TONY GONZALEZ FACT SHEET BIOS, RECORDS, QUICK FACTS, NOTES AND QUOTES

TONY GONZALEZ is one of eight members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2019.

CAPSULE BIO

17 seasons, 270 games … First-round pick (13th player overall) by Chiefs in 1997 … Named Chiefs’ rookie of the year after recording 33 catches for 368 yards and 2 TDs, 1997 … Recorded more than 50 receptions in a season in each of his last 16 years (second most all-time) including 14 seasons with 70 or more catches … Led NFL in receiving with career-best 102 receptions, 2004 … Led Chiefs in receiving eight times … Traded to Atlanta in 2009 … Led Falcons in receiving, 2012… Set Chiefs record with 26 games with 100 or more receiving yards; added five more 100-yard efforts with Falcons … Ranks behind only Jerry Rice in career receptions … Career statistics: 1,325 receptions for 15,127 yards, 111 TDs … Streak of 211 straight games with a catch, 2000-2013 (longest ever by tight end, second longest in NFL history at time of retirement) … Career-long 73-yard TD catch vs. division rival Raiders, Nov. 28, 1999 …Team leader that helped Chiefs and Falcons to two division titles each … Started at tight end for Falcons in 2012 NFC Championship Game, had 8 catches for 78 yards and 1 TD … Named First-Team All- Pro seven times (1999-2003, 2008, 2012) … Voted to 14 Pro Bowls … Named Team MVP by Chiefs (2008) and Falcons (2009) … Selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of 2000s … Born Feb. 27, 1976 in Torrance, California.

TIGHT END1997-2008 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 2009-2013 ATLANTA FALCONS

Height: 6-5; Weight: 250Uniform Number: 88

THE NFL’S 100TH SEASON KICKS OFF AT ENSHRINEMENT WEEK POWERED BY JOHNSON CONTROLS

Media, especially those credentialed to cover the 2019 Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls, should regularly access the Pro Football Hall

of Fame’s media site. The site is continually updated with information related to the week’s events, logistics, maps and schedule. In addition, materials

related to the Hall of Fame Game (Broncos vs. Falcons) and the Class of 2019 (CHAMP BAILEY, PAT BOWLEN, GIL BRANDT, TONY GONZALEZ, TY LAW,

KEVIN MAWAE, ED REED and JOHNNY ROBINSON) are posted to the site.

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Gonzalez ranks among the best in several NFL and team record lists. Among his most impressive NFL records at the time of his retirement were:

[2nd] Most Receptions, Career - 1,325

[5th] Most Yards Receiving, Career - 15,127

Also, Gonzalez held these Kansas City Chiefs records in 2008, his final season with the team:

[1st] Most Receptions, Career - 916

[1st] Most Receptions, Season - 102 (2004)

[1st] Most Consecutive Games with a Pass Reception - 131 (2000-08)

[1st] Most Yards Receiving, Career - 10,940

Gonzalez won the NFL Receiving title in 2004 when he caught 102 passes for 1,258 yards.

Gonzalez’s full bio and listing of records held are found in the 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame Media Guide (Download at www.ProFootballHOF.com/media. Password: Excellence)

Gonzalez is the fourth longtime member of the Atlanta Falcons in the Hall of Fame joining MORTEN ANDERSEN, CLAUDE HUMPHREY and DEION SANDERS.

He also is the 13th longtime member of the Kansas City Chiefs elected to the Hall. The other 12 include:

Year Team G No. Yds. TD1997 Kansas City 16 33 368 21998 Kansas City 16 59 621 21999 Kansas City 15 76 839 112000 Kansas City 16 93 1,203 92001 Kansas City 16 73 917 62002 Kansas City 16 63 773 72003 Kansas City 16 71 916 102004 Kansas City 16 102 1,258 72005 Kansas City 16 78 905 22006 Kansas City 15 73 900 52007 Kansas City 16 99 1,172 52008 Kansas City 16 96 1,058 102009 Atlanta 16 83 867 62010 Atlanta 16 70 656 62011 Atlanta 16 80 875 72012 Atlanta 16 93 930 82013 Atlanta 16 83 859 8

