The Hall of Fame announced its class during its “NFL Honors” event in San Francisco. Pace is the eighth former Ohio State player to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the 11th overall from Ohio State. He is proceeded in the Hall of Fame by former Buckeye players Cris Carter (class of 2013 enshrine), Dick LeBeau (2010), Paul Warfield (1993), Bill Willis (1977), Dante Lavelli (1975), Lou Groza (1974) and Jim Parker (1973). Ohio State coaches Sid Gillman (1983) and Paul Brown (1967), and 1930s-era swimmer Ed Sabol, enshrined in 2011 for his work with NFL Films, are also in the Hall of Fame. After being chosen as the first pick of the 1997 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams, Pace starred on the field as a left tackle, being named All-Pro five times while being voted into seven Pro Bowl games. He started 154 consecutive games in a career that included 12 years with St. Louis and one season with the Chicago Bears. Pace played in two Super Bowls: he was a member of the Rams’ 1999 Super Bowl-winning team that defeated the Tennessee Titans, led by his former Ohio State teammate Eddie George, and he played in Super Bowl XXXVI against the New England Patriots. Pace was the anchor of an offensive line that paved the way for the team’s “greatest show on turf” offenses that featured the NFL’s MVP for three consecutive years (Kurt Warner in 1999 and 2000 and Marshall Faulk in 2001). After a stellar high school career playing football and basketball at Sandusky High School, Pace took over a starting position at Ohio State from his first day of preseason camp as a freshman in 1994 and the firsts remained prevalent. Consider: * In 1995 he became the first sophomore to win the Lombardi Award; * In 1996 he became the first to ever win the Lombardi Award twice; * He was a first-team consensus All-American in 1995 and 1996; * He was first-team all-Big Ten Conference in 1995 and 1996; * In 1996 he was the first offensive lineman since Ohio State’s John Hicks in 1972 to finish among the Top 4 vote getters for the Heisman Trophy; and * He was the first pick of the 1997 NFL Draft by the St. …
Continue Reading: Former Ohio State, Sandusky star Orlando Pace selected to Pro Football Hall of Fame
