tandem, with Shannon Sharpe, in the Hall.
As Sterling opened up, he painted pictures of himself back in Glennville, Georgia, pitching hay bales and tending animal pens, and living in a house with no running water.
"This (the Hall of Fame) isn't a dream of yours when you're living on the farm," he said.
He worked his way to a scholarship at South Carolina and into a high draft spot with the Green Bay Packers . The day to day at those places amounted to living the dream, even though the years were short.
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His NFL career amounted to seven seasons (1988-94) with the Packers before injury drove him out.
Hall of Fame Game 2025: Chargers vs. Lions score, live updates as NFL preseason kicks off
Jul 31, 2025; Canton, Ohio, USA; Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee Sterling Sharpe before the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Detroit Lions at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
He's not much for entertaining questions about making the Hall "despite a short career."
"You can talk about what I could have, would have, and should have done," he said. "You can compare me to Jerry and Tim and Andre and Calvin any way you want, but …"
Jerry Rice (20 years), Tim Brown (17) and Andre Johnson (14) all played substantially longer than Sharpe. Even short-timer Calvin Johnson played two years longer.
Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 inductee Sterling Sharpe speaks at a news conference after NFL Honors Feb. 6, 2025, at Saenger Theatre in New Orleans.
Sharpe packed 8,134 yards and 65 touchdowns into his seven years. He knew he could play and loved the time he had.
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The Hall of Fame?
"Being here, going in the Hall of Fame? It's not for me. I got what I wanted when I played. It's for family and friends. It's an opportunity to thank them."
Sharpe underwent eye surgery in October and arrived in Canton still dealing with complications regarding his right eye.
He said given a choice between making the Hall or having use of his right eye, the eye would have it by a mile.
Meanwhile, he seemed to be having quite a time with the other Class of 2025 members. He was gracious and thoughtful as he interacted with the media in the Repository lobby.
He said it's hard to encapsulate the Hall of Fame experience in words.
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"Not everything can be spoken," he said. "Let this be unspoken."
The new Hall of Famers are divided into twosomes who faced each other as offensive and defensive players.
Sharpe, who turned 60 in April, and Eric Allen , a former cornerback who will turn 60 in November, had long waits to make the Hall.
Gates, 45, and Jared Allen , 43, arrive as relative youngsters.
All of them talked a little shop in their Repository stop.
Gates said he used to hate the Kent State basketball assistant who drove him to excruciating lengths in his college days of specializing in hoops. He loves that coach now.
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Jared Allen, who made 136 NFL sacks, gave a surprise answer as to the hardest quarterback to take down. He didn't even remember the first name of David Garrard, but he said he will never forget that the Jacksonville QB was a brick.
Sharpe, the receiver, said Eric Allen, the corner, always seemed to know when a pass wasn't going to a certain receiver.
"I think three-fourths of his interceptions came because he cheated (toward where the ball was really going," Sharpe said.
Eric Allen loved that he played corner rather than safety.
"The safety often deals with the receiver after he catches the ball," Allen said. "I got to try to make sure he didn't catch it."
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The media group allowed into the Repository was from around the country and included some Hall of Fame voters. The Class of 2025 arrived around 1 p.m. and stayed about 90 minutes before getting on with a busy week.
Check cantonrep.com for thorough coverage all week.
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Sterling Sharpe and Hall of Fame Class of 2025 arrive in Canton
