One of the most successful Wide Receivers in the history of Pro Football, Larry Fitzgerald played his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals, where there was no doubt who was the top player in the desert.

Fitzgerald was highly coveted in the 2004 NFL Draft, having dominated in two years at Pittsburgh where he would later have the honor of having his jersey retired.  Taken number 3 Overall that year by the Cardinals, Fitzgerald paid immediate dividends as after a solid rookie year, he took the expected step to greatness as a sophomore

In that second season, Fitzgerald had his first 1,000 Yard season, and he would have eight more after.  While Fitzgerald never led the NFL in Receiving Yards, he was a two-time leader in Receptions and Receiving Yards, and setting every receiving record worth having in Cardinals history.  An 11-time Pro Bowl Selection, Fitzgerald set numerous records, and would have twice as many had it not been for the existence of Jerry Rice.  Fitzgerald was the top star in Arizona for years, and a huge reason that the Cards advanced to their first Super Bowl.

Fitzgerald was named to the NFL 100^th Anniversary Team, a sure sign that he will enter Canton quickly. At the time of his retirement, Fitzgerald was second all-time in Receiving Yards (17,492) and Receptions (1,432) while being sixth in Receiving Touchdowns (121).  As great as he was on the field, Fitzgerald was even held in higher regard off of it, as shown by his 2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

There is no doubt that Larry Fitzgerald is one of the great ones.

From the University of Pittsburgh, McCoy was phenomenal with the Panthers, winning the Big East Offensive Player of the Year (2008) and parlaying that into a Second Round Pick to the same-state Philadelphia Eagles in 2009.

McCoy played his first six years with the Eagles, four of which would see the Running Back exceed the four-digit mark in Rushing Yards.  The “scat back” led the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns (17), Touchdowns (20) in 2011, and in Rushing Yards in 2013 (1,607) and in both of those seasons, McCoy was a First Team All-Pro.  McCoy was a phenomenal player for the Eagles, but he was surprisingly traded to the Buffalo Bills in 2015.

McCoy, who went to three Pro Bowls with Philadelphia, did the same with Buffalo.  As he got older, his skills eroded, but he provided veteran presence on back-to-back Super Bowls, first with Kansas City (2019) and Tampa Bay (2020).

McCoy was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team and retired with an even 15,000 Yards from Scrimmage and 89 Touchdowns.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  Eventually, we plan to do that for the major colleges in the NCAA.  As such, it is news to us that the University of Pittsburgh has announced thirteen members of their Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

The thirteen new members are:

Jennifer Bruce, Women’s Basketball(1981-85).  With 2,295 Points, Bruce is second all-time in points scored for Pittsburgh, and her 20.5 Points per Game is still good enough to be tied as the best for the institution.  Bruce was a three-time First Team All-Big East player and was the Big East Co-Player of the Year in 1984.

Donna DeMarino Sanft, Women’s Gymnastics (1970-74) Women’s Gymnastics Coach (1974-86), Administrator (1986-2014).  A three-time MVP as a gymnast, Sanft would take over as their Head Coach.  Over the 12 years she ran the program, Sanft had a meet record of 86-5701 and was twice named the Eastern Collegiate Coach of the Year.  Following her tenure as a coach, she worked as an administrator at Pitt for 28 years.  

Chantee Earl, Women’s Track and Field (1996-00).  Earl won the 800-Meter at the 2000 NCAA Indoor Championship and was second in that discipline in that year’s Outdoor Championship. Earl was a six-time All-American, and had seven Big East Titles.

Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, Football(1984-87). Heyward rushed for 1,791 Yards as a senior and was named a Consensus All-American, while also finishing fifth in Heisman Trophy voting. Heyward would later plat 11 years in the National Football League, and was a Pro Bowl Selection in 1995.

