INDIANAPOLIS — Former great Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James on Saturday was not among those selected for induction for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
James, a finalist this year for a third time in four years, will now turn his focus to the Class of 2020. The good news for James, however, is that since 1970, 89.3 percent of all finalists eventually have been selected for induction, according to the Hall of Fame.
A three-time Hall of Fame finalist, James is statistically one of the greatest running backs in NFL history after his prolific 11-year NFL career, the first seven of which he spent with the Colts.
In his career, James was named to four Pro Bowls and rushed for 12,246 yards, which ranks 13th on the all-time list. His 15,610 total yards from scrimmage ranks 11th all-time among running backs, and is more than Hall of Fame backs Eric Dickerson, Jerome Bettis and Jim Brown.
The Colts' fourth-overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft out of Miami, James lit up the league from the start in his NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign, leading the NFL in rushing with 1,553 yards and also scoring 13 touchdowns on the ground and four touchdowns through the air. He followed that up with an NFL-best 1,709 rushing yards and another 13 rushing touchdowns — as well as a league-leading 2,303 total yards from scrimmage — the following season
James sits atop the Colts' record books in career rushing yards (9,226), rushing touchdowns (64), rushing yards per game average (96.1), rushing yards in a single season (1,709 in 2000) and most seasons with 1,000 rushing yards (five).
