Edgerrin James rocks his dreads, dubs himself 'inmate No. 336' in Hall of Fame Enshrinement
Edgerrin James put it like no one before him has during a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement speech.
"I'm locked up in the Canton Correctional Institute," he said. "Inmate No. 336 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame."
James' "inmate" line was tied to fighting to help his family, never having been in jail, coming from a community where plenty of people had, and ignoring how critics perceived him.
James said growing up in a large family in Immokalee, Fla., set the stage for everything.
"Mama ... we're here!" James said. "Ha ha. No blueprint, no manual and ... no man. I'm your man. Ever since you told me I was the man of the house, I took that seriously. You did your best raising your five boys."
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James said he was a proud Black man, "a lion" whose dreadlocks are his mane.
"Look at my Pro Football Hall of Fame bust, rockin' the same dreads they said I shouldn't," James said.
Presenter Jim Irsay said James was the hardest working man in Indianapolis.
"If I had a son," Irsay said, "I'd want it to be him.
"He would be at the gym at 3 a.m., working out. When Edgerrin came to us, that changed everything. He was the force. He was the glue."
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Hall of Fame Coach Tony Dungy said James once learned of a place in Immokalee being used as a crackhouse. James bought the house and turned it into a robust community center.
James thanked his college coach, Butch Davis, for saving him a scholarship with the Miami Hurricanes. James was the first non-quarterback picked in the 1999 draft after Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith went to the Browns, Eagles and Bengals, respectively.
He had an 11-year NFL run. He would have been his eighth Colts season in 2006, when they won the Super Bowl, but he was traded to Arizona after a 1,506-yard year on a 14-2 Colts team in 2005.
His first two years were as big a part of making the Hall of Fame as anything. He led the league with 1,553 yards as a 1999 rookie and led the league again with 1,709 yards in 2000.
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Edgerrin James delivers unique Pro Football Hall of Fame speech
