CANTON, Ohio — Champ Bailey got to try on Hall of Fame Gold Jacket No. 319 on for size.
And then, for the first time in Pro Football Hall of Fame history, a Gold Jacket was made for a deceased inductee. Because Broncos owner Pat Bowlen was alive when elected and his Gold Jacket was already in production, the HOF allowed for three of his daughters – Beth, Brittany and Annabel – to receive their dad’s fashion relic encased behind a frame.
Ordinarily, the HOF does not provide Gold Jacket to posthumous inductees.
Suitable for display in the lobby of Broncos’ UCHealth Training Center headquarters.
Although their enshrinement ceremony won’t happen until Saturday night, the Gold Jacket ceremony Friday night at the Canton Civic Center means Bailey and Bowlen are officially Hall of Famers.
Bailey as a 10-year Broncos cornerback and Bowlen as the Broncos’ owner and contributor.
Four of the Broncos’ five previously elected Hall of Famers – John Elway, Gary Zimmerman, Floyd Little and Terrell Davis – attended the Gold Jacket ceremony. So did Broncos’ offensive line coach Mike Munchak, as more than 100 Hall of Famers attended the ceremony.
The ever-busy Shannon Sharpe arrived in Canton too late for the Gold Jacket ceremony, but he was going to attend the Bailey/Bowlen HOF party Friday night and enshrinement ceremony Saturday. So that's 100 percent attendance from Broncos Hall of Fame alumni.
The only speeches were made by writer Sam Farmer and TV sports producer Dick Ebersol, who partnered with Pat Bowlen to bring the No. 1-rated Sunday Night Football to NBC.
"I really love Pat Bowlen," Ebersol said in an interview 9News prior to his ceremony. "He was a straight shooter. There was never any artifice. He was never in it for anything towards himself. Very selfless guy."
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports