Jim McMahon, the colorful former BYU quarterback who threw the most famous touchdown pass in school history, will be a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
In addition to McMahon, 11 others, including Auburn's Bo Jackson, Pitt's Bill Fralic and Ohio State's Randy Gradishar, will be formally inducted Dec. 8 in New York City, it was announced Wednesday. They will be enshrined during ceremonies at the College Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., in the summer of 1999."It's pretty exciting," said McHahon during a telephone inter-view from his home in Chicago. "It's nice to be remembered with these other players."
"This is an honor and recognition that is richly deserved by Jim," said BYU coach LaVell Edwards. "We are pleased he was selected. It is a great honor."
As a Cougar from 1977-78 and 1980-81, McMahon set 70 NCAA, 29 WAC and 23 school records and was a three-time WAC Player of the Year. He passed for 9,536 yards and 84 touchdowns.
Not that McMahon has spent much time reflecting on his past feats. "There was only one thing on my mind throughout my career - to win," he said. "That's why I've been recognized, because we won."
Indeed, the Cougars did plenty of winning during the McMahon years. In his last two seasons as a starter, the Cougars posted a 23-3 mark, earned a pair of WAC championships and captured two bowl victories. McMahon is the only BYU quarterback to lead the Cougars to two bowl wins.
He has been immortalized in Cougar football lore for his 41-yard Hail Mary TD pass to Clay Brown as time expired in the 1980 Holiday Bowl. It propelled the Cougars to their first-ever postseason win, a 46-45 decision over Southern Methodist. "That Holiday Bowl was a game I'll never forget," McMahon said. "I still don't believe we did that. . . . Once we hit our stride, teams couldn't stop us."
McMahon is the third BYU player to be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, along with quarterbacks Gifford Nielsen (1994) and Marc Wilson (1996). As far as McMahon is concerned, other former Cougar QBs like Steve Young and Ty Detmer will be joining him in Hall in the future.
Though McMahon, viewed as a renegade of sorts at BYU, says today his relationship with Edwards and the school was sometimes strained, he has no regrets about attending the Provo school.
"LaVell is one of the greatest people you could ever know," he said. "I'd do it all over again. I learned a lot about football and life."
A first-round NFL draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1982, McMahon led the Bears to a Super Bowl championship in 1986. During his 14-year pro career, he also played for the San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers. He won another Super Bowl ring as a reserve quarterback in his final season with the Packers.
The Hall of Fame was established in 1951 by the National Football Foundation. To be eligible, a nominated player must be out of college at least 10 years and a first team All-America selection by a major selector during his career. He must also have completed his professional football career to be considered.