Despite a number of NFL success stories, South Carolina football has never placed an alumnus in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That is likely to change in the not-too-distant future as cornerback Stephon Gilmore appears primed for induction shortly after his retirement.
Gamecock fans were hopeful that the wait would be over sooner, but it was revealed recently that 2024 will not be the year of the first Gamecock induction.
Former South Carolina football standouts Sterling Sharpe (wide receiver, 1983-1987) and Dan Reeves (quarterback, 1962-1964) were both semifinalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the 2024 ballot, but both were left off of the list of finalists.
Sharpe became one of the top-2 wide receivers in the NFL (along with Jerry Rice) when he set multiple NFL records in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but a neck injury forced his retirement after just seven seasons of professional football. Only 13 Hall of Fame players were in the league for fewer than eight seasons, and only two (Terrell Davis and Tony Bosseli) played after 1987.
Reeves was an All-Pro running back for the Dallas Cowboys before injuries ended his career, as well. However, Reeves was on the ballot as a coach as he is one of just nine men to win at least 200 games in the NFL. The Pro Football Hall of Fame does not combine one’s accomplishments as a player and a coach in weighing Hall of Fame credentials. Reeves is on the ballot as a coach only.
Frankly, it is a travesty that Sterling Sharpe and Dan Reeves are not already immortalized in Canton, Ohio along with the other greats of the game. Sharpe is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame (along with fellow Gamecock Robert Brooks) and the College Football Hall of Fame. Reeves is in the Denver Broncos Ring of Honor.
Both Sharpe and Reeves were semifinalists on the 2023 ballot, as well, and both men fell short of becoming finalists.