They aren’t brothers, but in many ways they learned life from the same man.

And when the newest member of the Broncos’ Ring of Fame, former wide receiver Rod Smith, celebrated Thursday with a series of text messages with Brian Heimerdinger, the topic was Mike Heimerdinger, Brian’s father and former Broncos assistant coach who died of cancer last year.

“I told him (the honor) was his fault, he shared his dad with me, his family with me,” Smith said on a conference call. “If it wasn’t for Mike Heimerdinger I can promise you we wouldn’t be on the phone right now.”

Smith said many people, from his earliest days in football, have played a part in his journey from undrafted free agent to the player who holds every significant Broncos’ receiving record, but that it was Heimerdinger who probably had the most significant role in what his athletic career became.

Heimerdinger was the team’s wide receivers coach from 1995-1999. Smith’s first year on the active roster was 1995 afterspending 1994 on the team’s practice squad. Heimerdinger returned to the team in 2006, the last year Smith played in a game.

“He saw more in me than I saw in me at the time,” Smith said. “And sometimes that’s all you need is somebody to believe in you more than you believe in yourself. He told me I had the talent, I had the skills. He spoke those things into my life every day, and then I went out there and had to go to work for him.

“Every tool I had in my toolbox, I borrowed from him. He kept saying it and I couldn’t help but believe it because it’s all I heard.”

Brian Heimerdinger, who works in the personnel department for the St. Louis Rams, was one of the first to send along congratulations to Smith after the Broncos’ announcement.

Smith retired after the 2007 season — which he spent on injured reserve after hip surgery. He finsihed with more receptions (849), receiving yards (11,389) and receiving touchdowns (68) than any player in franchise history.

Smith is only the second undrafted player to surpass 10,000 career receiving yards. Former Redskins wide receiver Gary Clark was the first. Smith’s career totals in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns are the highest in league history for any undrafted wide receiver.

He is the 23rd former player, coach or team official the Broncos have honored in the team’s Ring of Fame. Smith will be inducted in a halftime ceremony Sept. 23 when the Broncos face the Houston Texans at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

In a statement, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said; “Players like Rod don’t come through your door very often, but he came through ours every day with a purpose and hunger to be great.”

“I’m really an emotional person,” Smith said. “It’s a stepping stone in your life, it means you did something right, they don’t put you in there if you didn’t go out there and represent yourself a certain way, and played with a certain passion for the game.

“All I ever wanted to do is win. At the end of the day, the Ws were all I cared about.”

Smith was a part of 126 wins for the Broncos, playoffs included. He played on both of the Broncos’ Super Bowl winners to close out the 1997 and 1998 seasons. In the team’s 34-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII, Smith finished with five receptions for 152 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown catch.

After he signed with the Broncos in 1994 as an undrafted player out of Missouri Southern, he spent his first year as a professional on the team’s practice squad. He shoved his foot in the NFL door the next season when his first career catch was a 43-yard touchdown reception from Hall of Famer John Elway in the Broncos’ 38-31 victory over the Washington Redskins in 1995.

Asked Thursday if he could have foreseen all he eventually accomplished in football, Smith invoked some of his current business philosophies, saying;

“The problem with most people is they aim low and they hit,” Smith said. “I’ve aimed high and I hit. You want to be part of history. If you never think about it, it will never happen.”

Jeff Legwold: jlegwold@denverpost.com