Vinatieri is unanimous pick for Super Bowl 50 Golden Team

By foxsports
Published

CANTON, Ohio -- It's pretty clear that Adam Vinatieri is the greatest Super Bowl kicker ever.

Voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions have selected 22 Pro Football Hall of Famers for the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team, and Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri made the cut.

More than that, he was the squad's only unanimous selection and only active player.

Vinatieri also was one of 10 players who earned four Super Bowl rings: Joe Montana, Joe Greene, Ronnie Lott, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Mike Webster, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert and Vinatieri (one with the Colts, three with the Patriots). One player, defensive end Charles Haley, won five Super Bowl titles.

The coach of the team was Chuck Noll, who took four championships with Pittsburgh, which had seven players selected.

Also chosen were Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, Reggie White, Randy White, Deion Sanders, Lawrence Taylor, Forrest Gregg, Ray Guy and Larry Allen.

Others selected were Jay Novacek, Jake Scott, Ray Lewis and Desmond Howard.

Three players also won regular-season MVP awards: Montana, Smith and Taylor.

"The Super Bowl 50 Golden Team is an amazing list of incredible individuals," said Joe Horrigan, executive vice president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "Each name conjures up memories of some of the sport's greatest games showcased on its biggest platform: the Super Bowl stage.

"Unforgettable individual performances like Lynn Swann's acrobatic catches in Super Bowl 10 or Joe Montana's come-from-behind winning drive in Super Bowl 23 are forever etched in the collective memories of football fans and celebrated as some of the most inspiring moments in the history of the National Football League."

The roster:

OFFENSE

Joe Montana, QB; Jay Novacek, TE; Emmitt Smith, Franco Harris, RB; Lynn Swann, Jerry Rice, WR; Mike Webster, C; Art Shell, Forrest Gregg, T; Gene Upshaw, Larry Allen, G.

DEFENSE

Reggie White. Charles Haley, DE; Joe Greene, Randy White, DT; Lawrence Taylor, Jack Ham, OLB; Ray Lewis, Jack Lambert, ILB; Mel Blount, Deion Sanders, CB; Ronnie Lott, Jake Scott, S.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Adam Vinatieri, PK; Ray Guy, P; Desmond Howard, KR.