I have known Rick for years. We went to college together and I didn't know this portion of his story. To the outside world sometimes he appears prickly. But when you know him he's a really good guy. Props to you Big Rick!
I remember growing up in Harrisburg and idolizing this guy...he's the sole reason I became a niner fan in a house full of Steelers. Definitely shed a reminiscent tear or two.
This was an overall great story. Being adopted myself, I can relate to what Ricky was feeling when he found out he was adopted. I'm not an SF nor a Philly fan, but I always was a fan of Ricky Watters. He was one of the best running backs in the 90s, and he should be in the HOF.
Very nice story. Is this the complete video or is there more? I feel like this could've been fleshed out more and turned into a 44 minute "A Football Life" journey. Watters deserves it, along with a gold jacket and bronze bust in the HOF.
I Seen Ricky With My Own Eyes In Harrisburg Pa For Bishop McDevitt High School And My High School Was 5 Minutes Away At John Harris High School!!!! REAL TALK!!!!
I work at the suites at Levi's Stadium and he was there with his wife during the playoff game vs the Seahawks. They were having a hard time navigating the stadium because it's newer and it's enormous😂 they were so nice and so personable which made me respect him even more🙏🏽
He ran in the wing T in high school....Watters, Eric Toraine, Jimmy Bryant, Sean Barowski. This high school produces some of the best players. Also Noah Spence, Lesean McCoy the list goes on and on...proud to be from Central Pa!!! Kyle Brady and John Ritchie were right down the road at Cedar Cliff and Cumberland Valley High Schools in the 90s! Great football area yall!
50 year football fan, Never knew the history of Ricky Watters. Always knew he was great on the field. Had no idea just how great he was and is off the field....
One of HBG, Pa finest athletes of all times!! I wish he and others alike, would give back to city!! The city needs to hear and see what it’s like to overcome adversity!!
One of my all time favorite running backs. How is he not in the Hall of fame with hall of fame stats. He is one of the original backs with good hands catching the ball out the back field and turning up field either for a first down or a tuch down.
I went to a Raiders Vs 49ers preseason game at Stanford when I was like 9 with my pops and his buddies. Ricky waters mom sang the National Anthem. I’ll always remember that
@@sickofguysnamedtodd2293 it's not about who did what in San Francisco. It's about their whole careers. Ricky has 2,500 more rushing yards than Craig and 18 more TDs. Watters was 13th in all time rushing yards when he retired. He is now 24th. Craig is 46th.
Thank you Ricky. You were my first favourite NFL player ever, who made me fall in love with football. By the way, I am a Korean. I used to watch your game back in early 90s and still am your #1 fan from Korea.
I am a fan of Ricky’s, looks like he was blessed with a great wife and children. I’m filled with joy for you sir. You RAN HARD and I loved to watch you, this is from a cowboys die hard!!!!!!!
As a 7 year old kid from Northern California Ricky was my favorite player. Anytime we played tackle football on the grass I was Ricky Watter on Offense and Deion on Defense lol
Forget the football story I am so proud of wife for getting him to meet his real family and I love that he adopted a kid 💗 know that's some Hall of Fame stuff for real
I was born 1988 in Philly. Was a skinny kid, and always wore #32 when playing for little league cus of this dude. My first favorite player for the Eagles. Even ahead of Randall and Reggie... Fly Eagles Fly 🦅
I love Watters both as a player and as a man. I actually met him at a nightclub I was working in Philly and he was a gentleman. He deserves to be in the HOF without a doubt!
This is a great guy,my son's mother used to work for him,and he treated my son joseqe like his own,much love and respect to him and his family.,if you're reading this Ricky I still have your unreleased cds.
I remember him playing for my Eagles, he was a great player but his cocky persona put me off a bit. Now I see this video and it shone the spotlight on him and here he comes across as a person with a beautiful soul. Just shows that we can't judge athletes on what they project publicly.
The adoption process will aggravate you in so many ways. I’m so glad he is doing well and it’s hard to watch. Great running back but a better father and person. What a great story and it’s hard to watch but you have to watch. Love it
Awesome Story. Can’t judge Ricky Waters off that one play. Guy was a True Monster on the Field. You can tell every play he was trying to score. A lot of times God puts you where you was suppose to be at the time. God Bless him and and his Beautiful Family✨
Ricky waters was the dude. I loved the 49ers growing up. There was some rough years in the back field without Ricky... I'm two seasons, we lost Ricky, Eric Davis, deion sanders and William floyd.
