Sterling Sharpe was born in Chicago, but grew up in Adairsville, Georgia. Sharpe though jumped on the big stage as one of the best University of South Carolina receivers ever.  He is the University of South Carolina’s all-time pass receiving leader with 169 career catches for 2,497 yards and 17 touchdowns and was a two-time All-American. He was selected in the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.

He played in five Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro three times in seven seasons with the Packers before a neck injury ended his career. The University of South Carolina retired Sharpe’s #2 jersey at the end of the 1987 regular season. He and fellow South Carolina Football Hall of Famer George Rogers are the only Gamecocks to have their jersey’s retired while still playing. 

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.  Sharpe is currently a TV host for the NFL Network. His younger brother Shannon Sharpe, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, and Shannon honored his brother in his induction speech, saying:

“I’m the only player, of 267 men that [have] walked through this building to my left, that can honestly say this: I’m the only pro football player that’s in the Hall of Fame, and I’m the second best player in my own family.”