Troy Aikman - Hall of Fame speech (2006)

we're still rolling here in Canton Ohio are we not so I have a question which most specifically will go to you folks up there but I can ask all around how about them Cowboys they're still with us okay I I knew you hadn't lost the your attention span that's for sure as a rookie in 1989 Troy Aikman played for a team that won one game one at the end of the 1995 season that would be just six years later he owned three Super Bowl rings three of them efficient yeah how about clutch six and one combined in Super Bowls and championship games including of course 3-0 in Super Bowls when he completed a record 70 percent of his passes there's a ton of pressure when you're drafted first overall in the National Football League more than anybody would know Troy Aikman took that pressure and he ran with it check that he passed with it [Music] [Music] Troy Aikman owned the decade of the 1990s he won 90 regular season games in the 90s the most wins of any starting quarterback in any decade in NFL history oh by the way this Dallas Cowboys won three Super Bowl titles enough said Aikman an All-American at UCLA was drafted as the first overall pick of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Cowboys from then on the strikeman grew as an NFL quarterback so too did the Cowboys developing into one of the NFL's greatest teams completing a pass on his first NFL play Aikman became the first Cowboy rookie quarterback to start the season opener since Roger Staubach Hall of Famer in 1969 but he'd go winless as a starter that first season while the Cowboys endured a 1-15 campaign foreign 1991 saw the emergence of Aikman running back Emmett Smith and Wide Receiver Michael Irvin as the triplets and the Cowboys reached the second round of the NFL playoffs Aikman led the NFC in completion percentage that year earned his first Pro Bowl selection as well 1992 would be the culmination of the growth for Aikman and the Cowboys along with 23 touchdowns as he led Dallas to a club record 13 regular season win rolling through the playoffs Aikman completed over 68 percent of his passes while throwing for eight touchdowns and no interceptions in Super Bowl 27 Aikman earned MVP honors starring four TD passes in a 52-17 trouncing of the bills from a League worst 1 in 15 in 1989 to Super Bowl champs in 1992. the Cowboys and Aikman had arrived as a premier power in the NFL and began their own Dynasty in Dallas the next three seasons saw the Cowboys go 12-4 each time while adding two more World Championships in Super Bowl 28 and Super Bowl 30. in all Aikman LED Dallas to six NFC East crowns and four straight berts in the NFC Championship Game he'd end his career as the Cowboys all-time leader in passing yardage and touchdown passes as well as one of the NFL's most accurate passes the 2000 season Hickman's 12th in the league would be his final campaign for the Cowboys as injuries and concussions would finally take their toll they've been finished with a 105 and 75 career record as starter including 11 and 4 in the postseason Dallas made it to the playoffs in eight of Aikman's 12 seasons already honored in the famed Cowboys Ring of Honor a six-time pro bowler three-time World Champ and Super Bowl MVP Troy Aikman is now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2006. to present Troy today his mentor in his early days in Dallas back then he was offensive coordinator coach the quarterbacks later himself became head coach of the Redskins and the Raiders now coach in the offense with San Francisco please welcome back to the Cowboy fold if you will North Turner [Applause] I must say it's awfully nice even though if it's just for a weekend to be around the Cowboy fans and Troy [Applause] remember it like it was today the first time I met Troy Aikman he was in a meeting he was standing in a meeting room he had his arm and a sling he was recovering from shoulder surgery he had been slammed to the turf at the vet by Clyde Simmons I think Reggie got in on that one also I joked to Troy we've got to get you to get rid of that ball a little quicker he didn't laugh in fact he gave me that look he can give you that says hey let's get to work a few weeks later we had a chance to go out in the field for the first time I remember after the workout called my good friend and Coach Ernie zampizi I told him I'd never seen anything like it phew have had the great release The Unbelievable arm strength and incredible accuracy of Troy Aikman [Applause] a couple a couple years ago during an interview I was asked if I if I got to coach one game who would I choose as my starting quarterback as you saw today there's a lot of there's a lot of great ones to choose from but it was really very easy question for me to answer I told him I choose Troy [Applause] the interviewer politely asked me why I said because I want to win I further explain my answer Troy was consistently the best the most accurate passer I've ever seen what fans on Sunday his teammates saw every day of the week another one of Troy's real strengths was was his ability to bring out the best and everyone around him Troy was driven to be the best and he and he expected the same from everyone around him [Applause] I really felt it was it was Troy's drive along with Coach Jimmy Johnson's leadership that had accounted for that worse the first you just saw on the screen his greatest strength as a player was about his ability to focus and stay focused in the most unusual circumstances Troy had the ability to make the play wouldn't