COLORADO NEWS

Colorado Rockies legend Todd Helton inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

Jul 22, 2024, 9:21 AM | Updated: 11:51 am

Rockies legend Todd Helton has been honored with induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, making him only the second member of the Colorado Rockies to receive this prestigious recognition in Cooperstown.

In his emotional induction speech, Helton shared impactful stories about his career with the Rockies and called Tony Vitello, his college coach at Tennessee, “the best head college coach”

(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

Todd’s claim to fame could have been that he was the quarterback at the University of Tennessee between future first-round draft picks Heath Schuler and Peyton Manning, but he was destined for bigger things on the baseball diamond.

After a knee injury in 1994 paved the way for Manning to become Tennessee’s quarterback, Todd shifted all his focus to baseball. He was named player of the year by Baseball America.

He was selected by the Colorado Rockies with the number eight overall pick in the 1995 amateur draft and never left the Mile High City. After becoming the starting first baseman in 1995, Helton finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and posted a .315 batting average with 25 home runs and 97 RBIs.

Read more about Helton’s emotional acceptance speech from our partners at Denver Sports.

Denver metro area school district start dates

Colorado News

Stephen Dunn  /Allsport...

Shawn Patrick

Denver Broncos’ great Ed McCaffrey now his own brand of healthy snacks

Folks from my era; the 90’s and early 2000’s remember Ed McCaffrey as a Denver Broncos great. My kids just think of him as NFL superstar Christian McCaffrey‘s dad. Either […]

19 hours ago

Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

‘Certified joy enthusiast’ shot a person for sitting on a park bench next to him in Denver

I’m not sure about you, but when I am sitting on a bench and someone I don’t want to sit next to comes and sits down next to me, I […]

19 hours ago

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

Betting on the Super Bowl coin toss is illegal in Colorado?

You can bet on pretty much anything as you watch the Super Bowl this weekend. Bets on things that don’t really concern the game itself are called prop bets, but […]

20 hours ago

Happy Gilmore...

Shawn Patrick

Did you know the famous gator from ‘Happy Gilmore’ now lives in Colorado?

With the news coming recently that there will be a Happy Gilmore 2 coming to Netflix, it was a good reminder that one of the stars in the original Happy […]

20 hours ago

Goldens in Golden...

Sarah Baines

Thousands of golden retrievers prepare to head to Golden Saturday

One of the biggest weekends for the city “Where the West Lives” is set for Saturday. The annual tradition, dubbed “Goldens in Golden,” celebrates golden retrievers and aims to create […]

21 hours ago

Photo by John Mahler/Toronto Star via Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

A Valentine’s event in Denver will showcase antique underwear

There are a ton of Valentine’s Day events to choose from around Denver, but I have to give the most unique award to this one… If you aren’t familiar with […]

2 days ago

Colorado Rockies legend Todd Helton inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame