San Francisco 49ers

Jerry Rice can't believe Eddie DeBartolo put him on blast in HOF speech

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:29 p.m. ET

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Andre Vergara

The Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday night was filled with great speeches, from Kevin Greene's all-out blitz to Brett Favre's emotional roller coaster.

But one of the best speeches came from "the only inductee of this great hall who didn't make his high school football team" — a guy who had to stand on a box at the podium to speak into the mic.

Former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. had several highlights in his speech, including his humorous recollection of "The Catch" and a call for the NFL to treat players like family.

That's how DeBartolo treated his players, they say to this day, and one of the best moments of the speech was DeBartolo needling his old Hall of Fame receiver, Jerry Rice.

DeBartolo told a couple of embarrassing stories about Rice, including that when he arrived as a rookie with a high-top haircut, his nickname became "Fifi" — getting a comical reaction out of him.

Later, Joe Montana also had some fun with his old buddy.

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