New Hall of Famer Antonio Gates was a beloved teammate, remains a San Diego legend

There wasn't overmuch for Chargers fans to cheer astir successful Los Angeles' 2023 crippled against the Denver Broncos successful Week 14.

A play aft 1 of the most embarrassing playoff losses successful NFL history, the Chargers came into the run motivated to avenge that decision and scope their imaginable of contending for a championship. Instead, connected this Sunday, they were 5-7, and their playoff chances were conscionable astir gone. SoFi Stadium, their location stadium, was covered successful Denver orangish by Broncos fans.

Then backmost Justin Herbert suffered a season-ending close scale digit fracture successful the archetypal quarter, and arsenic helium exited, truthful did the Chargers' season.

But amid a time and a play of disappointment, the enactment gave reeling fans a crushed to smile. At halftime, the squad held a ceremonial to induct choky extremity Antonio Gates into the Chargers Hall of Fame.

"To the metropolis of San Diego," Gates said, pausing arsenic the Chargers contingent roared arsenic loudly arsenic it had that afternoon. "You supported me. You embraced a 22-year-old kid from Detroit, and you volition ever beryllium my 2nd home."

Gates played 16 seasons successful the NFL, 14 successful San Diego and 2 successful Los Angeles aft the squad relocated. That determination is inactive a sore spot for immoderate fans who were mum erstwhile Gates thanked Los Angeles and booed loudly erstwhile Gates thanked squad proprietor Dean Spanos and the Spanos family.

While Gates ne'er won a championship, helium was partially liable for ushering successful an breathtaking epoch of Chargers shot that featured immoderate of the astir palmy seasons successful franchise history. The roars that time for Gates were a reminder of however overmuch Gates meant to a metropolis that had embraced him arsenic their own.

As Gates is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with Saturday's enshrinement, galore successful San Diego volition beryllium cheering the loudest.

"He was a feline who conscionable acceptable the city," said David Droegemeier, a San Diego autochthonal and co-host of the "Locked connected Chargers" podcast. "A feline who feels similar he's got to beryllium from present adjacent though helium wasn't. He was ours."

From the beginning, Gates' travel to the NFL seemed farfetched.

Upon leaving Detroit Central High School, Gates accepted a shot assistance from Michigan State, which was past led by manager Nick Saban. But Saban wouldn't fto Gates play some shot and basketball. Gates near Michigan State and ne'er played shot successful college.

After stops astatine Eastern Michigan and the College of the Sequoias, a assemblage assemblage successful Visalia, California, Gates ended up astatine Kent State arsenic a inferior and became 1 of the champion hoops players successful programme history. As a junior, Gates led Kent State, a 10-seed, to the Elite Eight successful 2002, the deepest tally the schoolhouse has ever made successful the NCAA tournament. His jersey -- No. 44 -- was retired successful 2010, arsenic Gates became the 4th subordinate successful schoolhouse past to person specified an honor.

Despite Gates' dominance astatine Kent State, helium wasn't projected to beryllium an NBA subordinate chiefly due to the fact that of his size; helium was a 6-foot-4 powerfulness forward, a presumption wherever NBA players are connected mean astir 5 inches taller. So, Gates turned backmost to football, moving retired for NFL teams, who were intrigued by his carnal traits. The Chargers decided to motion him arsenic an undrafted escaped cause successful 2003, but helium was a agelong changeable to marque the team.

Linebacker Stephen Cooper, an undrafted escaped cause similar Gates, was Gates' roommate astatine the Holiday Inn during that 2003 grooming camp. As the Chargers began to marque last cuts, Cooper remembers the squad having 2 spots left, but helium and Gates had convinced themselves that conscionable 1 of them would marque the team.

When they learned they some did, they had a muted solemnisation successful their edifice room; it's a infinitesimal Cooper volition ne'er forget, particularly considering however overmuch Gates would spell connected to execute arsenic a choky end.

"We ran astir the country trying not to beryllium excessively large and excited conscionable due to the fact that we didn't privation to beryllium disrespectful to our different teammates who didn't marque it," said Cooper, who played 9 seasons for the Chargers. "Out of each the moments with Antonio, that's 1 I retrieve the most."

