On Saturday, August 2, Antonio Gates made history by becoming the first player without playing college football to make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The 45-year-old is now among the ranks of the greatest to ever play in the National Football League (NFL) after 16 seasons with the Chargers, 116 receiving touchdowns, eight Pro Bowls and three All-Pro nods, NBC Sports reported.
This is the incredible story of one of the best tight ends to ever play in the NFL.
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Gates’ actually began his sports career with basketball, not with football. He was highly sought-after right from when he started at Central High School in Detroit. At 6’4″, he played football in high school, but basketball was what he loved more.
Scores of coaches recruited him for college football but he chose head basketball coach Tom Izzo at Michigan State, where he began his college career. He would play at different colleges before ending up at Kent State, where he led the team to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, according to NBC.
Gates was hoping to make it to the NBA, but after his senior season, NBC writes that “NBA scouts weren’t quite sure what to do with him. Some thought he was too heavy, while others thought his chosen position of power forward wasn’t right for him, and wanted him to switch.”
Then he met Tim Brewster, and everything changed.
“Out of nowhere, coach Rob Murphy introduced me to a guy named Tim Brewster,” Gates narrated after being inducted on Saturday. “Tim Brewster, at the time, was the tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers. Tim Brewster saw something in me. He would come and watch me play basketball, but he was confident I’d be an All-Pro tight end in three years.”
In 2003, when Gates went undrafted in that year’s NFL Draft, Brewster sent him a contract. Gates went on to set records, playing 16 seasons with the Chargers his entire NFL career. According to NBC, he set team records for career receptions (955) and career receiving yards (11,841). Gates’ 116 touchdown catches are also a franchise record, and when he retired at the end of the 2018 season, he did so with the NFL all-time record for most touchdown catches by a tight end.
“Switching sports can be a life-changing experience. The unexpected opportunities are often the most powerful ones, because they can completely redirect your life — if you’re ready to take advantage of the opportunity,” Gates said on Saturday.
“To coach Tim Brewster, thank you. And to the late, great Marty Schottenheimer and his family, thank you, because you gave me the opportunity to play tight end in the NFL. Because of you, now NFL teams and scouts will never look at college basketball players the same again.”
“To all the kids out there that’s surrounded by gang violence and drugs, and you want to make something out of your life. Well I’m living proof if you stay focused, stay on the right path, you got heart, you got hustle and never stop believing, anything is possible.”
He further went on to outline how sports can continue to be a powerful unifier.
“Football is the ultimate team game, and I didn’t get here alone,” said Gates, who will have a bust in Canton forever. “I’m standing here today because of the people who poured into me. What I’ve learned through it all is a kid coming from Detroit to San Diego to LA, had it not been for sports, I probably never would have crossed paths with half of you. That’s why sports is a reminder to us as humans that we are not as divided as people may believe. We are more than just black or white or rich or poor. That’s why it’s important to keep pushing for unity to make this country a better place.”
