Sun Devil Legends Series: No. 89 Ron Fair

The Backstory: While defensive players dominated the first 10 days of our legends series, we break into the 80s and kick things off with our first offensive player.

For years, the No. 89 has primarily belonged to tight ends, however the greatest Sun Devil to wear the number actually made his name as a wide receiver.

Typically, a player has to contribute to the Sun Devil program for at least a few seasons to earn a status as a legend. However, Ron Fair takes home the honors at No. 89 based on one outstanding season.

Interestingly enough, the stars aligned for Mr. Fair. The season that makes him our "Sun Devil Legend" at No. 89 just happens to be 1989.

The Player: No. 89 Ron Fair (1987-1989)

Ron Fair wore No. 89 for three seasons at Arizona State, but he did not earn a starting spot until his senior year in 1989. Fortunately for the Sun Devils, Fair made the most of his lone year in the spotlight.

The Sun Devil split end had a record-setting season as he caught 64 passes for 1,082 yards. At the time, Fair became just the second Sun Devil to surpass 1,000 yards receiving as he joined Morris Owens who accomplished the feat back in 1973.

Even in today's passing era, Fair's season still ranks as one of the top-five ever for a Sun Devil receiver. Fair's name is listed atop the Sun Devil record books in multiple single-game categories because of a historic effort against Washington State.

Against the Cougars, Fair caught a remarkable 19 passes for 277 yards and both of those marks stand alone atop the Arizona State record books. In fact, aside from Fair, no Sun Devil receiver has ever caught more than 15 passes in a game (Chris McGaha, 2009).

In 1989, Fair caught 5.8 passes per game and that earned him recognition as a 1^st Team All-Pac-10 performer. However, the honors didn't stop there, as Sporting News recognized him as a 2^nd Team All-American while the AP listed him as an Honorable Mention.

In terms of one-hit wonders, Ron Fair might just be the greatest the Sun Devils have ever had.

Honorable Mentions

Curtis Berger: If No. 89 was worn strictly by tight ends, Berger would have taken home the honors as our "Sun Devil Legend". The two-year starter made the most of his time at Arizona State as he was named an Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 performer in each of his starting seasons.

Charley Hobbs: As a two-year starter at tight end, Hobbs played in an era when tight ends were primarily asked to block. Apparently, that's something he did very well as he was named an Honorable Mention All-Western Athletic Conference performer in 1974.

Who Wears It Now?

Frederick Gammage: Gammage is a redshirt freshman who played his high school ball at Brophy Prep. Like Fair, he's a receiver, but the chances of him matching Fair's record-setting season at some point during his career seem rather unlikely.

However, crazier things have happened. Just ask Ron Fair.

Other Famous 89s

Mike Ditka: Before the legendary Ditka was a famous coach, he was a dominant player who became the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Alexander Mogilny: The six-time NHL All-Star helped the New Jersey Devils bring home the Stanley Cup in 2000.

Wes Chandler: A two-time All-American at Florida, Chandler earned his stripes at the professional level by being named a four-time Pro Bowler.