COLUMBIA, Mo. — On Monday, former University of Missouri football head coach Gary Pinkel found out he'd be inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame.
It was one of the biggest moments of his life, yet he overlooked it.
"I had a box at my front door and I forgot to get it," Pinkel said.
The box sit outside overnight. The next morning, Pinkel still didn't retrieve it until after he returned home from a workout.
"I open it up and there's a football in it," he said.
But that's nothing new for the all-time wins leader for Mizzou.
"I get people that send me footballs," Pinkel said. "I sign them and send them back."
But this football was accompanied by a letter from the College Football Hall of Fame that said, "Welcome, you're part of the family."
"And I just broke down," he said. "I broke down. I couldn't believe it."
"I was wondering if it was really true. I thought for a brief moment, 'If one of my buddies did this to me, I'm going to blow up their car,'" Pinkel joked.
Pinkel's wife was the first to know he said. Now, the rest of the college football world knows.
"It was remarkably emotional and I'll never forget it," Pinkel said.
Pinkel and the rest of the College Football Hall of Fame class will be inducted at a ceremony in December of 2022.
