Andre Reed and the Hall of Fame Resiliency of the 1990s Bills

When your glorious college days are long past, Homecoming becomes a great time to head back home and catch up with old friends. Then again, when you’re still in college, Homecoming could be a chance to meet up with special, inspiring alumni.

I had a chance at the latter last fall at Kutztown University. While preparing for radio sideline reporting for the annual Homecoming football game, I needed to make a run to the my car about an hour before the game. As I jogged down the stairs from the press box at University Stadium to one of the ramps that leads you below the stands, I was not paying much attention to the walk to the car. Rather, I was mentally planning the rest of the tasks I needed to complete before kickoff.

As I got to the bottom of the steps and approached the top of the ramp, I saw somebody standing on the ramp. The person looked familiar, but I was still caught in the mental process of prepping for the game. What I said next came rather naturally:

Excuse me, Mr. Reed.

Only when I got to my car in the stadium parking lot did I actually process who it was: former standout Kutztown wide receiver Andre Reed, one of seven men who will be officially enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame tomorrow night. By the time I got back into the stadium, Reed was nowhere to be seen. I’m not one make much of a stink about seeing famous people, as I believe they have a right to privacy and a right to peace when in public. However, the quick “brush” by was still a pretty cool experience.

Reed caught 1036 passes for 14427 yards and 96 touchdowns (postseason included) in his 16 NFL seasons. In his eighth being a finalist, Reed was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2014.

I grew up watching pro football. My first vivid memories of the NFL came when I was just four years old, during the 1993 season. By that time, I had already became a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. My parents recall the choice, citing the star as my reasoning for picking the Cowboys. I got lucky to see the Cowboys defeat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII, without even understanding what winning meant.

Because of these very early days as a football fan, one of the teams I respected the most was the Bills. One of the players I respected the most was Reed. It wasn’t until 2012 that I enrolled at Kutztown University, only doing so as a graduate student looking to make my mark as a sports broadcaster for the Golden Bears. Thus, my connection to Reed is virtually non-existent. Instead, it is merely an admiration for a success story that has some tiny parallels to my own.

Still, having seen the type of student athlete that goes to KU, it comes with great pride to see Reed represent the university while getting the call to the hall. However, having seen what it took for Reed to get this far after watching the NFL Films production The Road to Canton – Middle Man: Andre Reed, it becomes apparent how his story is quite special for the American football public in general.

For those who didn’t get to see the production last night, the story focused four phases of Reed’s life:

1. His childhood; with mother Joyce Reed-Ebling, father Calvin Reed, brothers Tyrone and Dion Reed, and sister Teshia Bennett
2. His high school days; with Dieruff HS head coach Larry Lewis
3. The family factor of going to Kutztown, and Reed’s switch to wide receiver
4. His career with the Bills, highlighted by four consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl

The story didn’t delve into the Kutztown days as much as it could’ve, simply because there was only so much that could be fit into an hour-long program. It didn’t mention that both of Reed’s head coaches at KU — George Baldwin and Al Leonzi — passed away within the past 13 months. It didn’t mention the nine schools record set when Reed finished his collegiate career. Honestly, it didn’t need too, because Reed will likely discuss the KU days during his acceptance speech.

In the early days, Reed grew up on the streets of Allentown, Pa. After his family moved to the suburbs, he dealt with the social perception of his parents being a “mixed couple” racially. Reed’s father prevailed through alcoholism, while Reed’s family overcame the mental and physical pain from the alcoholic bouts. Two factors played a key role in the family’s perseverance from Hickory Street in Allentown to Earl Schreiber Circle in Canton: toughness and perseverance. These two factors also played a key role for the Buffalo Bills teams that went to an NFL-record four consecutive Super Bowls — all of which were losses.

Truth is, since my early fleeting memories of Super Bowl XXVIII, the NFL hasn’t seen the toughness and resiliency that the 90s Bills possessed during their run. What the Bills did from 1991 to 1994 as defending league runners-up has not been remotely matched over the last two decades. For the franchise to bounce back THRICE from a Super Bowl loss by making the Super Bowl again, it required a special effort that will not likely be replicated again.

The table below illustrates this. It looks at how every team that lost the Super Bowl fared the following season.

Table 1: Defending League Runners-Up, Super Bowl Era

NOTE: The 1934 Giants, 1937 Redskins, 1939 Packers, 1943 Bears, 1948 Eagles, 1951 Rams, 1954 Browns and 1961 Packers won the NFL Championship in the year following a loss in the championship game.

As you can see, the Bills held as much playoff weight the following year as the next 19 Super Bowl losers combined. The Bills also had three more playoff wins than the previous 16 Super Bowl losers combined. Let’s compare it. In this span, the 1991-94 Bills averaged 1.75 playoff wins per year, while the other 35 teams averaged 0.31 playoff wins per year.

Those Bills teams featured a lot of Hall of Fame talent: head coach Marv Levy, quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, wide receiver James Lofton, defensive end Bruce Smith… and now wide receiver Andre Reed. It took eight tries as a Hall of Fame finalist, but Reed finally got the recognition he deserved. He might be the last of the bunch to make the Hall of Fame. Though I’d personally like to specialist Steve Tasker get in as well, it seems like a long shot.

Maybe the long wait for Reed is fitting — for him and for Buffalo. Toughness and resiliency seems to be best accompanied by adversity. Upon enrolling at Kutztown, few would’ve expected the Division II receiver to pave a path to the NFL. Fewer would expect a Kutztown product to become a Hall of Famer, but Reed becomes the fifth player from a current Division II football program to get enshrined. He joins Rayfield Wright (Fort Valley State), Darrell Green, John Randle and Gene Upshaw (Texas A&M-Kingsville for the three).

However, if Reed is the last of this Bills powerhouse to reach the hall, it might spell a final farewell to the most under-appreciated group of players from the league’s Modern Era. It would be a bittersweet night in Canton.

When I finally get to watch Reed’s acceptance speech, I will think my own football life. I will think about the very early days of growing up and watching the pro game. I will think how that molded me into a sports broadcaster and statistical analyst. I will also think about my last two years at Kutztown, which provided many great personal memories and several amazing sports stories to tell at a future date. Finally, I will think about the impact of those 90s Bills on the league — and the American football public.

And hopefully, football fans will step back with me tomorrow night and appreciate the symbolism of Andre Reed’s enshrinement.