Philly fan. Watters fan. From day 1 ad infitum. He produced. Hated him being let go so soon and knew he would be equally productive in Seattle. I might have said for who for what, but not first thing. Media drove that narrative and stuck with it not the fans. Fans have individual voices. Media propagates. His philly years were unique teams with many injuries- Ricky produced inspite. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FUTURE WATTERS FAMILY and thank you for the grace to be a Witness. Much love.
he is a borderline case and I think he should be in but honestly the longer he waits i think his odds go down. His case was better when he retired because at that point he was 13th in all time rushing yards. after 25 years or whatever its been he is now 24th. His touchdown stats hold up better though as he is 32nd in total TDs between all WRs/RBs/TEs in NFL history.
Ricky definitely deserves to be in the HOF. As a Cowboy fan I saw him in some big games and he produced. Numbers are there so he should get his gold jacket. Absolutely loved seeing the back story. I had no idea. It's good to see him doing well off the field.
It’s sad that this man was never arrested, never in treatment for substance abuse, no team fights but they attacked him just enough to be overlooked for HOF. It’s really sad. TO was dragged also before he got in. It has to change because these old white reporters have to adjust to the times. This isn’t 1965 anymore
To this day, I believe the 9ers made a mistake that may have cost them another SB by not re-signing Ricky Waters. He was one of the most versatile RB's of the 90's, which was arguably the greatest era of RB's in NFL history.
For those like Steve Young who question why the 49'ers let Ricky walk in 1995, the main reason was San Francisco couldn't afford him. Watters wanted top dollar, the salary cap was taking hold across the NFL, and the 49'ers were already tight against the cap ceiling. San Francisco did alot of questionable maneuvering in 1994 to get under the debut of the salary cap and win a title. Plus, Young soaked up alot of the 49'ers cap with his own hefty deal as possibly the league's highest paid player. If this was the salad days of the niner dynasty in the 1980's, owner Eddie DeBartolo would've gladly opened his wallet to keep Ricky in San Francisco.
Exactly. No way Ricky leaves without a salary cap, Eddie D would've moved heaven and Earth to keep him there. I've always believed losing him was maybe the biggest reason they couldn't win another with Steve Young. Deion, I get the sense he always had an eye toward Dallas. Ricky, I felt like would've been easier to convince to stay with no cap.
I'm glad that I watched this video. It changed my entire outlook on Ricky. He turned me off in Philly when he said, " For who, for what"? I didn't even realize what a good job he did in Philly after that statement. He's a good person who was misunderstood throughout his career. He could of been one of the great ones.
Yup. Ray talks about being frustrated with him in that moment, but later says that he practically carried the entire Eagles offense during his time there. It seems like he's never been able to live that line down and it's a shame if that one line has kept him out of the Hall of Fame because he was the main reason a couple of Eagles teams that in hindsight weren't very good got to the playoffs. He won his Super Bowl with the 49ers but I'll argue his stint with the Eagles makes him a Hall of Famer because of how he elevated them.
I Hated this man in my younger Dallas Cowboy days because I never knew the man, I now look at sports differently understanding it's jus a game and I dont know these players. Man Im watching this video and like now I see the passion and determination instead of the narrative the from the announcers, Respect to this brother.
I think the players should be the voting factor on who's on the ballot and take the power out of these writer's hands... with that, Ricky Watters and Fred Taylor should already have their jackets
Ricky Running Watters!!! This dude was a beast! One of my favorite players as a child. Definitely a forgotten, underappreciated star
One of the most underrated players ever of all time
He should had been in the hall of fame
@@jamaalcarter909 him and roger Craig
@@ock5458 facts
Severely 💯......... and yes he should be in Canton
I have known Rick for years. We went to college together and I didn't know this portion of his story. To the outside world sometimes he appears prickly. But when you know him he's a really good guy. Props to you Big Rick!
Makes sense he appeared prickly. He was always carrying a chip on his shoulder
I remember growing up in Harrisburg and idolizing this guy...he's the sole reason I became a niner fan in a house full of Steelers. Definitely shed a reminiscent tear or two.
*Ricky Waters would thrive in today's game!*
100% a 100%
Dude! 😀 He would have been Dope in ANY ERA!
Prob Ball outta control… 😂
He was okay back in the day I thought he danced around too much instead of just running the ball
@@DONNYPESO Yeah but his numbers prove different though
That Notre Dame backfield was stacked back in those days. He was a great player, loved Ricky at 49’ers and Philadelphia.
