Tampa Bay Bucs: James Wilder Needs to Be a Part of The Ring of Honor

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At Raymond James Stadium, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a Ring of Honor. The ring is made up of players or coaches who have made an impact on the franchise. The one player I think should be in the Ring of Honor is running back/fullback James Wilder Sr. His coach and three of his teammates are already in the ring. Head coach John McKay was the very first coach in franchise history. McKay was also the second member to be inducted. He coached the Buccaneers for nine seasons from 1976-84 and his record was 44-88-1. In 1979 he led Tamp Bay to an NFC Central Division Championship it was the Bucs’ fourth season. In the same year, he coached the Buccaneers to their first playoff game and win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Between 1981 and 1982 he led Tampa two back-to-back playoff appearances.

One of James Wilder’s teammates and one of the many Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hall of Famers was the first inductee. That was Lee Roy Selmon. Selmon was the first draft pick for Tampa. He was drafted from the University of Oklahoma in 1976. Selmon was labeled a great professional player and is the Bucs’ all-time sack leader with 78.5 sacks. Selmon was the anchor that helped the Bucs win the NFC Central in 1979. His career was cut short due to a herniated disk that suffered at the end of the 1984 season. Along with the sacks record he also holds two other records for sacks in a season with 14 and 28.5 forced fumbles. To this day, Selmon is the only Buccaneer that has his jersey retired and no one will ever wear the number 63.

The other two teammates were both on the same side of the ball with James Wilder Sr. and Jimmie Giles who was the first offensive player to be inducted into the ring. He came to Tampa Bay via a trade with the Houston Oilers before the 1978 NFL Draft. Giles also became the first Tampa Bay player to play in the Pro Bowl. He represented the Bucs from 1981-82 and 84-85 in the Pro Bowl. The only player who has gone more times as a member of Tampa is Lee Roy Selmon. Giles went four times the only offensive player that went more times than him his Mike Alstott who is also in the Ring of Honor. The other teammate would be the one that helped open holes for him in Paul Gruber.

Paul Gruber was the fourth member of the ring. He joined his teammates from the start of the franchise. Some of these years were horrible for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had a great streak going 4,850 consecutive snaps from 1988-92. In 1989, he played a full season without a holding penalty. Gruber was one of the players that helped the Bucs win a division title in 1999 the first in 19 years.

I think that James Wilder should be with his coach and three teammates. He was a staple in the backfield that many consider the best running back in franchise history. Wilder played nine seasons with the Buccaneers playing both the running back and fullback positions. He played in two playoff games with 18 attempts for 116 yards and no touchdowns. Wilder was in the Pro Bowl in 1984 with Lee Roy Selmon and Jimmie Giles.