Former St. Louis Rams Running Back Jerome Bettis Elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

Though the two guys who most St. Louis Rams fans probably would have most liked to have seen inducted, Kurt Warner and Orlando Pace, were passed over on Saturday when the NFL announced the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, a former St. Louis Ram was included among the group. Running back Jerome Bettis, who spent the first three seasons of his career with the Rams organization and played in St. Louis in 1995 before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, was among the group announced who will be inducted this August.

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Bettis had been on the ballot for the past four years and had failed to be selected before finally receiving the honor this year. The 5-foot-11, 252-pound back, who was nicknamed “The Bus”, was the 10th overall pick of the 1993 NFL Draft. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first two years with the Los Angeles Rams before seeing his productivity drop off during the 1995 season in St. Louis, and as his opportunities for playing time decreased, Rams head coach Rich Brooks asked Bettis to move to fullback in order to keep him involved in the offense.

Bettis obviously didn’t like that idea, and he accepted Brooks’ offer to have him traded. He was traded to Pittsburgh after that season and shaped his Hall of Fame legacy there, going on to finish fourth all-time in career rushing attempts (3,479) and sixth in rushing yards (13,662). He went out on top, finishing his career as part of the 2005 Super Bowl champion Steelers.

This will be the second straight year that a former Ram has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, as defensive back Aeneas Williams was inducted in the 2014 class.

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