This was an overall great story. Being adopted myself, I can relate to what Ricky was feeling when he found out he was adopted. I'm not an SF nor a Philly fan, but I always was a fan of Ricky Watters. He was one of the best running backs in the 90s, and he should be in the HOF.
He was the definition of a bell cow back during his three years in Philly.
Fly Eagles Fly 🦅
Facts when Ray Rhodes was coaching
What IS the definition of a "bell cow"?
Very nice story. Is this the complete video or is there more? I feel like this could've been fleshed out more and turned into a 44 minute "A Football Life" journey. Watters deserves it, along with a gold jacket and bronze bust in the HOF.
One of the best running backs in the 90s
I know we have CMC now, but man there are times I really miss watching Ricky Watters on the field. Wish he got more of a HOF push.
What a great story. I didn’t know about Ricky as I live overseas so thank you NFL and more importantly Ricky for sharing your story.
Love to see people from other countries fall in love with our game. Welcome to the family.
So Watters was the TO & Chad Johnson of RBs, got it!
Still had monster numbers it’s no way you can’t keep him out of the HOF!
I Seen Ricky With My Own Eyes In Harrisburg Pa For Bishop McDevitt High School And My High School Was 5 Minutes Away At John Harris High School!!!! REAL TALK!!!!
Legend. I was so happy when u came to the Seahawks. U deserve to be in the Hall of Fame for both football & fatherhood
This is very heartfelt and the average person just wants to be loved but that’s what drove him to make a great life for his family. Good job Ricky
I work at the suites at Levi's Stadium and he was there with his wife during the playoff game vs the Seahawks. They were having a hard time navigating the stadium because it's newer and it's enormous😂 they were so nice and so personable which made me respect him even more🙏🏽
Screw the hall of fame. This dude has the most wholesome backstory!
He should of been voted in a longtime ago
It’s crazy the 49ers have always loved hybrid players
Crazy how we’ve been just one of the best organizations all around
Well you need backs who can catch passes too. One of the staples of the west coast offense
@@sickofguysnamedtodd2293 jus got that halfway thru this season, ej Mitchell and Jeff Wilson weren’t significant pass catcherss
Roger Craig
Bishop McDevitt backfield was a terror squad in the 80s!!!! He killed it at Notre Dame!
He ran in the wing T in high school....Watters, Eric Toraine, Jimmy Bryant, Sean Barowski. This high school produces some of the best players. Also Noah Spence, Lesean McCoy the list goes on and on...proud to be from Central Pa!!! Kyle Brady and John Ritchie were right down the road at Cedar Cliff and Cumberland Valley High Schools in the 90s! Great football area yall!
50 year football fan, Never knew the history of Ricky Watters. Always knew he was great on the field. Had no idea just how great he was and is off the field....
Love you my brother.. didnt know my kid was adopted... he had pain and it drove him.... long live his legend he was a force for some time..
"For who, for what" is a great Truth drop.
Being a young kid in the 90s it was Emmitt Smith, Jerome Bettis and Ricky Watters
@tim big yessir, how could I forget
I’ve been friends with Crystal all my life. Love you Crystal and happy to see your reunion.
Ricky should be in the Hall of Fame, and should have been long ago! "For Who and For What !" That statement will probably keep him out Forever!
I loved Rickey watters. The reason I became a niners fan young 💯
One of HBG, Pa finest athletes of all times!! I wish he and others alike, would give back to city!! The city needs to hear and see what it’s like to overcome adversity!!
Like mccoy? Lol. He to bush suckin d***. Colston never came back around. I doubt Parsons will either
16:20 what a full circle story!! Blessings Mr Watters and family. Precious ending ❤
One of my all time favorite running backs. How is he not in the Hall of fame with hall of fame stats. He is one of the original backs with good hands catching the ball out the back field and turning up field either for a first down or a tuch down.
I went to a Raiders Vs 49ers preseason game at Stanford when I was like 9 with my pops and his buddies. Ricky waters mom sang the National Anthem. I’ll always remember that
I hope he gets in the Hall of Fame ASAP he is one of the best running backs of all time he got the numbers to back that up
Roger Craig should get in first. He set the standard in San Francisco and Ricky Watters just picked up the mantle where he left off.