RECORDS

HALL OF FAME QUICK FACTS

• BOBBY BELL• BUCK BUCHANAN• CURLEY CULP• LEN DAWSON• LAMAR HUNT• WILLIE LANIER

• JOHNNY ROBINSON• WILL SHIELDS• JAN STENERUD• HANK STRAM• DERRICK THOMAS• EMMITT THOMAS

Gonzalez is the ninth tight end in the Hall and the first to be elected in his first year of eligibility. The other eight tight ends in the Hall are:

9th • DAVE CASPER • MIKE DITKA• JOHN MACKEY• OZZIE NEWSOME

• CHARLIE SANDERS• SHANNON SHARPE• JACKIE SMITH• KELLEN WINSLOW

CAREER RECEIVING STATISTICS

Gonzalez ranks eighth in most games played by a Hall of Famer with 270. The seven players with more games played are:

• MORTEN ANDERSEN (382)• GEORGE BLANDA (340)• JERRY RICE (303)• BRETT FAVRE (302)• BRUCE MATTHEWS (296)• DARRELL GREEN (295)• BRUCE SMITH (279)

Gonzalez is the second Hall of Famer to attend the Unviersity of California, Berkeley, where he competed on the football and basketball teams. The other Hall of Famer to attend Cal is LES RICHTER.

Gonzalez was elected to 14 Pro Bowls, which has only been accomplished by four other players in the history of the NFL:

Drafted 13th overall by Kansas City in the 1997 NFL Draft, Gonzalez becomes the fourth member of the 1997 draft class to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

• ORLANDO PACE was drafted first overall by the St. Louis Rams• WALTER JONES was selected sixth overall by the Seattle Seahawks• JASON TAYLOR was picked 73rd overall by the Miami Dolphins

Gonzalez wore the number 88 his entire career. Seven other Hall of Famers wore 88 as their primary number including:

Gonzalez played in the 2003 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game for Kansas City. The Chiefs won 9-0 over the Green Bay Packers. The game ended with 5:49 left in the third quarter due to lightning and heavy rain.

Gonzalez was elected in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. There have been 86 players elected in their first year of eligibility including three in 2019. The other first-ballot enshrinees in the Class of 2019 are CHAMP BAILEY and ED REED.

Gonzalez shares a birthday of Feb. 27 (1976) with fellow Hall of Famer RAYMOND BERRY (1933).

270

14

1997

#882003

• Tom Brady• Peyton Manning• BRUCE MATTHEWS• MERLIN OLSEN

• MARVIN HARRISON• MICHAEL IRVIN• JOHN MACKEY• ALAN PAGE

• CLARENCE “ACE” PARKER• CHARLIE SANDERS• LYNN SWANN

86Feb. 27

Gonzalez is the 23rd member of the Hall of Fame born in California. The “Golden State” ranks fourth in most Hall of Famers behind Pennsylvania (34), Texas (31) and Ohio (27). The 22 other Californians in the Hall are:

• “That’s what football has always taught me. On the football field, you’re going to be afraid. Adversity is going to come towards you. You can’t run from it.”

• “Life takes off on the other side of fear…that’s where you want to go…the only way you get good…is to put yourself in that uncomfortable situation.”

• “He [God] blessed me…He gave me my heart, my determination, and my leadership. That’s why I’m going to make it in the NFL.”

• “Football is my love. Football is what I’m going to do. I’m a football player first.”

• “Life is short. You better get out there and do what you want to do .......while you can.”

• “Tight end is one of the hardest positions to play in football. It’s right up there with quarterback and cornerback. You have to have the skills of a wide receiver and the strength of an offensive lineman, and it’s not easy to balance those two.”

ACCORDING TO TONY

“I love football. The games are a pure rush. By the time I’m done playing, I want to be among the best tight ends ever to play the

game.”

