After waiting a couple of decades to put another player in their Hall of Honor, the Panthers caught up in a hurry Monday.
The team announced four new names to their Hall: Wide receiver Steve Smith, quarterback Jake Delhomme, tackle Jordan Gross, and tight end Wesley Walls.
Obviously, team Halls are made-up things, driven by marketing and (at least in this case) without any kind of apparent or tangible criteria. But the Panthers apparently decided that recently retired players weren’t going to be considered this year, so that explains why the best player in franchise history (Julius Peppers) was not among them.
Prior to Monday, the only player in their Hall of Honor was Sam Mills, and it also includes original team president Mike McCormack and the panderific “PSL owners” — because if you’re going to get people to build you a stadium with their cash, you might as well throw them a bone.
“It’s something that was so overdue,” owner David Tepper said, via the team website. “I mean, to have one player in the Hall of Honor after 25 years? It was time. It was past due time. One year in, when I got to know a little more about the team, a little more about the history, I think it was the right time.”
The class will be inducted at a game this year. They haven’t detailed plans for the future, but for a team entering its 25th season, it’s a safe bet they won’t be putting four a year in every year, or it will thin out in a hurry.
