Former Kentucky standout Art Still named to College Football Hall of Fame
Art Still, a dominant defensive end who led Kentucky to some of its greatest football heights, will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
"It's humbling to be selected because I didn't do it alone," Still said in a news release after the announcement Friday by the National Football Foundation. "It's a compliment to all the guys I played with and the coaches."
Still was one of 15 players and two coaches named Friday to the Hall of Fame, joining former Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth, former Texas running back Ricky Williams and current Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder, among others.
Still, a Camden, N.J., native, played at Kentucky from 1974-77 under Coach Fran Curci and helped lead the Cats to a 19-4 record in his final two seasons, including a 9-3 record in his junior season, winning a share of the Southeastern Conference championship.
In Still's senior season, UK went 10-1 and finished as the sixth-ranked team in the nation. The 6-foot-7 defensive end was the cornerstone of a stifling Kentucky defense that held foes to 10.1 points a game. That year, Curci's Cats boasted a perfect 6-0 SEC mark. Still was a consensus first-team All-American.
The four-year starter made 327 tackles during his career. He had 22 tackles for loss in his senior season. Still also played a bit on offense as a tight end in short-yardage situations.
The second overall pick of the 1978 NFL Draft, Still had a record-setting 12-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and set records with the Chiefs for most sacks in a career (72.5) and a season (14.5 twice). He was second in team history in total tackles with 992.
Still's official induction into the Hall of Fame will be on Dec. 8 in New York City during the National Football Foundation's annual awards dinner.
Other Cats in the College Football Hall of Fame include tackle Bob Gain (1947-50), quarterback Vito "Babe" Parilli (1949-51), end Steve Meilinger (1951-53), Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant (1946-53), tackle Lou Michaels (1955-57) and Jerry Claiborne, who played at UK in 1946, '48-49 and was head coach of the Cats from 1982-89.
Bernie Shively, who was athletic director at UK from 1938-67 and was head coach of the Cats in 1945, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in recognition of his playing days at Illinois.
Bosworth was a two-time Butkus Award winner (1985 and 1986) as the nation's best linebacker, helping the Sooners win three straight Big Eight titles and the 1985 national title. He was also one of the most controversial characters in college football history. He billed himself as The Boz, wore his hair in Mohawk style and was an outspoken critic of the NCAA.
Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 1998 and left Texas as the leading career rusher in FBS with 6,279 yards. He currently ranks second behind Wisconsin's Ron Dayne.
Snyder orchestrated one of the best turnarounds in college football history at Kansas State, which had lost more football games than any program when he took over in 1989. He turned the Wildcats into a Big 12 power and a national title contender with seven double-digit victory seasons in a span of nine years.
He retired after the 2005 season but returned in 2009. In 23 seasons with Kansas State, Snyder is 187-94-1. He was eligible for induction while still active because he turned 75 last year.
This story was originally published January 9, 2015 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Former Kentucky standout Art Still named to College Football Hall of Fame."