Giants’ Legend Tiki Barber Named Semifinalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame
A New York Giants legend has inched one step closer to cementing his name into the revered grounds of Canton, Ohio.
On Tuesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its latest round of semifinalists for the Class of 2024 that will be enshrined in August of next year. Among the 25 Modern-Era Player names revealed by the committee, legendary Giants running back Tiki Barber earned a nod at the semifinalist stage since his retirement and commencement of the eligibility window.
Barber was one of three players to receive their first semifinalist appearance, joining the group with tight end Antonio Gates and defensive end Julius Peppers, who both retired in 2018. By rule, a player nominated to the Hall of Fame is eligible for the annual election after not actively participating in the NFL for five consecutive years.
The prestigious list started in September, with 173 nominees getting their names on the path toward enshrinement. With the first round of cuts behind them, the next step for Barber and his fellow nominees will be making it into the final 15 finalists that will be voted on by the Hall of Fame’s 50-person selection committee in February 2024.
A former second-round pick (26th overall in 1997) out of the University of Virginia, Barber played ten seasons for the Giants and wrote his name all over the franchise’s record books when he retired as one of their most prolific ball carriers in 2006. At the top of his list of on-field achievements, the three-time Pro Bowl running back finished his career with 15,632 scrimmage yards, which leads any Giants player by more than 6,000 yards and stands 15th in NFL history.
Within his immense talents out of the backfield, Barber holds the team’s all-time career marks for rushing attempts (2,217) and rushing yards (10,449) and ranks second behind Hall of Famer Frank Gifford with 67 total touchdowns that includes his single season-best 13 scores tallied in the 2004 season.
On a weekly basis, Barber thrashed opposing defenses to the tune of 38 100–yard rushing performances that outpaced any other Giants rusher by double, including nine 100-yard outings in the same 2004 campaign. He also set the record for the longest run from scrimmage of 95 yards in December 2005 and held the most rushing scores (55) until it was broken by Brandon Jacobs shortly after his retirement.
Barber was not only a huge threat with his legs but also left his impact in the receiving realm. The 48-year-old continues to sit second on Big Blue’s all-time receptions leaderboard (586), with over 5,100 receiving yards and 12 scores accompanying it. He also flashes a Giants-best 101.5 average yards from scrimmage, which bests any other record by more than 20 yards for players with at least 100 games played in the Big Apple.
When his career was all said and done, Barber held four of the top five rushing seasons in Giants history that amounted to 6,427 yards and included a 1,860-yard rushing outing in 2005. He was named an All-Pro member in his penultimate season and has had many recent Giants players scratching and clawing to get within a stone's throw of his humongous athletic feats.
Barber is one of 13 offensive players still left in the pool of nominees for the class of 2024 and one of four running backs remaining with Eddie George, Fred Taylor, and Ricky Watters. If selected to unveil his plaque in front of hundreds in Canton next summer, he will become the first Giants running back since Alphonse “Tuffy” Leemans in 1978 and player since Michael Strahan in 2014 to be inducted into football land of immortality.
Once the selection committee widdles its list down to the final 15 Modern-Era Player candidates, Barber and company will have to make it through two more cuts to get into the final five nominees that will be voted on individually in the days leading up to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. The ultimate enshrinees must earn a “yes” vote from at least 80% of the selection committee members to take their place in Canton, which will be announced during the NFL Honors annual telecast on February 8.
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