ST. LOUIS — St. Louis is well represented on the NFL's list of finalists for the 2020 Hall of Fame class.
The Greatest Show on Turf duo of Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce and St. Louis native Steve Atwater made the list of 15 released Thursday.
Bruce and Holt lit up the league in the late 90s and early 2000s as part of one of the most potent passing attacks the league had ever seen.
Bruce was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1994 and came to St. Louis when the Rams made the move to St. Louis in 1995. He pulled in 984 regular-season catches and more than 14,000 yards in a Rams jersey.
His greatness was not reserved for the regular season, however. He was on the receiving end of one of the most important touchdowns in team history, a 73-yard, game-winning score with just minutes left in Super Bowl XXXIV. His 162 in that Super Bowl are the third-most in Super Bowl history.
Holt burst onto the scene as a rookie on that 1999 team, catching six touchdowns in the regular season and another in the Super Bowl. In 2000, Holt became one of the League's premiere deep-threats, leading the league in both receiving yards and yards-per-catch. As a result, he was chosen for the first of seven Pro Bowl selections in his career.
In 2003, Holt led the league in catches, receiving yards and yards-per-game and was named a First-Team All-Pro member.
After playing quarterback for and graduating from Lutheran North High School, Atwater played football at the University of Arkansas. He transitioned from QB to safety, where he was twice an All-American selection.
He was drafted in the first round of the 1989 draft by the Denver Broncos, where he played 10 of his 11 seasons. Atwater was one of the most decorated defensive players of his era, with two Super Bowl championships, eight Pro-Bowl selections, two First-Team All-Pro selections and a spot on the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team.
Five players from the list released Thursday will make it into the Hall of Fame as a part of the NFL's special Centennial Class. The class will be announced on the Saturday before the Super Bowl at the league's NFL Honors show.