matter the most you know after a game a lot of times you have those ifs [Applause] you know you know what I'm talking about if we'd hit that if we'd completed that ball on third and four we would have won the game you also have those wives why'd they throw the ball in that situation they could have given it to Emmett with Troy you didn't have those ifs and y's the best example to me was in the 92 championship game with four minutes left in the game there was no ifs Alvin Harper ran a slant Troy hit him right between the numbers Alvin ran down the field inside the 10 and took Troy himself and the rest of the Cowboys right to the Super Bowl [Applause] Troy's greatest plays they came in the most critical situations if you look at his greatest games they came against the best teams and they came in the playoffs Troy is one of the most unselfish players to have played he knew the things he had to do to give his team the best chance to win in an era of super egos he never let his get in the way of winning Super Bowls were more important than statistics today Troy has been honored as one of the greatest players ever it was a thrill for me to coach him three years in Dallas during that time we picked we became great friends and won two Super Bowls it was very difficult coaching against Troy and the Cowboys the next seven years during that 10-year era Troy was the winningest quarterback in the National Football League [Applause] it was great for me to watch Troy grow as a player but more than that it was a thrill to watch him grow as a man I feel privileged to present Troy today but I feel more privileged to have been his close friend throughout the years Troy's teammates would tell you he was a leader of those great Dallas teams of the 90s it's fitting that he's the first of that group to enter the Hall of Fame [Applause] for the future years when he'll be joined by his great Coach Jimmy Johnson his teammates Michael Irvin Emmett Smith Larry Allen and hopefully others [Applause] it's a great honor and thrill to present to the Hall of Fame Dallas quarterback number eight Troy Aikman [Applause] Troy and North together one last time and there you see the bus that will go into kin that norve helped shape so much with the way he called the game for Troy Troy Aikman [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you thank you very much I'd like to first of all say that I'm very pleased to see all the people who have stuck stuck around here today I know it's been a long day I know it's hot I know a lot of you have come to watch other inductees and have reason to leave but you stuck it out and I appreciate that very much [Applause] I'd also like to say that uh the people in Canton Ohio have been absolutely terrific over the last three days that we've been here the hospitality that they've shown myself and my family has been nothing short of spectacular I look forward to many return trips to the Canton area in the future years I don't anticipate missing many Hall of Fame weekends thank you for the hospitality and thank you for the courtesy you've shown me and my family [Applause] you know it said you're judged by The Company You Keep if that's true I'm in great standing today it's an honor to be a member of a Hall of Fame induction class that includes five men for whom I have such an admiration and respect Warren Moon Reggie White Harry Carson and Rayfield Wright played the game the way it should be played John Madden coached the game the same way I would have loved to have had any one of them on my team I too am saddened by the absence of Reggie White an amazing player an even better man who left us far too soon Reggie Warren Herring Rayfield and John represented the game with class just as Leslie Visser the first female recipient of the Pete Roselle award brought respect and professionalism to the field of Journalism for her work in print and broadcasting it makes me proud to be in their company today I'm honored as well to have North Turner here today as my presenter nor was my coach for three years that's it I started playing football at the age of seven and retired when I was 34 and of all those years norve and I were together for only three and yet there's no doubt in my mind that if North Turner had not entered my life I wouldn't be joining these men in the Pro Football Hall of Fame today he meant that much to my career and to the Dallas Cowboys North came to Dallas as an offensive coordinator in 1991 my third season and turned around one of the worst offenses in the National Football League and gave guidance to a Young quarterback who was in desperate need of some Direction we went to the playoffs That season and over the next two years won back-to-back Super Bowls [Applause] at a time when many coaches are guarded about getting too close to their players North proved that you could be both a great coach and a great friend and yet as our friendship that is most special because it has endured long after he stopped coaching me in Dallas he's the big brother I never had foreign [Applause] and I thank him for having the single biggest influence on my career thank you North I wouldn't be here without you [Applause] when I was a kid all I ever wanted to be was a professional athlete it wouldn't have happened without the help of a lot of great coaches I was blessed to be coached by some of the game's best beginning with my earliest years of Junior All-American football in Cerritos California with the Suburban Hornets Mario Orozco Rod Davis Manny desalva taught me the fundamentals