Nov 2, 2014; Kansas City, MO; Former Chiefs running back Priest Holmes on the sidelines before the game against the New York Jets at Arrowhead Stadium. Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Former Chiefs running back Priest Holmes electrified Chiefs fans while wearing red and gold from 2001-07.
Holmes, who ranks second on the team’s all-time career rushing list with 6,070 yards, anchored a running game on one of the NFL’s top offenses during the early to mid-2000s.
His pile-leaping touchdowns at the goal line captivated fans not just in Kansas City, but around the NFL.
Sunday was the Chiefs’ turn to dazzle Holmes with a halftime ceremony immortalizing him with a place on the Ring of Honor.
“I still have chills,” Holmes said after the ceremony. “I’m still excited. Just to have my parents there, and the kids here, and tons of family that are extended and some that are close and friends, it really meant a lot to me. When I pulled up this morning and I just started seeing (No.) 31 jerseys, it just kind of took me back during that era that we had a really good time running the ball and throwing it.”
The best for Holmes awaited him inside the stadium.
Sunday’s halftime ceremony proved exciting for Holmes, who said he didn’t look up at the spot where his name would be revealed until it was time.
“It hadn’t been unveiled,” Holmes explained, “but I wanted to wait until that time. Pretty exciting because I knew when I walked through these doors back in 2001 it was one thing I’ve always said.
“It would be cool to have your name up here in the stadium, what it would take, how long it would take, those are things I never really considered. But I knew as far as being definitely aggressive, forward thinking, and then also just the work ethic I had that those were things that could definitely come into the future and it did.”
Holmes, who entered the NFL in 1997 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas with the Baltimore Ravens, signed a free-agent deal with the Chiefs in 2001.
A dual threat for the Chiefs, he recorded 8,447 yards from scrimmage, 251 receptions and a team-record 83 total touchdowns (76 rushing), among other records, before retiring in November 2007.
Holmes cherished Sunday’s ceremony, and appeared especially pleased one of his sons was present to share the festivities as a teaching point for hard work.
“I’m excited because one of my boys was here and he was able to see it,” Holmes said. “He’s now a senior back home in San Antonio, plays wideout and DB, so it gives him a chance to be able to see something that he can, I hope, one day be able to cherish, and then work off that.”
Congratulations to Priest Holmes — formally welcomed today into the Chiefs Ring of Honor. pic.twitter.com/HBjqcViOLB
— KMBC (@kmbc) November 2, 2014
