Feb. 4, 2002

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Former Notre Dame All-American Dave Casper — a tight end for four National Football League teams, notably the Oakland Raiders, from 1974-1984 — Saturday was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2002 also includes: Dan Hampton, a defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears from 1979-1990, John Stallworth, a wide receiver with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1974-1987, and former Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins coach George Allen.

Their induction into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 3 in Canton, Ohio, will bring the number of enshrinees in the Hall to 216.

2002 will mark the third straight year a former Notre Dame player is inducted, following Joe Montana in 2000 and Nick Buoniconti in 2001. Other Notre Dame representatives in the Pro Football Hall of Fame include Curly Lambeau, George Trafton, Wayne Millner, George Connor, Paul Hornung and Alan Page.

Casper caught 378 passes and scored 52 touchdowns during his pro career, which began with the Raiders in Oakland in 1974 and included stops in Houston and Minnesota before concluding with the Raiders in Los Angeles in 1984. He is the 11th member of the Raiders and only the sixth tight end to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

“It’s a great day,” Casper, a five-time Pro Bowl selection who played on the Raiders team that won Super Bowl XI, said Saturday.

“I’m glad someone felt I should be in. Sometimes in life you’re on a good team like the Raiders and you play for a good organization. I benefited from playing for people like [Hall of Famers] Ted Hendricks and Art Shell and the whole Raiders organization. I think a lot of it was just the fact that I happened to be in good places and good things happened and I didn’t screw it up too bad.”

Casper’s Notre Dame career included two years as an offensive tackle and two years as a tight end (1972-73). A consensus first-team All-American in 1973, he was a captain of Notre Dame’s ’73 national championship team, Originally from Chilton, Wis., his collegiate career totals included 21 receptions for 335 yards and four TDs. A second-round pick of the Raiders in the ’74 draft, he earned post-graduate scholarships from both the NCAA and the National Football Foundation, was elected to the Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 1999.

The new inductees were selected by the Hall of Fame’s 38-member selection committee, which includes one media representative from each NFL franchise, plus six at-large members.