Walter Pierce

Sheaux nuf! Saint Jackson elected to HOF

by Walter Pierce

A day before the New Orleans Saints play in their first Super Bowl, former Saints linebacker Rickey Jackson was elected Saturday as a member of Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 51-year-old Jackson’s bust will be enshrined in the Canton, Ohio, hall in August; he is the first Saint elected to the hall.

A second round pick in the 1981 draft out of the University of Pittsburgh, Jackson played 13 years for the Saints (1981-1993), most famously as a member of the vaunted Dome Patrol linebacking corps that included Pat Swilling, Vaughn Johnson and Sam Mills, a group ranked by the NFL Network as the best of all time. During his career with the Saints, Jackson was selected to the Pro Bowl six times. His 123 career sacks with the Saints remains a team record. Jackson won a Super Bowl championship as a member of the San Francisco 49ers during a two-year, career-ending stint with the Saints' rival in the old NFC West.