Steve Largent

After a legendary career in professional football, Steve Largent entered public service, and was elected to four terms in the United States Congress. A star athlete in high school, he graduated from the University of Tulsa, where he led the nation in touchdown catches. Often called the greatest receiver in the history of professional football, he shattered every major NFL receiving record, including most catches (819), yards (13,089), touchdowns (100), consecutive games with a reception (177), 50-catch seasons, and 1,000-yard seasons. Over the years, he has dedicated himself to innumerable charitable causes, especially the fight against spina bifida, a crippling birth defect with which his own youngest son was afflicted. The NFL honored him with its Man of the Year Award as the league's outstanding citizen-athlete. In 1995, he was inducted into the pro Football Hall of Fame. This audio podcast was recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 1990 Summit in Chicago, Illinois, shortly after Largent's retirement from professional football. He reflects on his career, particularly the 1983 season when the Seahawks won an upset victory over the favored Miami Dolphins. He tells the Academy's student delegates that private victories always precede public ones, and relates his own commitment to ethical conduct to his Christian faith. In 1994, Steve Largent was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the State of Oklahoma. In 2002, he won the Republican Party's nomination for Governor of the State; lost the three-way general election contest by fewer than 7,000 votes. He is now President and CEO of CTIA, the international association of wireless communications services.