Remembering Steve Largent

The Sporting News has Steve ranked at #46 in the top 100 football players of all time.

I say thats pretty damn good. considering that this team has had some awfully good players that could be on that list too. But its very tough company in the NFL and we here at 12 Seahawks Street are very biased twords our players. We would probably have at least 10, maybe more, players on that list. When in reality, not many people really know who most of our favorites are. Sure, other players know just how good the likes of Kenny Easley, Dave Brown or Jacob Green were. But this is a very tight list of players and Nationaly we get very little recognition by anybody in the world of football.

Yet this man is the one guy that nobody could overlook. everybody knows who, quite probably, the single "greatest" player to ever grace the NFL is. Steve owned almost every recieving record that was on the books at the time he retired. It took a man like Jerry Rice to eventually break most of his records that went on to become arguably the best player in the history of the NFL. But Rice may not be the greatest player by certain standards. The standards that were set for every player that will ever follow the legend of Steve Largent.

There is but one who has graced us with his presence. One that taught us what it meant to be unselfish. One that set the bar very high for us to be a class act orginazation, filled with honerable team players. A team that had no room for primadonna's and selfishness. Thats just fine by me, MaxHawk.



Call him the master of illusion. When Steve Largent ran pass patterns, he always ended up here and the defender over there. That was the special magic of the record-setting wide receiver, who emptied his bag of tricks over a 14-year career with the Seattle Seahawks. When Largent zigged, everyone else in the stadium usually zagged.

Longtime Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes called him "the master of tomfoolery," a reference to Largent's ability to deceive cornerbacks. But he also will be remembered as a consummate pro who squeezed everything from his ability with a meticulous, cerebral approach to his craft. He didn't have great speed and had less than ideal size (5-11, 187), but he more than made up for those shortcomings with exceptional lateral quickness, great balance, body control and soft hands that seemed to pull balls in like a magnet.

Covering Largent was like a game of cat and mouse. He could run the same pattern on three straight plays and beat the cornerback in three different ways. He would use a move on one play to set up a later one, throw two or three incomprehensible moves into one feint and run unusual routes that played with the defender's mind. Largent was unsurpassed in his preparation, a picture of total concentration. It was all part of a precise plan, conceived and executed by pro football's ultimate possession receiver.

Largent was a 1976 fourth-round pick of the Houston Oilers but was traded during his first training camp to the Seahawks for a 1977 eighth-round pick. By 1989, he had carved out his place as the greatest pass catcher in NFL history. When he retired, he owned records for most catches (819), yards (13,089) and touchdowns (100), all marks that have since been broken, and his eight 1,000-yard seasons still rank second only to Jerry Rice's 12. Largent, who once caught passes in 177 consecutive games, earned seven Pro Bowl selections.

"When I got here and had a chance to watch him on a regular basis, I was amazed. In my mind, you can take every superlative you can think of and apply it to Steve Largent. He's that good."
former Seahawks G.M. Mike McCormack, 1984.



Steve had 70 or more receptions six seasons, 50 or more 10 years. . .Led NFL in receiving yards, 1979, 1985. All-Pro, 1983, 1985, 1987. . . Picked for seven Pro Bowls. . .Missed only four games with injuries first 13 seasons. . . Born September 28, 1954, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a 5-11, 187-pound wide receiver with only average size and speed but armed with exceptional determination and concentration, became one of history's most outstanding pass catchers during his 14-season, 200-game career with the Seattle Seahawks from 1976 to 1989.
Steve was enshrined into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame making him the only true Seahawk to have ever been blessed with this honor. Steve was a true Seahawk, playing his full career in Seattle.

Largent returned to Tulsa in 1989 and soon became active in politics. However, he didn't make his first run for office until 1994. That year, 1st District Congressman Jim Inhofe ran in a special election to succeed Senator David Boren, Largent entered the Republican primary for the Tulsa-based district. He won the nomination and went on to win easily in November. He was reelected three times, never winning less than 60 percent of the vote in the heavily Republican district.

