Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. was born February 16, 1972. He would grow up to become one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.
Bettis grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Despite asthma, he was a standout football player, and named top player in the state his senior year of high school.
Bettis would attend Notre Dame to play football. In his three seasons with the Irish, Bettis finished his career with 337 rushing attempts for 1912 yards (5.7 yards per rushing attempt avg.), and made 32 receptions for 429 yards (13.4 yards per reception).
The Los Angeles Rams drafted Jerome Bettis as the 10th overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft. And in his rookie year, Bettis delivered huge, rushing for 1,429 yards (2nd in the NFL) and an NFL best 79 rushing first downs.
He would continue to deliver in his career. The man nicknamed "The Bus", played 13 NFL season (three with the Rams, and ten with the Pittsburgh Steelers). When all was said and done, Bettis finished his career with 13,662 yards and 91 rushing touchdowns. He ranks sixth among the all-time rushing yardage leaders. Bettis was a six-time Pro Bowl selection.
In 2006, the Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in Super Bowl XL in what would be Bettis' final game. He wanted to win a Super Bowl, and it was only fitting he would do it in his hometown of Detroit.
Check out the best runs of his career:
In just this January, Bettis was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Here's to you, Jerome Bettis.
