80 FOR 80

Cris Carter is synonymous with 80, which was his jersey number during an impressive 12 seasons as a wide receiver with the Vikings.

With that number in mind, here are 80 things worth knowing about ol’ No. 80, who gets inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday:

1. When Philadelphia Eagles coach Buddy Ryan released Carter before the start of the 1990 regular season, he delivered one of the game’s most infamous critiques ever: “All he does is catch touchdown passes.”

2. The Vikings claimed Carter off waivers in September 1990 for a $100 fee.

3. The Vikings’ star receiver in 1990 was Carter … Anthony Carter.

4. Cris Carter also is known by his initials, CC, with no period after each initial, according to the Vikings.

5. When he joined the Vikings, CC became a backup behind Anthony Carter and Hassan Jones.

6. Former Vikings teammate Qadry Ismail told Sirius XM on Sunday, “To be perfectly honest with you, Cris was a bona fide diva. … You knew that he had a selfishness to him that was an extreme selfishness.”

7. Shortly after Carter was voted into the Hall of Fame, another former teammate told me, “Carter was the biggest —hole in the locker room.”

8. In the book “The Best Minnesota Sports Arguments,” which I wrote in 2007, Carter had his own chapter entitled, “What Was the Most Selfish Act Committed by a Minnesota Athlete?”

9. Carter’s most selfish act came in 2003, when Bill Brown was supposed to be inducted into the Vikings’ Ring of Honor. Carter told then-owner Red McCombs he wanted to be inducted that year, so Brown was bumped to 2004. Brown had been looking forward to the 2003 induction because his wife was ill with diabetes and Brown wanted her to see him have his day. Brown’s wife died before his 2004 induction.

10. Former Vikings coach Bud Grant called Brown “very, very gracious” for the way he handled being leapfrogged by Carter for the Ring of Honor induction.

11. My first interaction with Cris Carter came after a misunderstanding with Anthony Carter, who went by A.C. and used periods after each initial. Anyway, after I explained to A.C. that I hadn’t written he should be traded and had written that he was the only Viking good enough to be traded for a first-round pick, A.C. nodded and began to walk away from me. CC shoved A.C. into me. A.C. and I both yelled at CC.

12. Born Nov. 25, 1965, Carter is 47.

13. He shares his Troy, Ohio, birthplace with Randy Walker, the Northwestern football coach who died in 2006.

14. “Cris” is a shortened version of his given name, Cristopher. His middle name is Darin.

15. Carter said in a February interview with the Pioneer Press that he “absolutely” had been a mentor for Randy Moss, and Moss “never would have made it through those first few years without me.” Yet early in Moss’ career, Carter told reporters it wasn’t his job to mentor Moss.

16. Carter has three brothers and two sisters. His older brother, Butch, played and coached in the NBA.

17. Carter began his high school football career as a quarterback at Middletown High School in Ohio.

18. Like Butch, Carter was a talented basketball player and was recruited to play at the Division I level.

19. Carter played only football at Ohio State for three seasons.

20. He lost college eligibility after his junior season when it was revealed he took money from an agent.

21. Even though he didn’t play as a senior, Carter held the school record for receptions then, with 168.

22. Carter was named to Ohio State’s All-Century Team in 2000.

23. The Eagles selected Carter in the fourth round of the 1987 supplemental draft.

24. Early in his NFL career, Carter had drug and alcohol issues.

25. He credits Buddy Ryan’s decision to cut him from the Eagles for helping him turn his life around.

26. Carter also has said the Vikings helped him to get his drinking problem under control and to recover from his cocaine addiction, and that without their help he wouldn’t be HOF-bound.

27. Chris Spielman, whose brother, Rick, is the Vikings’ general manager, played with Carter at Ohio State and against him for 10 seasons as a linebacker with the Detroit Lions. Spielman claims Carter is the NFL’s greatest receiver of all time. Yep, even ahead of Jerry Rice.

28. Spielman told the Akron Beacon Journal, “The guy I knew would never drop a ball. If I saw it going his direction when we were playing the Vikings, I said, ‘Hopefully we’ll knock it down before it gets to him.’ ”

29. Adding to the Carter-was-better-than-Rice claim, Carter’s college roommate William White, an 11-year NFL veteran, told the Beacon Journal, “If you put Cris Carter with Joe Montana for 15 years, what do you think he would have done?”

30. Carter played with seven different starting quarterbacks during his 12 seasons with the Vikings.

31. He had five different starting QBs over a five-season stretch: Warren Moon (1996), Brad Johnson (1997), Randall Cunningham (1998), Jeff George (1999) and Daunte Culpepper (2000).

