Tim Grunhard earns induction into Chiefs Ring of Honor

The Kansas City Chiefs announced the latest addition to the team’s Hall of Fame (or Ring of Honor) at the top of the third day of the 2021 NFL Draft with word that former Pro Bowl center Tim Grunhard will be inducted this year.

After the announcement, Grunhard sounded understandably excited.

The Chiefs initially selected Grunhard in the second round of the 1990 NFL Draft out of the University of Notre Dame. Grunhard was part of Lou Holtz’s national championship winning team that won 23 consecutive games and came to the NFL as pro ready as possible. The Chiefs inserted him into the starting lineup at center, and Grunhard never looked back from that point.

Grunhard was the heart of the Chiefs offensive front for more than an entire decade and would go on to make 164 total starts and play in 169 games at the pro level—all in K.C. He made his first and only Pro Bowl in ’99, a nice addition to a resume that included blocking up front for some of the Chiefs most memorable offenses in team history. Remember, Grunhard was the anchor through the Marty Schottenheimer years, hiked to Joe Montana, and provided time for Tony Gonzalez to get open.

Interestingly enough, Colin Grunhard has been a walk-on for Notre Dame football as a center himself for the last few years before transferring to Kansas in ’21. Grunhard will join other recent inductees from those same Chiefs teams on which he played, including fullback Tony Richardson (who was inducted in 2016), tight end Tony Gonzalez (in 2018), and guard Will Shields (in 2012).