Gates' occurrence changed the choky extremity position. His hoops inheritance was evident successful however helium boxed retired defenders and high-pointed the shot similar helium was getting a rebound connected the hardwood.

Current Chargers manager Jim Harbaugh said Gates stands retired arsenic the archetypal choky extremity to beryllium the focal constituent of a team's offense: "First feline I tin retrieve catching 10, 12, 13, 14 balls successful a crippled ... top of each time."

Gates' achievements made teams astatine each level instrumentality chances connected erstwhile hoops players. The astir notable is choky extremity Jimmy Graham, who played 1 twelvemonth of shot aft 4 years connected the University of Miami's hoops team. Graham was drafted successful the 3rd circular by the New Orleans Saints and went connected to go 1 of the league's champion choky ends. He played 13 seasons and made 5 Pro Bowls.

"Without [Gates], I wouldn't person adjacent been fixed this accidental oregon been fixed the accidental to play successful college," Graham told reporters successful 2012. "He paved the mode for me."

While Gates' size wasn't a acceptable for NBA powerfulness forward, helium made an perfect NFL choky end. He was excessively speedy to beryllium covered by astir linebackers and excessively beardown to beryllium covered by antiaircraft backs, putting D-coordinators successful a hindrance each week.

"You knew if a squad wants to spell one-on-one with him, he's going to termination them," erstwhile Chargers information Eric Weddle said. "He was a matchup nightmare."

It didn't instrumentality agelong for Gates to go 1 of the league's champion choky ends. He was a first-team All-Pro by his 2nd season, the archetypal of 3 consecutive selections. Gates' breakout came successful his 2nd campaign, successful 2004, erstwhile helium finished with 964 yards and 13 touchdowns. In the archetypal crippled that season, the Chargers faced the Houston Texans, with whom existent Chargers violative coordinator Greg Roman was the team's quarterbacks coach. Gates caught each target, finishing with 8 receptions for 123 yards successful the win.

"It doesn't hap precise often wherever you go, 'Who is this guy?'" Roman said with a smile. "But everybody connected the sideline was going, 'Who is this guy?'"

Gates is the NFL's all-time person successful receiving touchdowns by a choky extremity (116) and the Chargers' all-time person successful receptions (955) and receiving yards (11,841). Behind those stats are the galore injuries his erstwhile teammates retrieve Gates playing through.

Ahead of the 2007 AFC Championship Game, Gates' presumption was uncertain. He had dislocated his large toed successful the Chargers' triumph successful the wild-card circular implicit the Tennessee Titans; the wounded was terrible capable that helium near the crippled connected a aesculapian cart. Still, Gates played done it successful the Chargers' divisional-round triumph implicit the Indianapolis Colts and their AFC Championship Game nonaccomplishment to the New England Patriots.

Former Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman said the representation of Gates up of the league title crippled connected the grooming table, wherever helium remembers doctors numbing Gates' foot, sticks with him and is 1 of the galore reasons Gates meant truthful overmuch to the organization.

"From the ankle down, helium couldn't consciousness anything," Merriman said. "And you think, man, [that] idiosyncratic of his caliber that's already done truthful overmuch successful his vocation would conscionable spell and instrumentality that risk, my respect level for him astatine that constituent conscionable went done the roof."

While the Chargers are chiefly associated with not surviving up to expectations and person ne'er won a Super Bowl, they person had immoderate of the league's champion players, including backmost Philip Rivers, moving backmost LaDainian Tomlinson, linebacker Junior Seau, wide receiver Lance Alworth, QB Dan Fouts and choky extremity Kellen Winslow.

Still, galore of those stars went connected to decorativeness their careers elsewhere. Gates, Fouts and Winslow are the 3 successful that radical to play for the Chargers their full careers, with Winslow playing 9 seasons and Fouts 15. Gates' 16 years arsenic a Charger during possibly the astir transformative years of the franchise's history, erstwhile the enactment alienated galore of its fans with the determination to L.A., volition ever marque Gates' narration with San Diego different.

"I deliberation it is conscionable truly peculiar to person idiosyncratic who started his vocation successful San Diego and stayed with the squad the full time," Droegemeier said. "But with Antonio, helium was a feline who ever did things the close way, and helium was besides conscionable specified a playmaker. It's evidently truly casual to resonate with those types of players."