Video: Orlando Pace Gives Remarkable Speech During Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction

The former No. 1 pick Orlando Pace was officially inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame on Saturday night as a member of the St. Louis Rams.

When looking back at the 1997 NFL Draft, it’s safe to say the New York Jets regret trading the top pick to the St. Louis Rams and missing out on one of the greatest lineman to ever play the game in Orlando Pace.

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From the moment he stepped onto the football field at Ohio State, it was clear Pace would become an NFL star one day and it’s amazing to see the type of impact he made during his 12 seasons with St. Louis. The 1999 Super Bowl run by the Rams–also known as “The Greatest Show on Turf”–will go down as one of the greatest in NFL history when looking at the type of numbers displayed by the offense and without Pace’s presence, that run never would have happened.

It’s amazing to look back at Pace’s career and truly think about everything he managed to accomplish–from being selected to seven Pro Bowls to blocking for three-straight MVPs (Kurt Warner twice and Marshall Faulk once) from 1999-2001. What’s even more impressive from those three years with Pace is the Rams managed to set all sorts of records by scoring 500+ points in each of those seasons–which is unheard of these days.

During Saturday’s induction speech, Pace said all of the right things whether it was thanking his family members in attendance or the head coaches from over the years who played a big role in developing the lineman to the type of player he turned out to be. Pace also discussed how he’s always been a self motivator and how he set a goal for himself as a kid to one day make it to Canton.

Mission accomplished.

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When fans think of the “Pancake” term in football, they’ll always think of Pace and it’s amazing to see the Rams legend leave such a powerful impact on the city of St. Louis after a phenomenal pro career. Congratulations to Pace and the rest of this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame group as this may be one of the best classes in NFL history.