The Bucs Ring of Honor is filled with players, coaches, and an owner who have contributed significantly to the team’s success since the franchise’s inception in 1976. While Tampa Bay has experienced plenty of dark times throughout its history, a handful of players rose above those times to excite the fans and keep the team in games.
Few players did that as well as running back James Wilder, who for a couple of seasons in the 1980s “carried” the offense and still holds the team record for rushing yards with 5,957 while filling up a lot of space in the record books. Still, he has not been inducted into the prestigious Bucs Ring of Honor, which has been brought up in recent years as being something that’s long overdue.
James Wilder’s Son Calls Out Bucs For His Dad Not Being In Ring Of Honor
Dear @Buccaneers
Appreciate calling pops a legend every year for his birthday. But we already know that. He holds multiple records on your team. Countless community awards and the key to city.
Can your record holder be honored with the other Bucs greats in the ring of honor? pic.twitter.com/xOA9fyfgdd— Coach Wilder (@IAm_Wilder32) May 14, 2024
James Wilder recently celebrated his 65th birthday, and as is typical for the Bucs, they recognized a team legend over social media and wished him a Happy Birthday. While it was a meaningful gesture, it also provided Wilder’s son to share his thoughts about one gift they could give his dad and the family – a spot in the Bucs Ring of Honor.
Pewter Report has touched on his candidacy over the years, and his son has called out the team in the past for not properly recognizing his dad. Back in 2019, Scott Reynolds argued that he had a Ring of Honor career and summarized it with this point.
“What’s even harder to believe is that some of the records former Bucs running back James Wilder set over 30 years ago still stand today. Wilder, who wore No. 32 in orange and white, was the greatest Tampa Bay player you might not remember.”
It may be easy to forget a player who has long been retired, but it’s hard to ignore his peak on the gridiron. The 1984 and 1985 seasons were his biggest in terms of production as the focal point of the offense. Between those two seasons, he amassed 772 carries and caught 138 passes. He set the franchise record for most rushing yards in a season in 1984 with 1,544 and added 685 yards receiving, totaling an astounding 2,229 scrimmage yards that year.
Recognizing him became the premise of Pewter Report’s Lost At Sea series done last year going over some players at each position who have been forgotten for the impact they made with the team before their Super Bowl victories. Players that – aside from discussions amongst hardcore fans – aren’t brought up much in conservation. Those players deserve recognition and to be immortalized in team lore, with Wilder being one of them.
What Has Held James Wilder Back From Induction, When Could It Happen?
What perhaps has hurt James Wilder’s case besides the lack of team success the team had in the 1980s is the fact that the Glazer family did not own the team when he played, so there is a lack of a connection between the player and the team in the present day.
This has resulted in a general lack of life to him being inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor, although his candidacy is just as warranted as other players like Tom Brady, Simeon Rice, and Hardy Nickerson, among others.
When asked about the team’s plans for the Ring of Honor this year back at the NFL Annual Meeting in March, Bucs co-owner Joel Glazer said “Every year, it’s looked at. We had a string of a lot of years in a row where we had somebody. So it’ll be year-to-year making those decisions, and this year will be no different than any other. We’ll be taking a look at it.”
If the team chooses to hold off on inducting players this year, they could go all out in 2025, which would be the franchise’s 50th season, or 2026, the franchise’s 50th birthday. In that case, celebrating the legacy of the Bucs could start with acknowledging James Wilder, who remains the most accomplished running back in team history.
