RALEIGH, N.C. — If it mattered to the Pro Football Hall of Fame what Torry Holt has done since he stopped playing football, he would already have been in the Hall. Instead of resting on his considerable laurels, he has come home to build a second career with his brother as a philanthropist that’s equally worthy of attention.
It doesn’t matter, of course, nor should it, but it’s also true that in Holt’s case it shouldn’t have to. As one of the greatest and most consistent wide receivers of his generation, after a long and productive career with the gnarled and knotty hands to prove it, having gone to seven Pro Bowls in 11 years, he’s entirely worthy of induction.
Worthy and guaranteed are two different things, though, and the deserving aren’t always honored. Snubbed again Thursday, for an eighth straight year, Holt’s time should come, eventually. It certainly felt like this was the year, given the other receivers up for induction, but it isn’t the first time Holt has been left disappointed.
The case for the Gibsonville native who set ACC records that still stand at N.C. State before going sixth overall in the 1999 draft is beyond clear: NFL records for consecutive 1,300-yard seasons and 90-catch seasons (six straight in each) and the most productive receiver in the game in the prime of his career. Only two other receivers have even recorded six 1,300-yard seasons. Jerry Rice and Randy Moss are in the Hall of Fame. Holt is not.
Holt was a key cog in an offense that changed the game and has already seen Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Orlando Pace and – most relevantly – Isaac Bruce inducted from that St. Louis Rams team.
It’s always a dangerous game using other inductees as a common denominator, but if Bruce is in, Holt should be too. They were No. 1 and No. 1A in the Greatest Show on Turf, and one isn’t the same without the other, on the field or in the Hall of Fame. They put up essentially the same numbers catching passes in the same offense from the same guy and won a Super Bowl together.
Bruce played longer, so his raw numbers are more impressive, but Holt’s per-year numbers are actually better, in terms of catches, yards and touchdowns, and he played in more Pro Bowls over a shorter career.
The case for Bruce two years ago is the same as it was for Holt this season, but Holt has languished on the ballot for eight years now, and this year certainly compared favorably to the other receivers among the finalists: Devin Hester, Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne (with Steve Smith snubbed, omitted even from the finalists).
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019 and picked for induction into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame this summer, Holt’s long-awaited selection for the Pro Football Hall of Fame would have been cause for celebration not only in St. Louis — far more so than the departed and reviled Rams’ presence in the Super Bowl — but in North Carolina, where Holt was born, raised, tore through the ACC at N.C. State and has since returned to make contributions to his community that match, if not exceed, anything he did as a player.
His time will yet come. Holt is a Hall of Famer whose case has been delayed but should not be denied.
