Former Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald leads class of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Sunday afternoon, Larry Fitzgerald was in his native Minnesota watching the Vikings hand his former team, the Arizona Cardinals, a 34-26 defeat.

Tuesday night found Fitzgerald back in the Phoenix area, graciously accepting his induction into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.

Fitzgerald, the face of the Cardinals for many of his 17 seasons with the team, was enshrined along with the late Pedro Gomez, a sports journalist whose award-winning career included a stint with the Arizona Republic; former Phoenix Mercury star and current Xavier Prep head basketball coach Jennifer Gillom; former Northern Arizona women’s basketball player Peggy Kennedy; Seton Catholic basketball coach Karen Self and the late Michael Kennedy, a philanthropist who held executive positions with the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, Thunderbirds and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation.

Fitzgerald, who has yet to officially announce his retirement from the NFL, said he was honored and humbled to add his name to the list of inductees. He was asked about being one of the more recognizable faces of Arizona sports.

"I don't know about that. I think it's more of my hair, you know," Fitzgerald said. "But it's really cool to be able to come here, been here 19 years now and to just be home now. The Valley's been unbelievable, you know, I would have never guessed in a million years that I would look back 19 years and be able to build relationships with so many people that I really, truly admire and respect here and city and just to be a part of the fabric of the community."

Fitzgerald admitted to not always being comfortable in such settings as Tuesday night's dinner at the Chateau Luxe venue in North Phoenix. But he said that when such an honor as being inducted into the state's sports Hall of Fame is bestowed, he had to "honor the legacy."

"This is a Hall of Fame that's been established for a very long time and recognizes some of the greatest athletes and coaches and entertainers that have ever come through this great state," Fitzgerald said. "So to be on that list, it means a lot."

Fitzgerald, now in broadcasting as an analyst for ESPN with a stake in the Phoenix Suns' ownership, was the last of the six honorees. He's still second all-time as the longest-tenured player for an Arizona professional sports team, behind former Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan.

Fitzgerald's tribute video featured his son, Devin, and former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner.

In his acceptance speech, he joked about not winning a championship with the Cardinals. He also said that once he arrived in Arizona to play for the Cardinals, he wanted to remain in the state.

His father, Larry Sr., and three sons were present for the recognition.

"To my family, the Arizona Cardinals, I didn't expect to have three tables here (Tuesday)," Fitzgerald said.

Related: For Seton Catholic's Karen Self, Hall of Fame induction offers chance to reflect

Rio Gomez, currently playing in the Boston Red Sox organization, attended his father Pedro's induction with his mother Sandi, brother Dante and sister Sierra. He said family always mattered more to his father than the demands of being one of the leading sports journalists in the nation.

"He was always just so proud of us, all three of us, me, my brother, my sister. It could be really easy for them to get caught up in his job and, you know, the lifestyle that that brings and to only be focused on that," Rio said. "But he was always right back with us and just so incredibly proud of us. And he was able to, you know, stay present on the important things that mattered which was his family."

The Gomez brothers recalled fondly how kind their dad was to everyone.

"He just had this way about him, and was able to just make everybody feel like he was their best friend," Rio said.

Mississippi native Gillom, a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, played professionally for years in Europe before returning to the U.S. in 1997 to play for the Mercury in the newly formed WNBA.

"I thought, 'Somebody please pinch me,'" Gillom said. "My years with the Phoenix Mercury were some of the best years of my life."

Video tributes were played for every inductee, and Rio Gomez and Dawn Kennedy, Michael Kennedy's wife, joined Gillom, Self, Peggy Kennedy and Fitzgerald in making acceptance speeches.

Peggy Kennedy became the second representative of NAU to be enshrined in the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.

"When you have the love and support of your family, you can do anything, go anywhere," she said. "I loved every challenge, every day, if I could go out and play ball."

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Larry Fitzgerald, sports journalist Pedro Gomez honored by Arizona Hall