@@sickofguysnamedtodd2293 it's not about who did what in San Francisco. It's about their whole careers. Ricky has 2,500 more rushing yards than Craig and 18 more TDs. Watters was 13th in all time rushing yards when he retired. He is now 24th. Craig is 46th.
Good for you Ricky!! this is awesome
Always liked Ricky, especially w/ the Niners. Very entertaining!
Thank you Ricky. You were my first favourite NFL player ever, who made me fall in love with football. By the way, I am a Korean. I used to watch your game back in early 90s and still am your #1 fan from Korea.
"Turn the Watter on!"
I remember this quote. I believe it was when he was with Seattle.
Blown away with this my guy watch you your whole career and never knew
Ricky I am so sorry to hear about your baby. You are and have always been a warrior. Prayers from a Cowboys fan.
I am a fan of Ricky’s, looks like he was blessed with a great wife and children. I’m filled with joy for you sir. You RAN HARD and I loved to watch you, this is from a cowboys die hard!!!!!!!
Great film. I’d vote him into the Hall of Fame. He was a workhorse, talented, and despite the pass nonsense, didn’t quit.
As a 7 year old kid from Northern California Ricky was my favorite player. Anytime we played tackle football on the grass I was Ricky Watter on Offense and Deion on Defense lol
Hawks fan and Watters is an all time favorite!! What a warrior he was.
This was an incredible story. Salute to Ricky.
Such a great versatile back
Ricky Running Waters was a beast
Forget the football story I am so proud of wife for getting him to meet his real family and I love that he adopted a kid 💗 know that's some Hall of Fame stuff for real
Same here.
Steve Young said had they kept Ricky, they would’ve won 2 more Super Bowls
Thank you for this film Ricky is Awesome. You're Special brother.
I was born 1988 in Philly. Was a skinny kid, and always wore #32 when playing for little league cus of this dude. My first favorite player for the Eagles. Even ahead of Randall and Reggie...
Fly Eagles Fly 🦅
I love Watters both as a player and as a man. I actually met him at a nightclub I was working in Philly and he was a gentleman. He deserves to be in the HOF without a doubt!
Congratulations to you and your family Ricky. 🌺
Ricky waters were flourishing today
This is a great guy,my son's mother used to work for him,and he treated my son joseqe like his own,much love and respect to him and his family.,if you're reading this Ricky I still have your unreleased cds.
I remember him playing for my Eagles, he was a great player but his cocky persona put me off a bit. Now I see this video and it shone the spotlight on him and here he comes across as a person with a beautiful soul. Just shows that we can't judge athletes on what they project publicly.
The adoption process will aggravate you in so many ways. I’m so glad he is doing well and it’s hard to watch. Great running back but a better father and person. What a great story and it’s hard to watch but you have to watch. Love it
Awesome Story.
Can’t judge Ricky Waters off that one play. Guy was a True Monster on the Field. You can tell every play he was trying to score.
A lot of times God puts you where you was suppose to be at the time.
God Bless him and and his Beautiful Family✨
Ricky waters was the dude. I loved the 49ers growing up. There was some rough years in the back field without Ricky... I'm two seasons, we lost Ricky, Eric Davis, deion sanders and William floyd.
Rick May THE MOST HIGH CONTINUE to Bless you !!
Philly fan. Watters fan. From day 1 ad infitum. He produced. Hated him being let go so soon and knew he would be equally productive in Seattle. I might have said for who for what, but not first thing. Media drove that narrative and stuck with it not the fans. Fans have individual voices. Media propagates. His philly years were unique teams with many injuries- Ricky produced inspite. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FUTURE WATTERS FAMILY and thank you for the grace to be a Witness. Much love.
Ricky Watters had nearly 15k total yards and 100 TDs. He's an underrated player. Very good Hall of Fame case, but maybe not good enough.
There's others in there with half those stats. He should be in there.
Didn't accrue enough hardware
he is a borderline case and I think he should be in but honestly the longer he waits i think his odds go down. His case was better when he retired because at that point he was 13th in all time rushing yards. after 25 years or whatever its been he is now 24th. His touchdown stats hold up better though as he is 32nd in total TDs between all WRs/RBs/TEs in NFL history.
Ricky definitely deserves to be in the HOF. As a Cowboy fan I saw him in some big games and he produced. Numbers are there so he should get his gold jacket. Absolutely loved seeing the back story. I had no idea. It's good to see him doing well off the field.
One of my favorite players of my 45 years as a football fan! Thanks for sharing this story.
Heck of a story. Thanks for telling it.