of the game and what it meant to be a good sport as I moved on to Junior High and high school ball in Henrietta Oklahoma with the Henrietta hands that's right our mascot was the hands fighting hands as if maybe that instilled a little bit of doubt in our opponent's Minds anyway Bill holton-ish cannot be there in Henrietta taught me about the sacrifices that must be made to excel following High School I attended Oklahoma University and was coached by one of the winningest coaches in college football history Barry Switzer it was also while at Oklahoma that I got coached by Mack Brown current head coach of the defending national champion Texas Longhorns [Applause] although my out all of my time at Oklahoma was brief it was there that I first learned how difficult playing the quarterback position could be it was through it was through those disappointments however that led to my transfer into UCLA that decision would turn around my career I owe so much of My Success to UCLA and my head coach there at the time Terry Donahue [Music] coach Donahue represented UCLA with class and integrity and was a great example for the young men that he coached his impact on me was significant he would often tell me and the team Things Are Never As Good As you think they are or ever as bad as you think they are Sound Advice that I would have to remind myself of often during my early years in Dallas coach Donahue thank you for providing me an opportunity at UCLA and having such a positive influence on my life so many other coaches are responsible for my development as a player Rick Enos Danny Spurlock Kent Lackey Steve axman Rick newheisel Jerry Rome Hudson Houck Joe avazano Joe's been a great friend to me and my family for many years and I thank him for his support throughout my career [Applause] Ernie zampizzi my offensive coordinator in Dallas for four years including when we won Super Bowl 30. and was one of the best offensive minds and greatest people that this game has ever known Ernie couldn't be with us today I know he's watching and Ernie I say thank you for everything and then of course there was Jimmy foreign Johnson and I arrived in Dallas the same year 1989 both fresh from college both eager to prove ourselves didn't take long to see that Jimmy was unique and it wasn't just because of his hair I think what struck me most about Jimmy was his fearlessness some coaches play not to lose Jimmy always played to win some guard against overconfidence Jimmy insisted on it Jimmy's boldness set the tone for a young group of players who didn't know much about winning but were eager to learn Jimmy was the right coach at the right time for the Dallas Cowboys and I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to play for him [Music] [Applause] I was also fortunate to have played for a franchise whose owner was as committed to winning as anybody on the field every move Jerry Jones made was done with the sole purpose of helping the Cowboys win championships that's what he was about then and still is to this day as a quarterback the player who more than any other is ultimately judged on his ability to win I couldn't have asked for anything more from an owner it was a privilege to play for Jerry and the rest of the Jones family and I appreciate the opportunity that they gave me and their commitment to making the Cowboys a championship organization thank you very much [Applause] in addition to Great coaching and ownership I had the pleasure of playing with a very gifted and special group of players it's no wonder it's no wonder we enjoyed so much success in the 90s considering all the talent we had I enjoyed the best seat in the house as I watched Emmett Smith run his way to the NFL's all-time rushing record all right Michael Irvin whose work ethic was Second To None was one of the most special teammates I've ever had the opportunity to play with I always took great pride in being a part of the triplets with Michael and Emmett there were so many other special players that I had a chance to play with guys such as Jay Novacek [Applause] the Irreplaceable and unsung hero of our franchise Daryl moose Johnston [Applause] the blue-collar guy who I'm not ashamed to say was better at his job than any other player on the team was at theirs including myself [Applause] [Music] [Applause] or played harder on game day than Charles did [Applause] Jason Garrett my Confidant greatest outline on the field and in quarterback meetings for the majority of my career Dell hell astray Not only was he the best Long Snapper in the league but he also proved to be a great listener to all my frustrations on many Saturday nights thank you strapper [Applause] golf game hadn't gotten any better I was also protected for many years by one of the best offensive lines of all time [Applause] Mark two and a Nate Newton Mark stebnowski John gizek Eric Williams Larry Allen and Kevin Gogan [Applause] this town is all these players were however they were even better teammates when I look back at my football career in the championship Seasons I think of all of my teammates from Henrietta to UCLA to Dallas that shared in those moments and I thank all of you I certainly would not be here without you as I look at the men on this stage behind me I think about the many great moments that they helped produce the Championships their teams won and the fans they entertain they all made significant contributions to their teams and that's why they're here in Dallas my role as the quarterback was to move our team down the field and score