Marvin Harrison's complicated Hall of Fame legacy

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016 gets inducted on Saturday. Shutdown Corner will profile the eight new Hall of Famers, looking at each of their careers and their impact on the game.

Marvin Harrison
Indianapolis Colts, 1996-2008

Impact on the game

On the field, Harrison changed how receivers were viewed. He came into the NFL when the league was trending toward tall, hulking receivers who could out-muscle cornerbacks. Harrison was just 6-feet and 185 pounds, but was too quick for defensive backs. That works in the NFL too.

There’s another side of Harrison that has clouded his legacy after his retirement. He was involved in a few murky gun incidents, although he was not charged with any crimes in them. In 2008, a man named Dwight Dixon said Harrison shot him in the hand after an argument outside Harrison’s car wash in Philadelphia, and a man named Robert Nixon said he was hit in the back with a stray bullet. Nixon also said Harrison was the shooter, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer and other reports.

Harrison admitted to fighting with Dixon five to 10 minutes before the shooting, the Philadelphia Inquirer said. Although bullet casings at the scene matched a gun that Harrison owned, no charges were filed due to inconsistent statements by the witnesses, who were deemed not credible by the district attorney.

Dixon was shot and killed in 2009. A gunman fired into Dixon’s car, which was two blocks away from a sports bar Harrison owned, hitting him multiple times. Harrison was never questioned in that case. A long 2010 GQ article chronicled the incidents, as did a 2015 Philadelphia Inquirer column and many other media reports.

“I’m still harboring some anger toward this whole situation,” Pearl Bronson, Dixon’s mother, said in a 2015 interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. “And I don’t think he should be in the Hall of Fame.”

Harrison’s attorney told the Inquirer that his client isn’t a suspect and was never questioned.

“If you know me, the person, I don’t have to worry about what other people think,” Harrison told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Everyone’s going to have their opinions. I don’t worry about what people think. My fans and people who are close to me know what type of guy I am.”

There was another odd incident in 2014 in which Harrison was shot at. Harrison was in his truck outside an apartment building when a man fled his apartment because he said it was being robbed. The man got in the bed of Harrison’s truck and one of the two intruders shot twice at Harrison’s truck, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. Nobody was harmed.

Harrison always was a mysterious figure. He rarely spoke with the media. He was the only living member of this year’s Hall of Fame class who wasn’t present when the class was announced at last year’s NFL Honors show in San Francisco.

The stories about the incidents in Philadelphia have made Harrison even more enigmatic.

Greatest moment

It wasn’t one moment for Harrison, but an entire season. Passing and receiving records don’t last long in this era, but Harrison’s record for receptions in a season lapped the field.

In 2002, Harrison caught 143 passes. That was 20 more than the previous record, held by Herman Moore. From 2003 to 2013, no NFL receiver caught more than 123 passes. Antonio Brown has 129 and 136 receptions the last couple seasons and Julio Jones had 136 in 2015, so they’re closing in on Harrison. But Harrison still has the record.

The funny thing about Harrison’s remarkable 2002 is it started slow. He had four catches for 34 yards in the opener. Over the rest of the season Harrison had at least six catches in every game, at least eight catches 12 times and double-digit catches in six games. He also had 10 100-yard games. His 1,722 yards that season are the seventh-most all time. It’s one of the great single seasons in NFL history.

A devastating route runner, Harrison was unstoppable in 2002.

Case against his bust in Canton

We like to give extra credit to players whose greatest moments come in the playoffs. Although Harrison was a great receiver, he mostly disappeared in the postseason.

Harrison played 16 playoff games. He had just 65 catches, grabbing less than half of the targets thrown his way, for a pedestrian 883 yards and two touchdowns. Harrison had just one great playoff game in 16 tries: seven catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns in a wild-card game against the Denver Broncos at the end of the 2003 season. That was his only 100-yard game in the postseason. In his other 15 playoff games Harrison had 750 yards and no scores. In his last 10 playoff games Harrison averaged only 40.6 yards per game.

Harrison’s credentials on the field are very impressive. But in a sport that celebrates greatness in the biggest games, Harrison’s playoff resume is surprisingly thin.

Case for his bust in Canton

Harrison’s numbers are incredible. Harrison ranks third in NFL history in receptions (1,102), seventh in receiving yards (13,580) and fifth in receiving touchdowns (128). His 128 total touchdowns rank ninth all time, just ahead of Jim Brown’s 126 and Walter Payton’s 125. Harrison’s consistency was incredible too. He had at least 80 catches, 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns every season from 1999-2006.

Harrison made the Pro Bowl eight times and was a first-team All-Pro three times. By any measure, he’s one of the most productive receivers in NFL history.

More Hall of Fame profiles at Yahoo Sports 
• Brett Favre
• Dick Stanfel

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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