GREGG DOYEL

Doyel: The Marvin Harrison we never knew

Gregg Doyel
gregg.doyel@indystar.com
Former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison gives a speech during the NFL Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 6, 2016.

CANTON, Ohio — Turns out, he’s funny. And sentimental. And gracious. Thank God he made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, or we still wouldn’t know any of that about Marvin Harrison.

We knew plenty about him before Saturday night, of course. He played 13 years in Indianapolis, helping the Colts to 10 playoff appearances and the Super Bowl title after the 2006 season. He caught 1,102 passes for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns, all franchise records. We knew that side of him, the football side. We knew he was small and fast, serious and tireless.

We knew he was quiet.

His silence became part of his legacy, part of his lore, a punch line but also a reality: Marvin Harrison was best known for being unknown.

And then, Saturday.

You liked him, right? He talked for 11 minutes and 31 seconds — 11 minutes and 30 seconds longer than we had any right to expect —  and he was good. No, he was perfect.

Insider: Colts success started with Marvin Harrison

Here’s how his speech started. He thanked a teacher from high school, Philadelphia Roman Catholic High, a teacher who helped him with the SAT.

“His name was Joe Ferrero,” Harrison said. “Joe, I just want to thank you. More guys like you in the world, and it would be a better place.”

Then he thanked a teacher from Syracuse — Mrs. Johnson, he said — who scared the fool out of him the first day of class by announcing her grading process like so: 50 percent on attendance, 25 percent on exams, 25 percent on presentations to the class.

“I told her instantly: ‘Timeout. We’ve got to go over this. This is something I don’t do,’ ” Harrison said. “She said to me, ‘Marvin, some day you’re going to look back on this day and thank me because you’re going to have to give the biggest speech of your life.’

“I want to thank Mrs. Johnson for that.”

As should we, because the speech Marvin Harrison delivered Saturday — the biggest speech of his life — revealed a sliver of the man we hadn’t known.

He’s also the Marvin we knew, mind you. Check out the bronze bust that will immortalize him in Canton. The Hall of Fame’s chief sculptor, Blair Buswell, lets inductees pick their pose. (“The guy that made the bust,” is how Harrison acknowledged Buswell, the only inductee to do so. “I want to thank you.”)

Marvin Harrison like you've never heard him

Hall of Famer Michael Strahan chose a big, gap-toothed smile. Dan Marino looks pleased with himself, Lawrence Taylor pensive, Tom Landry stern.

Marvin Harrison is scowling.

Forever, he will gaze out at visitors to the Pro Football Hall of Fame with a look that hisses: What did you say?

But we know better, now. Marvin Harrison, tough guy? Nah, he’s a sweetheart. Surrounded by teammates like Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Edgerrin James, introduced by owner Jim Irsay, joined in the Class of 2016 by coach Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison decided the most important person in the crowd was his grandmother.

“Extremely hard-working woman,” he said of silver-haired Luanna Harrison, beaming from her seat in the crowd. “Hard work and dedication had to come from somewhere, and it probably had to start at the top of the Harrison family. So I want to thank you that you’re still here and able to see your grandson into the Hall of Fame.”

Thank you that you’re still here …

Sniff.

Football? Harrison talked about football, but not much, and thank goodness for that. We already knew the football side. He played for Lindy Infante, Jim Mora and Tony Dungy. Tom Moore was his offensive coordinator, Clyde Christensen his position coach. Manning was his quarterback, Wayne his sidekick, James the thunder to Harrison’s lightning. Bill Polian was his boss, Irsay his owner. He thanked 'em all, and in most cases with a memory of friendship, not football.

Peyton Manning: What we had with the Colts 'wasn't normal,' it was 'special'

“Coach Dungy,” is how Harrison started that acknowledgment. “You taught us how to be teammates (and) men. But the most important thing is, you taught us about fatherhood.”

Harrison thanked his sons, Marvin and Jett, saying retirement has been easy because he’s “able to come home, be your coach, be your father and be your friend. … You have made life what it’s worth.”

Who knew Marvin Harrison was such a love? Or a comedian? This is how he thanked the city of Indianapolis — the fans — for their tireless support.

“And I’m from Philadelphia,” he said. “If you get the coin toss wrong, they want to trade you the first thing Monday morning.”

From the start of Harrison’s speech, though, you knew this would be different.

“Before I begin,” is how he began, “I just want to say one thing … I’m not going to break the record (for) shortest speech in Hall of Fame history. That’s not going to happen.”

No, it did not. For 11 minutes and 31 seconds he took us on a tour of his psyche, including this: Going first on Saturday night was his idea. That’s what he asked of the Hall of Fame director of Gold Jacket relations, Michelle Norris, and Norris was fine with that. She knew Harrison.

Well, she was like us: She thought she knew Marvin Harrison.

“She didn’t think I was going to come up on the stage,” he said. “I told her I wanted to go first, and she didn’t want to gamble on it, so she made sure I went first. She thought I was going to disappear on her.”

Knowing what we know now, can you imagine if he’d disappeared? If this speech had never happened? It would have been a lot like Harrison’s 13 years in Indianapolis, when he banished his personality to a self-imposed exile from 1996-2008:

Our loss.

Ours, and his family’s. His cousins Rod and Beverly Dixon walked out of Tom Benson Stadium with me. They were wearing white No. 88 jerseys and beaming as I congratulated them on Marvin's speech.

Insider: The making of Tony Dungy, Hall of Famer

And this is what Rod said: “That’s the most we’ve ever heard him talk.”

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter:@GreggDoyelStar or atwww.facebook.com/gregg.doyel.

Marvin Harrison's Hall of Fame speech