Former Packers G.M. Wolf gets his moment in Canton

CANTON, Ohio -- The humbled men in gold jackets entering football immortality were unmistakable on Saturday night, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Contributors Ron Wolf -- the former Packers general manager -- and Bill Polian paid their respects to the icons who paved the way for their success. Wide receiver Tim Brown led chants of "Rai-ders! Rai-ders!" more than a decade after the last of his 1,094 receptions.

Wolf, who hired coach Mike Holmgren and traded for Brett Favre shortly after taking over in Green Bay in 1991, led off by praising the core that restored the Packers to legitimacy after two decades of mediocrity.

"There was always a threat to players of other teams that if they didn't shape up, they would be traded to Green Bay," Wolf said. "We worked hard to eliminate that stigma."

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis headlined the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2015 on Saturday night, the sixth-leading rusher in NFL history turning the annual enshrinement ceremony into a de facto pep rally.

Bettis grabbed one of the ubiquitous towels synonymous with the franchise at the beginning of his speech and led a chant of "Here We Go Steelers, Here We Go" as the capacity crowd at Tom Benson Stadium -- most of them clad in some variation of black-and-yellow -- roared in support of the player that served as the physical embodiment of the team he helped lead to a fifth Super Bowl title in 2006.

"I really thought the Bus' last stop was in Detroit at Super Bowl 40," Bettis said. "But now I know the Bus will always and forever run in Canton, Ohio."

Only linebacker Junior Seau was elected in his first year on the ballot. The 12-time Pro Bowler's induction, however, proved bittersweet, coming more than three years after he took his own life. His death and the complex fallout from it -- Seau's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL -- set the backdrop for the evening's most touching moment.

Hall of Fame rules about players awarded posthumously prevented Seau's daughter from giving a full speech on her father's behalf. Instead she spoke at length during an extended video tribute, calling her dad "a perfect match for football: both stubborn, both relentless, competitive and hard-hitting."

Those hard hits are at the center of the family's legal battle with the league, though Sydney Seau used the stage to instead pay homage to his spirit. She fought back tears when his bronze bust was unveiled and told him "congratulations, you made it" as images of Seau in his prime flashed on the video screen.

It was the emotional high point of a night that flipped between laughter and tears and back again.

Defensive end Charles Haley cracked jokes between heartfelt disclosures of his battle with depression. Minnesota Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff didn't say a word, instead letting Hall of Fame teammate Fran Tarkenton speak for him shortly after Tingelhoff's bust was unveiled.

Kansas City guard Will Shields spoke with the same thoughtfulness that made him one of the best linemen of his generation during a standout career with the Chiefs.

Polian praised Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy for helping him resurrect the Bills after Polian took over as general manager in 1984.

Meanwhile, several of Bettis' former teammates, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Hines Ward, sat in front of the stage as the Hall's doors finally opened for the player known simply as "The Bus."

It's a destination made possible in part by Roethlisberger, who preserved Pittsburgh's Super Bowl run in 2006 by tripping up Indianapolis' Nick Harper shortly after Bettis fumbled near the Colts' goal line in the AFC playoffs.

"Without you saving that tackle, I still might be on the doorstep brother," Bettis said. "I owe you, for life."