• TROY AIKMAN• LARRY ALLEN• MARCUS ALLEN• TERRELL DAVIS• DAN FOUTS• FRANK GIFFORD• MEL HEIN• JERRY JONES• JAMES LOFTON• HUGH MCELHENNY• RON MIX

• WARREN MOON• ANTHONY MUÑOZ• LES RICHTER• PETE ROZELLE• BOB ST. CLAIR• TEX SCHRAMM• JUNIOR SEAU• O.J. SIMPSON• DICK STANFEL• BILL WALSH• GARY ZIMMERMAN

Photo: Gonzalez takes the field in his final NFL game in 2013.© Associated Press.

• “The guy was a fierce competitor and wanted to be the very best at his position … Tony was always there, always in the right place, always going to catch the ball.” – Former Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson

• The skill set that Tony Gonzalez has is the standard that most teams are looking for in a tight end.” – Former Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith

• “When I see Tony, I see myself out there. He is an athlete playing football. I think he can put up numbers that won’t be reached for a while.” Hall of Fame Tight End KELLEN WINSLOW

• “Tony Gonzalez, I used to play in the Pro Bowl with him. Man, I used to always say if you could take one guy back with you who would you take back? I’d take Tony Gonzalez. I think he was the best tight end ever to play.” – Former NFL Quarterback Peyton Manning

• “Tight end never used to be a glamour position until Tony came along. Now you’ve got kids growing up asking to play tight end because it’s all about getting the pigskin.” – Former Chiefs Running Back Priest Holmes

• “He has unique versatility. I don’t look at Gonzalez as a tight end. I see him as, well, I don’t know what the heck he is.” – Oakland Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden

• “Tony was such an important part of our organization. He was the go-to guy. Matt (Ryan) had so much confidence in him.” - Atlanta Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff

• “He’s really something special. He can do so many different things that he’s really revolutionizing the position.” – Hall of Fame Tight End OZZIE NEWSOME

WHAT OTHERS SAY

Photos: (top) Mike Smith and Gonzalez in 2013. © Associated Press. (middle) Gonzalez and Priest Holmes hug after Holmes scored a touchdown in a 2004 game. © Associated Press. (bottom) Gonzalez, Peyton Manning and Bill Belichick at the 2007 Pro Bowl.© Associated Press.

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Tony Gonzalez out of the University of California in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He retired 17 seasons later as the all-time leader in catches, yards and touchdowns by a tight end.

While Gonzalez made an immediate impact as a rookie, his breakout season came during his third year when he led the Chiefs in receiving with 76 catches for 849 yards and 11 touchdown receptions to earn his first of 14 Pro Bowl nods. That same season, he was named first-team All-Pro for the first of seven times. He followed that season with an even better year in 2000 when he caught 93 passes for 1,203 yards and nine touchdowns.

Other than his rookie year, Gonzalez never caught less than 59 passes in a season and surpassed 80 catches eight times. He led the NFL in receptions in 2004 with a career-high 102 and reached 1,000 yards for the second time in his career.

Gonzalez was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in 2009. It was with the Falcons, in 2012, that Gonzalez reached his lone conference championship game. Unfortunately, even though Gonzalez caught eight passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, the Falcons fell to the San Francisco 49ers 28-24.

Gonzalez’s final career numbers are staggering. They read 1,325 receptions for 15,127 yards and 111 TDs.

Gonzalez eclipsed 900-yards receiving in a season nine times and had 10 or more TDs in a season three times.

He played in 270 regular season games and missed just one game during his career. At the time of his retirement, Gonzalez ranked second in career receptions (1,325), most seasons with 50 or more receptions (16) and most consecutive games with a reception (211). He also ranked fifth all-time in receiving yards (15,127).

Gonzalez led the Chiefs in receiving eight times and the Falcons once. He is a member of the NFL All-Decade Team of the 2000s.

TONY GONZALEZ, CLASS OF 2019

Photos: (top) Gonzalez plays in a 2001 game. © Associated Press. Gonzalez blows a kiss to the Atlanta crowd in his final NFL game. © Associated Press.

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