Patrick Willis officially became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
The former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, who received his jacket from former 49ers linebacker coach and head coach Mike Singletary, had to be patient as severe weather delayed the start of the enshrinement ceremonies.
But his speech was worth the wait.
Having been introduced by his sister Ernika, Willis accepted the honor of his life with an emotional address to the watching crowd in Canton, OH.
With the likes of Jim Harbaugh, Frank Gore, Joe Staley and NaVorro Bowman watching on along with Willis' family and friends, among them his high school basketball coach Chris Finley, with whom he and his siblings moved in when he was 17 after they were removed from the custody of their abusive father.
Willis' speech focused heavily on his tough upbringing in a single-parent setting, detailing how he found inspiration in moments of extreme hardship.
"Every day my siblings and I would carry empty five-gallon plastic buckets up the hill to get water from my grandparents’ house--then carry them back down," Willis said of a point in his childhood when he and his siblings had to live without running water.
"I remember when I was carrying those buckets, I would tell myself, 'If I can make it from here all the way to the house without stopping, I’m going to get stronger'.
"No doubt I was getting physically stronger, but I didn’t know at the time that I was also building inner strength."
That inner strength was present throughout Willis' football career, which saw him drafted by the 49ers in the first round in 2007. He would go on to be named to the Pro Bowl seven times and receive first-team All-Pro honors five times in a career cut short by injury. Willis retired in 2015 after playing just six games in 2014.
"To the 49ers organization and The Faithful, my draft day prayer was to go to a team and give the organization city and fans the best," added Willis.
"Thank you for taking a chance of drafting a linebacker out of Ole Miss who hadn’t won many games but played as if each game was his last chance."
Willis and his siblings grew up believing they were abandoned by their mother Loretta.
However, in the years before her passing in 2015, they learned her side of the story, and Willis ended his speech with a thank you to his late mother on what would have been her birthday.
"Mama Loretta, today's your birthday," said Willis. "You'd always say, even if I hadn't seen you, 'baby, Mama loves you'. Mama, I know we didn't have the best of relationships but I love you, so today, I say thank you. Happy Birthday to you. God bless you all."
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