ST. LOUIS -- A pair of the greatest Rams to ever play the game are among the greatest of all time. T Jackie Slater and DE Jack Youngblood are among the seven inductees of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2001.

Slater and Youngblood join LB Nick Buoniconti, G Mike Munchak, WR Lynn Swann, T Ron Yary, and Coach Marv Levy.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2001 will be inducted in ceremonies on Saturday, August 4 in Canton, Ohio. The Rams will play in the Hall of Fame game on Monday night, August 6, against the Miami Dolphins. It will be the Rams' third appearance in the Hall of Fame Game, and the first since 1988.

It is the second time in three years that two Rams have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 1999, RB Eric Dickerson and G Tom Mack were elected and enshrined. Slater and Youngblood are the 11th and 12th members of the Rams to be inducted.

Slater was inducted in his first year of eligibility. The 20-year NFL veteran played all his seasons with the Los Angeles-St. Louis Rams, an NFL record for most seasons played with one team. A third-round pick out of Jackson State in 1976, Slater played in 259 regular season games, the most of any offensive lineman at the time of his retirement following the 1995 season, currently second all-time.

"This has been a really tough week for me, because the Hall of Fame thing is something that everyone wanted to talk about and I want you guys out there to know that I consider myself one of your peers now," Slater said to the media. "I come in here and try to work and talk about football and now try to divert the attention from this, but this is really exciting.

"I played with some great football players, some great offensive linemen. This man right here (Jack Youngblood) worked my butt every day for three straight years, and I thank him in a large part for my success, because I had to learn how to be a pro, from Jack Youngblood and Merlin Olsen, I can honestly say that."

A mainstay of the Rams' offensive line during his tenure with the Rams, Slater was a first or second-team all-Pro choice five seasons (1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989) and first or second-team all-NFC choice seven times (1983, 1985-90).

A total of 15 times during Slater's career did a Rams' RB rush for at least 1,000 yards: Lawrence McCutcheon (1976-77), Wendell Tyler (1979-81), Eric Dickerson (1983-86), Charles White (1987), Greg Bell (1988-89), Cleveland Gary (1992), and Jerome Bettis (1993-94). Slater blocked for 24 different quarterbacks and 37 different running backs during his career. During that time, Ram quarterbacks produced 27 300-yard passing games. In addition, Ram running backs rushed for at least 100 yards 107 times.

Like Slater, Youngblood played all 14 NFL seasons with the Rams, playing in 202 games from 1971-1984. The 20th player selected in the 1971 draft out of the University of Florida, Youngblood missed just one game in his career. Youngblood played in 201 consecutive games, a Rams' record, surpassing the mark set by of Hall of Famers Merlin Olsen (198 games, 1962-76), and Tom Mack (184 games, 1966-78).

"I thought of this moment for several years now," Youngblood said. "Wow! is the first reaction that comes out. Thank you Lord for the blessing, the talent to be able to play this game the way we did for as long as we did. This is the epitome. I am humbled to be included in the same breath with the likes of Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones and the six other inductees here today. I didn’t prepare much to say, I didn’t know what to say, except for the fact that I am truly honored and humbled to be included in the Hall of Fame Class of 2001."

The rugged, durable defensive end earned NFL all-pro honors five times (1974-76, 1978-79), earning all-NFC honors seven times. Youngblood made seven consecutive Pro Bowl appearances from 1973-79, the same seasons that the Rams' won an NFL record seven consecutive division titles in the NFC West. Youngblood made at least 10.5 sacks in a season eight times, including four consecutive seasons of at least 14 sacks from 1973-76.

Perhaps Youngblood's greatest and most memorable performance came during the Rams' Super Bowl run during the 1979 season. Setting career-highs in tackles (80), sacks (18), and forced fumbles (five), Youngblood helped the Rams to their seventh consecutive division title. In the Rams' divisional playoff game at Dallas, Youngblood broke the fibula in his left leg. According to the Los Angeles Times, he told the Rams' medical staff "Tape it up, give me two more aspirin and let's go play."

Youngblood did just that, playing in the Rams' final two playoff games that season. Led by Captain Blood's inspired effort, the Rams shutout Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship game 9-0, limiting the Bucs to just seven first downs and 22 minutes of possession time. It is one of just eight shutouts in conference championship games since the 1970 merger.

Yary and Levy also are inductees with Rams' ties. Yary, a longtime Minnesota Viking (1968-81), played his final season with Slater, Youngblood and the Rams in 1982. Levy, best known as head coach with the Buffalo Bills, was an assistant coach with the Rams during the 1970 season.

"He was the best I ever played against," said Yary of Youngblood. ---