Like many of his colleagues in the Republican freshmen elected in 1994—when the Republicans took control of the House for the first time in 40 years—Largent's voting record was strongly conservative. However, Largent was one of the few "true believers" in that freshman class. He devoted most of his time to issues important to the religious right. One of his first bills was a "parental rights" bill that died in committee after it attracted opposition even from other Christian conservatives. Another one of his early bills would have abolished the federal tax code at the end of 2001, a measure that only made Republicans appear fiscally irresponsible in the press. He opposed ending the 1996 federal government shutdown, and when it ended was one of the major players in an attempted coup against House Speaker Newt Gingrich. After the Republicans suffered heavy losses in the 1998 midterm elections, Largent was one of a group of Republican congressmen who drove Gingrich into retirement. Largent himself tried to take advantage of discontent with Majority Leader Dick Armey by challenging Armey for the post. However, he lost because he wasn't seen as a team player.

Despite this, Largent decided to run for Governor of Oklahoma in 2002. He easily won the Republican nomination, and resigned his House seat to devote all his energy to the race. Initially seen as an overwhelming favorite against Democratic state senator Brad Henry, his campaign lost ground since most Oklahomans outside of the Tulsa area didn't know where he stood on issues. It didn't help matters that an independent conservative was also in the race and siphoned off much of Largent's base. Perhaps his biggest misstep occurred when he swore at an Oklahoma City television reporter who wanted to know where he was at the time of the September 11 attacks. Largent lost to Henry by just under 7,000 votes.

When Largent retired, former NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle said, "It took only seven months to find my successor, but it will be years before anyone with the character, human decency and on-the-field skills will be found to replace Steve Largent."
Largent's farewell reception featured videotaped congratulations from two presidents - Ronald Reagan and George Bush.
Largent told the crowd, "I wish I was as neat as you all think I am, but I'm not."
He was shrewd and tough. He would give defensive backs sportsmanlike "nice-play" taps with a hand as he was getting up after being tackled, a gesture that discouraged cheap shots.
His toughness was never more evident than in 1988. Denver safety Mike Harden threw a right forearm to the left side of Largent's face, shattering the facemask, dislodging teeth and leaving Largent briefly unconscious and with a sprained left knee. Fourteen weeks later, Harden intercepted a pass intended for Brian Blades and headed up the sideline. Largent took off after him like a cruise missile and hit him so hard he fumbled. Largent recovered the ball.



STEVE LARGENT'S HALL OF FAME INDUCTION SPEECH 1995.

"Thank you for your kindness to me over the years & thank you for the honor of this moment. I want to share this honor equally with my wife Terry, who has made every good thing in my life possible. I also want to share it with my children: Kyle, Casie, Kelly & Kramer, who make my life wonderful. My most significant accomplishments have always come in victory and defeat, especially Jim Zorn & Dave Krieg. My story, like so many others, is a story of mentors. Of people who challenged me when I questioned myself. Of people who believed in me against all the evidence.

My mother never missed a game or a practice, and kept me from quitting football as a sophomore in high school. My grandfather stepped into the gap after my parents were divorced. My coaches--Jerry Rhome, Steve Moore, Chuck Knox & Jerry Potter-- taught me the game of football and the meaning of leadership. When I close my eyes, I still hear their voices. They still shape my character and direct my life. I was one of those players who was labeled early as: "too small, too slow".

I came to depend on people who actually saw me as bigger and faster than I was. We all need people who believe in us. They expand the boundaries we place upon our lives. In my case, their influence did more than improve my performance in this great game, it filled a hollowness I could not explain, or even understand. When a child grows up without a father, there is an empty place where someone must stand, providing an example of character and confidence. If no one takes that place, a child can live in a shadow all their lives. Their emptiness is often filled by despair, by anger, or even violence.



Quarterback Jim Zorn:
"He brings a lot of good information back to the huddle. He doesn't just think of himself. He's seeing how other receivers can get open."
"He can make his legs go one way and his upper body go another way." -

Seattle offensive coach Jerry Rhome:
"I'd rather have a guy like Largent, who can change directions, than the fastest guy in the world."

