JACKSONVILLE – He experienced disappointment. The years
So when Angi Boselli learned that her husband – former Jaguars left tackle Tony Boselli – had been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the emotions faded. First came a phone call. Then came the words of Hall President Jim Porter.
“I didn’t hear much outside of that,” Angi Boselli said with a laugh.
Angi Boselli recently joined senior writer John Oehser as part of a podcast series to discuss Tony Boselli, the first Jaguars player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He discussed a variety of topics, including what Jacksonville and the Jaguars mean to him, Tony and their family.
He also discussed the news of Tony’s election through Porter’s phone call.
The phone call wasn’t just Porter’s. In contrast, Michelle Norris belonged to Hall of Famer Vice President of Relations. Angi knew Hall officials would probably contact her before Tony was elected this year. Therefore, this year’s Hall process was to help a family member organize a surprise visit to inform the candidate.
When Norris called in January, Angi was at home with her children. Knowing that Hall officials would want the news secret – if it really was good news – he texted Norris to call back in 10 minutes. Then he went to the house of friends Eric and Kay Murphy.
“I was sitting in the kitchen shaking and saying, ‘Oh my, oh my’ – and it hit again,” Angi said. “I answered and I was literally holding my breath. I said, ‘Michelle, please tell me you’re calling with good news.'” She (Norris) paused and paused, it scared me.
“[Porter] was also on the call. He said, ‘Well, Michelle doesn’t have good news for you, but I do.’ Tony is going into the Hall of Fame.”
“I put my head between my knees and I was sobbing. It was amazing.”
Angi spent the next two weeks playing a key role in bringing Tony home to the Murphys. He made sure their five children, Tony’s mother and others, were there as Hall of Fame running back Anthony Munoz — Boselli’s idol — rang the bell along with an NFL Network crew to let Tony know he’d been inducted into the Hall.
Angi said that last part – keeping Tony’s news a secret – wasn’t as hard as she thought.
“Honestly, this moment is incredibly, incredibly special because trying to maximize every moment has been key and at the forefront of every decision I’ve made,” he said. “I’m so proud and excited and I know what it means to him. So to cheat on him with any aspect of what that means… over my dead body.
“When it finally happened, there wasn’t anything I wasn’t going to do to get hit. So it was easy.”
To listen to the full podcast with Angi Boselli, click here.
Angi Boselli knows how important @TonyBoselli’s HOF induction is to #DUUUVAL .
The first two episodes of Boselli: A Podcast Series are live!
