Former Michigan State Spartan and Detroit Tigers Kirk Gibson will be part of the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2017, the National Football Foundation announced Monday.
Gibson, who played wide receiver for the Spartans from 1975-1978, will be inducted with other NFL greats including Marshall Faulk, Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson and Brian Urlacher.
The Waterford native was a four-year letterman and earned first-team All-Big Ten and first-team All-American honors in his senior year when the Spartans won a share of the Big Ten Championship. His 806 receiving yards set a school record at the time, breaking a record he had previously set as a sophomore.
When he finished his career at MSU, he was their all-time leader in receptions with 112, receiving yards with 2,347 and touchdown receptions with 24.
"It's an incredible honor to be selected to the College Football Hall of Fame," Gibson told Michigan State. "But I would be remiss if I didn't recognize all those who were there to lift me up when I was down, or those who kicked me in the ass when it was warranted. I was blessed to have dedicated and supportive family, friends, teammates and coaches. This award is in honor of all of them and significant in illustrating the power of we."
He played 17 years in the MLB, spending a majority of time with the Detroit Tigers. He also managed five seasons for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He is the ninth Michigan State player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The other players are: John Pingel, Don Coleman, George Webster, Bubba Smith, Brad Van Pelt, Gene Washington, Percy Snow and Clinton Jones.
