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12/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
A crown jewel will be added to Mark May's accomplished football career Tuesday, December 6, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City when he is inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
One of the greatest offensive linemen in college football history, May is the 23rd Pitt player or coach to earn induction into the College Football Hall of Fame and the seventh in the last 11 years.
A devastating offensive tackle for the Panthers from 1977-80, May is one of 13 inductees in this year's College Football Hall of Fame class.
"I am definitely humbled," May said upon receiving the news of his Hall of Fame election. "It is amazing how a career goes and how life goes. Someone asked me earlier what this means to me. Well it means a lot to me. This is the pinnacle. The people who worked so hard around me at the
"We had such great teams (at Pitt). To join three other players in the College Hall of Fame who I played with -- Hugh Green, Dan Marino and Jim Covert -- it is truly an honor."
"This honor for Mark confirms what people at Pitt have known for 25 years," Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said. "Not only is he one of Pitt's all-time greats, but he is also one of the finest to ever play college football. I couldn't be happier for Mark and his family. He was outstanding in college, the NFL and now on ESPN. We are proud to call him one of our own."
In addition to May, tonight's other inductees are Cornelius Bennett (LB, Alabama, 1983-86), Tom Curtis (DB, Michigan, 1967-69), Anthony Davis (RB, Southern California, 1972-74), Keith Dorney (OT, Penn State, 1975-78), Pat Dye (coach at East Carolina [1974-79], Wyoming [1980], Auburn [1981-92]), Jim Houston (E, Ohio State, 1957-59), John Huarte (QB, Notre Dame, 1962-64), Roosevelt Leaks (FB, Texas, 1972-74), Don Nehlen (coach at Bowling Green [1968-76], West Virginia [1980-2000]), Joe Washington (RB, Oklahoma, 1972-75), Paul Wiggin (DT, Stanford, 1954-56) and David Williams (WR, Illinois, 1983-85).
The 1980 Outland Trophy winner, May was a vital cog on some of the greatest teams in Pitt history. He went on to NFL fame with the Washington Redskins and today is a popular college football studio host and analyst for ESPN. Pitt retired May's No. 73 jersey in 2001, making him just the eighth player to be so honored.
Nicknamed AMay Day@ for the distress he would cause defensive tackles, the Oneonta, N.Y., native was a member of perhaps the greatest recruiting class in Panther history in 1977, joining such standouts as Hugh Green, Rickey Jackson, Russ Grimm and Greg Meisner. He and his teammates went on to lead Pitt to a four-year record of 39-8-1, including four bowl games and three Top 10 finishes.
Pitt went 11-1 in May=s senior season in 1980, finishing No. 2 in the Associated Press and United Press International polls. The New York Times computer poll, however, ranked the Panthers as the best team in the country at year=s end.
May, who did not give up a sack his final two collegiate seasons, was named a unanimous All-American and winner of the prestigious Outland Trophy (outstanding interior lineman) in 1980. He remains Pitt=s only Outland winner to this day.
Following his senior season May played in the Hula Bowl and Japan Bowl all-star games. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft and achieved fame as a standout member of the team=s AHogs@ offensive line.
May helped the Redskins to three Super Bowls (1982, 1983 and 1987), including world championships in >82 and >87. He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl following the 1988 season. That year he gave up just one sack and was the only
May=s career with the Redskins spanned from 1981-90. He played for the San Diego Chargers in 1991 and Phoenix Cardinals in 1992-93.
Upon retiring from the NFL, May embarked on a highly successful broadcasting career and has been with ESPN as a studio host and color analyst for the network=s college football coverage since the 2001 season. Previously he worked with CBS and TNT, providing analysis for their NFL broadcasts.
May actually broke into broadcasting in 1994 when he joined play-by-play announcer Bill Hillgrove for Panther radio broadcasts after longtime color man Johnny Sauer retired.
May maintains a dedicated philanthropic schedule. A member of Nancy Reagan's "Team Up Against Drugs" program, he is the honorary chairman of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Association and a United Way spokesperson.
He currently resides in
In addition to May, the Panthers' other College Hall of Famers, with the years they participated at Pitt in parentheses, are: Len Casanova (1950, coach), Jim Covert (1978-82), Averell Daniell (1934-36), Tom Davies (1918-21), Mike Ditka (1958-60), Joseph Donchess (1927-29), Tony Dorsett (1973-76), Bill Fralic (1981-84), Hugh Green (1977-80), Marshall Goldberg (1936-38), John Majors (1954-56, as a player at Tennessee), Dan Marino (1979-82), Herb McCracken (1918-20), George McLaren (1915-18), Robert Peck (1913-16), Joe Schmidt (1950-52), Joe Skladany (1931-33), Herb Stein (1918-21), Dr. John B. Sutherland (1914-17 [player], 1924-38 [coach]), Joseph Thompson (1904-06 [player], 1908-12 [coach]), Hube Wagner (1910-13), and Glenn "Pop" Warner (1915-23, coach).