Link to Washington Post (with video)Link to Houston Chronicle (with video)Link to Canton RepositoryThe Story below is from the Texas A&M-Kingsville Athletic WebsiteFrom Houston Jones High School, to Texas A&I, to the Washington Redskins and then to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.It was announced today that former Javelina great Darrell Green will be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on on Saturday, August 2, 2008 in Canton, Ohio. Green joined former Washington Redskin teammate Art Monk, New England linebacker Andre Tippett, San Diego/San Francisco defensive end Fred Dean, Minnesota/Denver tackle Gary Zimmerman and senior committee choice, Kansas City cornerback Emmitt Thomas.
Green is one of the best-known players ever in the National Football League and a two-sport All-American at Texas A&I.
Green retired after the 2002 season after 20 years with the Washington Redskins. He was a first-round draft pick after finishing his career with the Javelinas.
Green played football for four years at Texas A&I and was on the track and field team for three years.
From Houston Jones High School, Green was an Associated Press Little All-America and American Football Coaches Association All-America first-team honoree. He was on the All-Lone Star Conference first team as a junior and senior and was selected as the LSC’s most valuable player in 1982. He was selected by his teammates as a captain in 1982.
He was selected to the Lone Star Conference Team of the Decade for the 1980s.
Green got much of his collegiate notability in track.
His first meet came in the spring of 1981 in San Angelo and he ran a 10.08 in the 100-meter dash. That was the beginning of his reputation as one of the world’s fastest runners. The mark still stands as the all-time best in the Lone Star Conference.
Green holds the Lone Star Conference records, which are set at the annual conference meet, in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. His times are 10.22 in the 100 and 20.67 in the 200.
His all-time collegiate best in the 100 was 10.08, 20.50 in the 200 and 45.90 in the 400. He ran on relay teams that recorded 40.43 in the 400 and 3:10.06 in the 1600.
He was named the most valuable track performer at the 1982 and 1983 Lone Star Conference Championships. He won gold medals at the LSC meet in the 100-meter dash in 1981, in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in 1982 and in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in 1983.
Green was named to the NCAA Division I All-America roster in 1981 and 1982, and was on the NCAA Division II All-America team in five events in 1981 and 1982. He was NAIA All-America in 1981 and 1982 in four events.
Green was on All-America first teams in track and field 10 different times.
Green has been inducted into the NCAA Division II Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor and the Javelina Hall of Fame.
In his first season with the Redskins in 1983, Green was named the NFL Rookie of the Year.
He was a seven-time All-Pro defensive back, four-time NFL Fastest Man honoree and two-time Super Bowl championship team member.
Green, a first round draft pick (28th overall) by the Washington Redskins in the 1983 NFL Draft, enjoyed instant success in the NFL. As a rookie, he set the tone for things to come when he scored the very first time he touched the football. That touchdown came on a 61-yard punt return in a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. Green started all 16 regular season games during his rookie campaign and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 109 that included a team-leading 79 solo stops. He was runner-up for the Associated Press NFL Rookie of the Year Award.
During his first regular-season game with the Redskins, he made his first hallmark play when he chased down the legendary Tony Dorsett of the Dallas Cowboys to prevent a touchdown.
He holds the following NFL and Redskin records:
*First NFL player to make at least one interception in 19 consecutive seasons.
*First NFL player to return an interception for a touchdown at age 37.
*First NFL player to play cornerback at the age of 42.
*First Redskin to play 20 consecutive seasons, start in 254 games and play 279 games.
*First Redskin to have 54 interceptions.
*First Redskin to return a fumble 78 yards for a touchdown, longest in Redskin history.
*First Redskin to return six interceptions for touchdowns
In all, Green totaled a club record 54 interceptions for 621 yards and six touchdowns. He also added two additional touchdowns on interception returns in the post-season. Three times he recorded a career-best of five interceptions in a season (1984, 1986, and 1991). He registered a career-high three interceptions in a game against the Detroit Lions on November 15, 1987.
Known for his speed, something he never lost even as he played into his 40s, Green also had success as a punt returner. He averaged nearly 12 yards a return as he recorded 51 career returns for 611 yards. In addition, he owns the team record for longest fumble return – a 78-yard TD against the Colts in 1993.
Green played in four NFC championship games and three Super Bowls including the team’s victory in Super Bowls XXII and XXVI. In the 1987 NFC Championship Game, on a pivotal fourth-down pass play at the goal line late in the game, Green jarred the ball from Minnesota’s Darrin Nelson to secure a Redskins 17-10 victory that catapulted the team into Super Bowl XXII.
Green was named All-Pro in 1986, 1987, 1990, and 1991 and voted to seven Pro Bowls. He is also a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s.
His passionate commitment to strengthening families and helping children is at the center of his long-range goals and was the impetus for the founding of the Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation (DGYLF).
Since 1988, the DGYLF has offered opportunities for children and their families. The DGYLF provides a wide-range of academic development and values-based education programs through learning centers operating in select urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods throughout America. Green considers the Darrell Green Youth Life Learning Center (DGLC) the centerpiece of the DGYLF. The DGLC was established in 1993 to equip youth to address obstacles they face while training them to provide quality leadership for their peers, family members, and their community. The DGLC flagship center in Northeast Washington, DC and its Richmond, VA, and Nashville, TN affiliates currently operate in the DGYLF network with an expansion plan for other centers underway.
He has founded the Darrell Green Business Council for Youth bringing together business leaders to utilize their expertise in support of DGYLF programs. In addition, he served as a board member for the Baltimore-Washington 2012 Olympic Bid, NFL/NFLPA September 11th Relief Fund, and the Loudoun Education Foundation.
In 2003, he was selected to serve as the Chair of President Bush’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. The Council consists of an outstanding group of Americans who will work together to strengthen and promote service and civic participation. He currently sits on the boards of the WolfTrap Foundation as its National Spokesman for Education, Washington, DC’s Board of Trade, and Marymount University.
Green has also flourished in the business arena, successfully operating a number of companies in a variety of industries under the conglomerate, Darrell Green Holdings. Darrell Green Enterprises manages endorsements, speaking engagements, and autograph signings for a growing roster of current and former athletes. Intekras, Inc is an SBA-certified 8(a) company offering integrated solutions in three primary disciplines: Information Security, National Security and Defense Systems. Trusted Solutions Group specializes in providing training and workforce development solutions to government and industry.
Green completed his Bachelor of Science degree in general studies and social science at St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia. In 1999, Marymount University recognized Green for his extraordinary humanitarian endeavors and conferred upon him the honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree. In 2002, George Washington University and St. Paul’s College awarded Green his second and third honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degrees.
He has received the NFL/True Value Man of the Year award, the NFL Bart Starr Award, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year honor, the Redskin Alumni Player of the Year award, the Redskins Most Valuable Player award, the Ken Houston Humanitarian Award, the USA Today Most Caring Athlete Award, the U.S. Sprint Good Sportsmanship Award, the Redskins Player of the Year honor, the Sporting News Good Guy Award, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award and the Sporting News Top 100 Athletes of the Century Award.
In December 2007, he was voted the All-Time Redskins Legend in a WUSA-TV Channel 9 online poll.
He and his wife, Jewell, have three children: Jerrell, Jared and Joi. They reside in the Washington D.C. area.
Southwestern Oklahoma State University long-time Athletics Director Cecil Perkins has accepted a new assignment, and Kelli Litsch has been named interim AD at SWOSU effective June 1, 2008.