Ive always have been a ricky watters fan!!
It’s sad that this man was never arrested, never in treatment for substance abuse, no team fights but they attacked him just enough to be overlooked for HOF. It’s really sad. TO was dragged also before he got in. It has to change because these old white reporters have to adjust to the times. This isn’t 1965 anymore
Very inspirational, absolutely deserves to be in the hall
That would be so hard for me. To know I was giving away but you had other kids tht you kept. That’s a big man right there. Much respect.
Such a beautiful story!
Amazing story..he was validated by what he overcame. Perservered, achieved & 🎊 🎊 Congradulations
Definitely should be in the hof!!!
So beautiful. I hope for a day when All adoptions will have a happy ending like this. Hallelujah & Thank You Jesus!
Definitely should be in the hall of fame
Ricky was Dope wit Niners wit da S Curl fade
Motivation comes from your support system
Love from all 49ers fans you the best
how can you speak on behalf of all of the fans?
Ricky Waters was without out question one of my favorite 3 running backs of all time
It's sad that that young man had to feel like that. Because, Ricky you always belonged.
I met Ricky in his Eagle years one of the coolest people I ever met!!
Amazing stories as always NFL Films.
To this day, I believe the 9ers made a mistake that may have cost them another SB by not re-signing Ricky Waters. He was one of the most versatile RB's of the 90's, which was arguably the greatest era of RB's in NFL history.
Top ten rusher all-time when he retired.....early!
For those like Steve Young who question why the 49'ers let Ricky walk in 1995, the main reason was San Francisco couldn't afford him. Watters wanted top dollar, the salary cap was taking hold across the NFL, and the 49'ers were already tight against the cap ceiling. San Francisco did alot of questionable maneuvering in 1994 to get under the debut of the salary cap and win a title. Plus, Young soaked up alot of the 49'ers cap with his own hefty deal as possibly the league's highest paid player.
If this was the salad days of the niner dynasty in the 1980's, owner Eddie DeBartolo would've gladly opened his wallet to keep Ricky in San Francisco.
Exactly. No way Ricky leaves without a salary cap, Eddie D would've moved heaven and Earth to keep him there. I've always believed losing him was maybe the biggest reason they couldn't win another with Steve Young. Deion, I get the sense he always had an eye toward Dallas. Ricky, I felt like would've been easier to convince to stay with no cap.
10:31
“I ain’t trying die today”
💀
Sad he isn’t in the hof his stats alone with the 49ers he should be salute to da OG Ricky Watters blessings to him and his family
I'm glad that I watched this video. It changed my entire outlook on Ricky. He turned me off in Philly when he said, " For who, for what"? I didn't even realize what a good job he did in Philly after that statement. He's a good person who was misunderstood throughout his career. He could of been one of the great ones.
If he tried to catch that pass, he might be in a wheelchair now. Darryl Stingley play.
The mighty night hawk great one
#Harrisburg #PA 🗣️
My man Ricky they need to give him a card on madden bro
One of my favorite RB in NFL
Wow, this was an amazing story Ricky
You were a very good rb , you made the NFC tough
one of my childhood running bacs he needs to be in the hall of fame
I met him today at a Costco store, he was signing autographs
I’m an Eagles fan and I don’t blame Ricky one bit. That was total hospital pass. Would’ve been stupid to risk himself for that
I was at the game and We were getting killed
Yup. Ray talks about being frustrated with him in that moment, but later says that he practically carried the entire Eagles offense during his time there. It seems like he's never been able to live that line down and it's a shame if that one line has kept him out of the Hall of Fame because he was the main reason a couple of Eagles teams that in hindsight weren't very good got to the playoffs. He won his Super Bowl with the 49ers but I'll argue his stint with the Eagles makes him a Hall of Famer because of how he elevated them.
Yup, that’s a Darryl Stingley play, don’t blame him one bit
Wow I got mo respect fa Ricky now. HOF go call Ricky
Great story, Thanks!!
Hometown hero for sure
Here comes the High Stepper, the Ly-Rickal runner!!!!
I Hated this man in my younger Dallas Cowboy days because I never knew the man, I now look at sports differently understanding it's jus a game and I dont know these players. Man Im watching this video and like now I see the passion and determination instead of the narrative the from the announcers, Respect to this brother.
I think the players should be the voting factor on who's on the ballot and take the power out of these writer's hands... with that, Ricky Watters and Fred Taylor should already have their jackets
Love this story