Brandin Knight, Men’s Basketball(1999-2003).  A two-time All-American, Knight took the Panthers to two consecutive Big East Regular Titles (2002 & 2003), with a Sweet 16 appearance in both years.  Knight is still the school record holder for Assists (785), Assists per Game (6.2) and Steals (298).  In 2009, his number 20 was retired by the school.

Ann Marie Lucanie, Women’s Volleyball(1990-93). Lucanie’s 1,815 career kills still ranks as second all-time at Pitt and she was a three-time Big East Player of the Year.  Over her time as a Panther, her school had an overall record of 101-39 and took her school to four Big East regular season titles and four Big East Tournaments.  

Ken Macha, Baseball(1968-72). Macha had a great 1971 season where he was in the top ten in the NCAA in Batting Average, Slugging Percentage and Runs Batted In.  He later played six years in the Majors.  

Curtis Martin, Football (1991-94).  Martin went for 2,643 Yards at Pitt, and was named to the All-Big East Team in 1993.  Martin would later become one of the most prolific Running Backs in the NFL, rushing for 14,101 Yards and earning a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement in 2012. 

Bob Peck, Football (1913-16).  Peck was an All-American each year from 1914 to 1916, and over those years, Pitt went 24-1.  He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.  

Pat Santoro, Wrestling (1986-89).  Santoro competed at the 142-pound weight class, and he had an overall record of 16713.  He would win the 1988 and 1989 NCAA Title, and he was a four-time member of the United States National Team.

Jackie Sherrill, Football Head Coach (1977-81).  Sherrill had a head coaching record of 50-9-1, with a 4-1 record in Bowls.  Those wins were the 1977 Gator, 1979 Fiesta, 1980 Gator and 1982 Sugar.  

Arnie Sowell, Men’s Track and Field (1953-57).  Sowell won four NCAA Titles, and he would also win the Gold Medal at the 800 meter at the 1955 Pan American Games.

Pop Warner, Football Head Coach (1915-23).  Warner had a head coaching record of 60-12-4 and his teams were recognized as National Champions in 1915, 1916 & 1918.  He was one of the most innovative coaches in football history.

This group will be officially inducted on October 16 at the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner.  They will be unveiled the following day at Pitt’s home game against Notre Dame.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to the impending members of the University of Pittsburgh Athletic Hall of Fame.

One of the more popular Atlanta Falcons of his day, Bill Fralic, was the second overall Draft Pick in 1985 and immediately caught the attention of the Falcons fanbase as an All-Rookie Selection.

The Dallas Cowboys had ideas for Mark Stepnoski when they drafted him in the 3^rd Round from the University of Pittsburgh.  Dallas converted him from Offensive Guard to Center, a position he had never played before; however, they did not rush him, easing him to the position learning from the incumbent, Tom Rafferty.  

Ruben Brown played the majority of his career with the Buffalo Bills, where the 1^st Round Pick would be named to the All-Rookie team and followed that up with eight more seasons in Buffalo, all of which would see the Left Guard named to the Pro Bowl. 

Marshall Goldberg was a major star at the University of Pittsburgh, and he would ply his trade well for the Chicago Cardinals.  Goldberg did it all in the early 1940s, especially in the 1941 season where he rushed for 427 Yards, received passes for 313 Yards and was the top finisher in Kick Return Yards (290), earning him the league lead in All-Purpose Yards (1,236) and a Pro Bowl Selection.  He would finish fifth in All-Purpose Yards in 1942.

The University of Pittsburgh has finally announced that they will finally be creating an athletic Hall of Fame that will honor their past athletic heroes.

The University will be allowing online submissions that can be accepted until March 31. A 19 member Hall of Fame selection has also been created.

While we don’t know who will be entering the Pitt Hall of Fame at this time we know two things for sure:

To qualify, an athlete has to be five years removed from their last season in college and if they are in an athletic career where they could turn professional, they cannot be currently active.

We also know that the inaugural class will be inducted on September 7.

We guess we another thing…we will be paying attention!