Source: Unknown
The Pride of Z-eattle By Jim Natal
Zorn also has a unique trio of favorite receivers, each with his own style of running a pass pattern. Coming out of the backfield, Don Testerman doesn't so much run a pass pattern as charge it. Sherman Smith, the other running back [who was a receiver in college], doesn't run either; he's so smooth he flows. As for Steve Largent, the Seahawks' leading wide receiver, Zorn has called him "a circus in himself." Zorn divided his passes almost equally between the three of them last year, Largent catching 33 passes, Testerman 31 and Smith 30.



Steve Largent:
"You can't think about the Kingdome without thinking about the fans. They're the ones who gave this gray, drab building an atmosphere... I've got a lot of blood, sweat and tears invested in that building. The memories are indelibly etched in my mind. I still follow the team every day...It is a place where we worked - a stark, gray building that reflected the type of team we were: a no-frills, down-to-business-type franchise."
"The thing that motivates me more than anything else is people telling me I can't do something."

Largent knows he'll never run a 4.3 forty, so he has worked on becoming the best move maker in football. He has honed his concentration so it will cut through rain, sleet, and helmets to the ribs.
He is a poet among panzers. If his greatness goes largely unnoticed, it's for the same reason people don't seek out marching bands to hear the flutes.

Largent's teammates call him Yoda because he is a master at making cornerbacks commit themselves, at baiting their traps.
It's the quickness of his second move that sets him free. Or the third, if he needs it. What distinguishes Largent is the body control to make that second move while the cornerback is still reacting to his first move. "It happens all the time to everybody," Dave Brown says.

December 25, 1989
DEC. 24 -- Seven thousand fans showed up at a party to say goodbye to Steve Largent after he had played his last game for the Seattle Seahawks. "I wish I was as neat as you all think I am but I'm not," Largent told the capacity crowd at the Washington State Convention Center.
Seattle's homeless will benefit from the $70,000 the party produced, including $5,500 given by Largent's teammates.
"I'm overwhelmed by all of this," he said.
Largent, the NFL's all-time leading pass receiver, never went to a Super Bowl but he became the favorite player of Seahawks fans, for his overachievements on the field and his humble demeanor off it.

Mike Haynes, Los Angeles Raiders defensive back, sent Largent a telegram, saying: "For a guy too slow and too short, you sure fooled a lot of people."

Largent, 35, also received videotape messages from President Bush and former President Reagan.

"You are one of those people who really have made a difference," Bush said.

"I offer my heartfelt thanks not only from the community of Seattle but from this president."
Said Reagan, "Several times when I've watched you, I wanted to shout, 'Win one for the Gipper.' You are truly a role model for the rest of us."

Largent said his retirement hadn't really hit him yet.
"It's just the end of another season," he said. "It may even take until next May or next September when I'm not putting on a football uniform to realize my career is over."




The end of Largents career truly marked the end of an era that we my never see the likes of again. His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of those who were fortunate enough to watch him play his career here in Seattle. The others may have their Championships and their Superstars, but we had Steve.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Largents enshrinment into the Hall of Fame. That means that it has been 15 years since he played his last football game. Hardly seems that long. The memory of Steve stays fresh in the mind and it seems like it will never fade away.

If we, the Seahawks, never win a Superbowl, it will be of little consequence to me because we have already won the greatest game that could have ever been played, Largents career was a 14 year long game filled with "Did You See That"?!?!

Nothing will ever match the legacy of Steve Largent. You helped me grow to love this sport with un-dying passion. I too was the guy they said was too small. They soon learned that heart hits hard and runs fast. Thank you Steve for being an inspiration to me. It was my pleasure to follow your career. I mourned the loss of you as a player for my team. I honor the memory of what you gave to us, both on and off the field.

Number "80", I will never forget. MaxHawk.

Special thanx to http://beckys-place.com for the cerimonial induction speech and many other parts of this artical and to http://thesportingnews.com

Also, you have all probably seen these but, I never tire of looking at them (added by monkey):
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