DALLAS — It was only fitting that Michael Irvin would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during the hall's first-ever nighttime induction ceremony.
Typically, the inductions were held on Saturday afternoons, but to capture a larger TV audience, the ceremony on Aug. 4, 2007 was held in primetime, which was perfect for "The Playmaker."
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones presented Irvin to the crowd at Fawcett Stadium. For the three-time Super Bowl champion, the journey to Canton, Ohio was like if Moses kept returning to the banks of River Jordan to see yet another class of Israelites cross into the Promised Land from which he was forbidden.
The most recent heartbreak was 2006. Irvin and his family accompanied Troy Aikman to see the loyal quarterback inducted into the Hall of Fame. Joining Aikman were Warren Moon, Harry Carson, John Madden, Rayfield Wright, and the late Reggie White.
Irvin had either teamed up with these individuals to win three Super Bowls, kept them from adding to their own collection, surpassed their own championship totals, or earned praise from them in their after-football careers.
"So, when I returned home, I spoke with Michael and Elijah and I said, 'That's how you do it, son. You do it like they did it,'" Irvin relayed in his Hall of Fame speech. "And Michael asked, 'Dad, do you ever think we'll be there?' And I didn't know how to answer that. And it returned me to that depression point. This time I was voiceless, but my heart cried out. 'God, why must I go through so many peaks and valleys?'"
Irvin's career was highlighted with peaks on-field with five Pro Bowl selections, a first-team All-Pro, leading the NFL in receiving yards in 1991, and placing on the NFL 1990s all-decade team. The former 1988 first-round pick from Miami was the soul of the '90s Cowboys. From 1990-99, when all of the Triplets were assembled, Dallas was 8-13 when Irvin missed time compared to 12-6 when Aikman couldn't play and 1-2 when Emmitt Smith was out.
None of those records include season finales where they were resting for the playoffs. While Smith's absence compiled a worse winning percentage (.333 to .381), the Cowboys sustained more losses without Irvin on the field.
Irvin's will to inspire teammates is what kept the Cowboys competitive amid their coaching switch from Jimmy Johnson to Barry Switzer. With Johnson, who won back-to-back Super Bowls, leaving in 1994 after "mutually deciding" with Jones he would no longer coach the Cowboys, it took Irvin keeping the locker room together and holding his teammates accountable to keep Dallas top the NFL.
Though the Cowboys would not repeat as Super Bowl champions in 1994, ending their bid to become the first team since the 1965-67 Green Bay Packers to win three NFL championships in a row, Dallas would become the first team to win three Super Bowls in four seasons.
In 1995, a year in which Smith set the record for single-season rushing touchdowns with 25, Irvin had the best season of his career with 111 catches for 1,603 yards and 10 touchdowns. Jason Witten was within a catch of tying that mark in 2012, and Dez Bryant has been the only receiver since to get close to the receiving yards mark with 1,382, also in 2012.
Irvin's career was marked with off-field valleys. The most high-profile incident was on March 3, 1996, when Irvin was arrested in Irving, Texas. The incident, which was a little over a month after the Cowboys vanquished the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17 in Super Bowl XXX, put a dark cloud over the city; the feat of winning three Super Bowls in four years couldn't be adequately enjoyed.
Irvin pleaded no contest to second-degree felony cocaine possession in exchange for four years’ deferred probation, a $10,000 fine, and dismissal of misdemeanor marijuana possession charges. While Irvin didn't serve any jail time, the NFL suspended him for the first five games for violation of the league's substance-abuse policy.
The Hall of Fame doesn't just qualify candidates based on gridiron performance alone. There is an element outside the lines that counts. Just ask Terrell Owens.
Part of Irvin's Hall of Fame purgatory could also be explained by his on-field performance or the lacking longevity. Some of Irvin's contemporaries, such as Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Cris Carter, and Andre Reed, were averaging at least 15 seasons in the league.
Irvin's career was cut short by comparison with a neck injury in Week 5 of 1999, his 12th season. Dallas was 3-0 heading into that game, and Irvin caught five passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys' improbable overtime comeback in Washington in Week 1. It is possible that Irvin could have had another Pro Bowl season, which ultimately could have worked in his favor to convince Hall of Fame voters.
It wasn't the case, and in August 2006, Irvin was in despair.
"I wanted to stand in front of my boys and do like any dad, like any proud dad, would want to," Irvin said in his speech. "Why must I go through so much? And at that moment a voice came over me. It said, 'Look up, get up, and don't ever give up.'"
Irvin didn't give up, and neither did voters. The Ring of Honor member went into the Hall of Fame in a six-man class that also featured Gene Hickerson, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Matthews, Charlie Sanders, and Roger Wehrli.
"You tell everyone or anyone that has ever doubted, thought they did not measure up, or wanted to quit: you tell them, to look up, get up, and don't ever give up," said Irvin.
What was the greatest catch of Michael Irvin’s career? Share your thoughts and memories with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