32. Before Moon joined the Vikings in 1994, Carter caught passes from Rich Gannon (1990-92) and Jim McMahon (1993).

33. With Moon slinging the ball to him, Carter led the NFL in receptions in 1994 with a then-league record 122.

34. Carter also had 122 catches in 1995, but Detroit’s Herman Moore led the league that season with 123.

35. Carter’s 122-catch seasons rank fourth all time in the NFL.

36. His two-year total of 244 receptions became an NFL high.

37. He had five seasons with 90 or more receptions.

38. In 1995, he tied Cincinnati’s Carl Pickens for the NFL lead in touchdown catches with 17.

39. He led the NFL in touchdown catches with 13 in 1997 and 1999.

40. He had more than 1,000 yards receiving in a season eight times.

41. Carter’s best statistical season came in ’95: 122 receptions, 1,371 yards and 17 TDs.

42. Carter is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-1990s Team.

43. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in his sixth year of eligibility.

44. Carter teared up when he learned he had been elected to the HOF.

45. Renowned for his acrobatic sideline catches, Carter made his best catch, according to his college quarterback Jim Karsatos, Spielman and others, in the 1985 Citrus Bowl when Karsatos was trying to throw the ball away and Carter went way up to make a one-handed catch.

46. Carter has said he made more difficult catches than that one in the Citrus Bowl.

47. His first NFL catch went for a touchdown, a 22-yarder against the St. Louis Cardinals.

48. While with the Vikings, Carter was voted the NFL player with the best hands in a Sporting News survey.

49. He was selected to eight consecutive Pro Bowls (1994-2001).

50. Carter was first-team All-Pro in 1994 and 1999.

51. The ’99 season was a big one for Carter off the field, too; he was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.

52. Carter once told Sports Illustrated, “I tell people that when they see alcoholics or drug addicts on the streets, they should think about me. … NFL Man of the Year, family man, a man who loves God. Yes, those things are all part of the picture, but so are the other things. They’re all part of how I got to where I am now.”

53. Carter was listed at 6 feet 3, 208 pounds when he played, according to the Hall of Fame.

54. Nowadays, Carter lives in Boca Raton, Fla., with his wife, Melanie.

55. Carter has two children, Duron and Monterae.

56. In 1996, Carter became an ordained minister.

57. When he left the Vikings, Carter told me, “I never thought I’d come to this cold place (Minnesota) and feel sad I’m leaving.”

58. Carter held or shared 19 team records when he left the Vikings after the 2001 season.

59. Carter was known for his durability and played all 16 regular-season games in 13 of his 16 NFL seasons.

60. Carter missed four games in 1992 with a broken collarbone. He also didn’t play in all 16 games as a rookie and in his final season.

61. Carter began the 2002 season as a member of HBO’s “Inside the NFL.” In late October of that season, he joined a Miami Dolphins team in need of help at wide receiver.

62. Carter told Allsports.com that former Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, also a member of “Inside the NFL,” helped persuade him to join the Dolphins by saying, “You just have to do it. You can still play.”

63. Carter played in five games and started just one with the Dolphins.

64. Carter had eight receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown during his brief stint in Miami.

65. In his first game with the Dolphins, a 24-10 loss at Green Bay, Carter had one of his worst games as a pro. He lost a fumble after his first reception, and a ball he was unable to catch was intercepted. He finished with three catches for 31 yards.

66. Carter wore No. 88 during his partial season with the Dolphins, marking the only time he didn’t wear No. 80 in an NFL regular-season game.

67. He has worn No. 81 in the Pro Bowl.

68. His 131 touchdowns rank eighth overall in NFL history.

69. Only three wide receivers have more TDs than Carter: Jerry Rice (208), Randy Moss (157) and Terrell Owens (156).

70. Carter told me after he was elected to the HOF, “If you can score with the football, you can be special.”

71. He isn’t hesitant about letting people know he scored more touchdowns than Jim Brown and Walter Payton.

72. Carter claims he dropped what would have been a touchdown pass just once in his career.

73. The only touchdown Carter scored that wasn’t on a reception was a fumble recovery in 1988 while with the Eagles.

74. Carter finished his career with 1,101 receptions.

75. He has 130 career touchdown catches — 110 of them with the Vikings.

76. His touchdown and reception totals ranked him second all-time in the NFL at the time of his retirement.

77. Since his retirement from playing, Carter has worked as an analyst for HBO, ESPN and Yahoo! Sports.

78. Carter’s Hall of Fame class includes Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Larry Allen, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Curley Culp, Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, Green Bay Packers linebacker Dave Robinson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp and NFL coach Bill Parcells.

79. Carter’s presenter during his Hall of Fame ceremony will be his son, Duron.

80. Cris Carter will be the 22nd modern-day receiver inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Follow Bob Sansevere at twitter.com/bobsansevere.