points sometimes that meant passing the ball sometimes it meant handing it off we had a good system in Dallas although it wasn't one that allowed me to put up big numbers that was fine I did what was asked to help the team win so it was extremely gratifying that after a career of putting team accomplishments in front of Personal Achievement today I am receiving the greatest individual honor a football player could ever receive I didn't seek it and yet I'm here I'm so grateful to the NFL to the Cowboys to my teammates and to my coaches for helping me get here [Applause] there are two other people that deserve mention the first is Lee Steinberg Lee was my agent throughout my career and I was always proud to have him along with Jeff Moorhead representing me during contract negotiations there's not a better example of least support for his clients than the fact that Warren Moon selected him to be his presenter today the second person is my longtime business advisor Mark Grigg I've known Mark since I was 22 years old and since that time I've not met a finer more trustworthy person mark thank you for the commitment and support over the last 17 years I'm also very grateful to my family my mother Charlene sacrificed so much for myself and my two sisters shuttling us to practices attending our games fixing meals keeping our uniforms clean and basically always be in there for us whenever we needed her regardless of whatever else might have been occupying our time at the moment mom you're an amazing woman [Music] [Applause] you've always given more than you've gotten yet I don't think you'd have it any other way the older idea the more I understand how much you sacrificed and your children will forever be indebted to you my father Ken taught me early on that through hard work I could achieve anything I wanted in life dad you were right you taught me about discipline toughness and life's most important lesson to never quit my intensity on the field was a reflection of you and your at your impact on my athletic career was greater than you'll ever know I was also lucky to grow up with two terrific sisters at least most of the time Terry and Tammy were pretty good athletes themselves and since I didn't have a brother they were the ones who satisfied my need to get better by playing catch running routes rebounding baskets and doing pretty much everything else little brother needed I thank both of you for all the support and love you've shown me through the years there's now a new team of Aikman women in my life my wife Rhonda is my best friend she inspires me daily in ways that no one ever has before the past eight years have been without question the best years of my life Rhonda you're a wonderful mother an example to our three daughters Rachel Jordan Alex the four of you make me so proud and give my life purpose and I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful family [Applause] I'd also like to thank the many friends family and fans who have traveled great distances to share this moment with me today you're thank you your friendship and support means so much to me as it did throughout my career football is a great game that has afforded me many things and provided much happiness but my greatest blessings in life have been my family and friends a high school coach once told me that in life you have a lot of acquaintances but very few friends for most that's probably true but not for me the many friendships in my life are what made me feel every single day like I'm the luckiest guy in the world and I thank all of you for being here today [Applause] in closing I'd like to share something that a close friend used to tell me back when I was playing he'd say this when times were tough maybe we'd lost a close game and I'd throw in the deciding interception or the grind and the rigors of the Season were beginning to take their toll on me and what North Turner would say was this sometimes we have to remind ourselves that these are the jobs we've always dreamed of having sometimes we have to remind ourselves that these are the jobs we've always dreamed of having [Music] Norv was right for as long as I can remember all I ever wanted was to play pro sports a lot of kids want that but very few actually get the chance I was able to live a dream I played professional football that I was able to do so with so many great players and coaches and win three World Championships and wind up here today with all these great men and gold jackets well it's almost too much to believe humbled to be welcomed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and I thank you [Applause] Troy Aikman stoic on the field a stoic fiery leader of the Dallas Cowboys yet Thomas we saw arguably the most emotional speech we've seen out of six people today you know oftentimes it happens that way Trey I remember back when Bud Grant was inducted and again you use the right word so stoic you know on the field but uh at that moment of induction you just see all of this in motion pour out and you see how important this was to Troy Aikman you know you can't can't help but be moved by it well I thought he was interested too that he made the point that it's a team game that he played and by playing the team game to near Perfection he's here with an individual accomplishment getting in to the 2006. Hall of Fame the class of six Aikman among us we'll come right back after this

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Length: 32min 54sec (1974 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 28 2022