In advance of the 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, ESPN’s Stats & Info group provides the most amazing statistic about each of the inductees.
Brett Favre
Most consecutive starts at quarterback: Favre made 297 consecutive starts from 1992 to 2010, the most by a quarterback in NFL history. The next-longest streak by a QB is 208 by Peyton Manning from 1998 to 2011.
Among active quarterbacks, Eli Manning is the leader with 183 consecutive starts. He would need to start all 16 games for the next seven seasons, and the first two games in the 2023 season, to reach Favre’s mark. At that point, Manning would be 42 years old.
Edward DeBartolo Jr.
First owner to win the Super Bowl five times: DeBartolo purchased the San Francisco 49ers in 1977. They won Super Bowl XVI after the 1981 season and followed with victories in Super Bowls XIX, XXIII, XXIV and XXIX. Three NFL owners -- Robert Kraft (Patriots), Art Rooney (Steelers) and the board of directors of the publicly owned Packers -- have won four each.
Tony Dungy
Double-digit wins and playoff appearances: Dungy coached the Indianapolis Colts for seven seasons, from 2002 to 2008. In each of them, the team had at least 10 wins and made the playoffs. In the Colts’ first 23 16-game seasons (excluding the strike-shortened 1982 season), they had two 10-win seasons.
Kevin Greene
10-sack seasons: Greene, a linebacker/defensive end from Auburn, played 15 seasons in the NFL. In 10 of them, he had at least 10 sacks, the third-most seasons with that many sacks in NFL history (sacks were first recognized as a stat in 1982).
Marvin Harrison
1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdown receptions: Harrison had eight consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns, the longest such streak in NFL history. To put this achievement in context, consider some of the other receivers who are closest to Harrison’s mark: Jerry Rice (seven straight seasons), Cris Carter (five) and Randy Moss (four).
Orlando Pace
Pass protector: In 1997, Pace was selected with the No. 1 draft pick, the first time since 1968 that an offensive lineman went No. 1 overall (in ’68, it was Ron Yary). Pace was a key component of the St. Louis Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf offense even though he wasn’t a skill-position player. With Pace anchoring the blocking, the Rams passed for an NFL-high 50,770 yards from 1997 to 2008.
Ken Stabler
Consecutive appearances in conference championship game: Stabler led the Raiders to the AFC Championship Game each season from 1973 to 1977. He was the first quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to take a team to five consecutive conference championship games, and it wasn’t until 2015 that the achievement was matched (by Tom Brady of the Patriots).
Dick Stanfel
All-NFL team selections: A guard for the Lions and the Redskins, Stanfel was selected to the All-NFL Team five times in his seven NFL seasons.
