Chargers’ Antonio Gates is a Hall of Famer on and off the field

For the tight end Antonio Gates, the door of the Pro Football Hall of Fame has finally swung up.

Gates, who spent his star 16-year-old career with San Diego Chargers, was elected in his second year with eligibility in the Super Bowl Week in New Orleans.

The combination of an accurate passerby in Philip Rivers and Sure-Handed Gates drove chargers to high heights before the team traveled to Los Angeles.

The high brand reached the AFC championship in 2007, when they fell to New England Patriots.

But Gates rarely feels short that it gives key catch, especially on the third downs, while serving as a security value for Charger’s Quarterbacks when acting went out of the script.

It was the third star of the triumphant era of San Diego Charger’s football that ran back Ladainian Tomlinson, who broke the news to Gates that he would join him on the holy ground in Canton, Ohio.

“You are good with these things, ” said gates after being surprised by Tomlinson, in a video released by chargers

Gates was better than good and he was as popular in the dressing room as he was in society.

The personable gates were always humble over his unlikely path to chargers where he used his 6-foot-5, 255 pound body to Sheilde himself from defenders, as if they were blocking a rebound down low.

With its unlikely story of transforming from being a Kent State Basketball player to an all-pro tight end, combined with his electric smile and time for apparently everyone, got a few matched gates on respect.

But you don’t reach the Hall of Fame by being a super guy.

Gates, a non -drawn free agent, was super productive and the numbers did not fib.

Despite the fact that when he reached the Chargers camp in his first spring, the one-time power-forward had last played football as a senior at Detroit’s Central High School.

No tight end in the NFL story can match gates in Touchdown receptions (116) and multi-touchdown games (21). For eight of his seasons, he had at least eight scoring catches, which is another NFL-high all the time.

Gates shared that his honor comes on his heels on him recently to lose his father. It only added to emotions that were clear when Tomlinson, wearing his Hall of Fame gold jacket, let Gates know that he was awarded the highest honor of the NFL.

“I just lost my dad just buried my dad a week ago Saturday,” Gates told Chargers.com. “He would always talk about being a competitor, being tough. Man, that’s tough. Thanks. ”

That Gates goes in without his father reminding Charger’s supporters of his unshakable love for his family. In the summer, which led to one of his best seasons in 2014, he jumped over the team’s training out of season to be with her late sister, Pamela as she fought for Lupus.

When she died, Gates dedicated his season to her and he responded with nine touchdown catches in the first eight games. When the year was completed, Gates had 12 scoring receipts, and he had become the team’s leading recipient who darkened another Hall of Famer in Lance Alworth, with more than 10,000 careers receiving yards.

Gates would end with 11,841 receiving yards, fourth all the time among tight ends. Another ex-team, Quarterback Drew Brees, contributed to the total amount, and he is likely to join Gates in the Hall of Fame next year.

Brees had previously said that Gates who came in front of him was a no-brainer.

“If you just want to look at stats, if you just want to look at long life if you just want to look at consistency, if you just want to look at shelf life, this is an extremely obvious choice when it comes to what Antonio Gates Achieved throughout his career, ” Brees said.

Tomlinson agreed when he greeted the 12th and the latest member from Chargers’ organization to become a Hall of Famer.

“His candidacy is about inheritance,” Tomlinson said. “Simply the Antonio game changed.”