The New York Jets announced today that Mark Gastineau and Wesley Walker will be inducted into their Ring of Honor in 2012.
The announcement was made this afternoon exclusively on the Jets' live weekly website news show, Jets Talk LIVE. Gastineau and Walker both appeared on the program to discuss their induction with Eric Allen, senior reporter and team insider. The induction ceremony will take place at halftime of the Oct. 8 game against the Houston Texans at MetLife Stadium. The Jets-Texans game is presented by Hess.
Gastineau wore No. 99 from the time he was selected in the second round (41st overall) of the 1979 draft by the Jets out of East Central in Oklahoma to the end of his final pro season in 1988. He registered 107.5 sacks in his career, still the franchise record, and had 74.0 sacks since the statistic became official in 1982, plus 7.5 more sacks in six postseason games.
Among those sacks are the 22.0 he registered in 1984 to set the NFL record that stood for 17 seasons. Gastineau also holds the Jets single-game record with 4.0 sacks, which he set against the Baltimore Colts in 1983 and equaled at the Indianapolis Colts the next year. He scored two touchdowns in his career, on end zone fumble recoveries in 1983 and '84.
Walker, the Green & White's quintessential deep-threat wide receiver, played all 13 of his NFL seasons wearing No. 85 for the Jets after arriving with the second-round pick (33rd overall) of the 1977 draft out of California. He finished with 438 receptions for 8,306 yards, an average of 19.0 yards per catch with 71 touchdowns. The 19.0-yard mark is the franchise career record for all receivers with a minimum of 100 catches and is 19th on the NFL's all-time list.
Walker's signature game was his six-catch, 194-yard, four-touchdown performance in the Jets' 51-45 overtime win over Miami in 1986, with the four TDs still standing today as the franchise record for most touchdowns scored in a game. He also has the longest reception in team annals, a 96-yard catch-and-run from QB Ken O'Brien at Buffalo in 1985. His 24.4 yards per catch in 1978 was the most by a Jet in a season (minimum 40 catches) and is No. 18 among all qualifying receivers in league history.
In 2010, the Ring of Honor was created to celebrate Jets greats and commemorate their place in team history. The Ring of Honor inductees are selected by an internal committee led by Jets chairman and CEO Woody Johnson. Weeb Ewbank, Winston Hill, Joe Klecko, Curtis Martin, Don Maynard and Joe Namath were in the inaugural 2010 class and Larry Grantham, Freeman McNeil, Gerry Philbin and Al Toon were inducted last year.
For more on the Jets-Texans game and for the opportunity to experience the Ring of Honor ceremony up close, visit newyorkjets.com.
