Largent Reaches NFL’s Summit : Seahawks: Both as a player and as a man, Seattle receiver achieves quiet success.

Having already scaled the heights of the NFL, wide receiver Steve Largent of the Seattle Seahawks decided one day to climb Mt. Rainier, the highest point in Washington at 14,410 feet.

After a one-day class in mountain climbing, Largent and Jim Zorn, then the Seahawks’ quarterback, began their ascent.

After reaching the halfway point, they rested from 4 p.m. until midnight, when they began the final stage of the climb. Largent and Zorn reached the summit in the morning, capping the 14-hour climb.

Instead of planting a flag, though, Largent and Zorn took out a football and played catch.

Why not? Catching is what Largent does best. He has caught more passes than anyone in pro football history during a 14-year NFL career, which will end with his retirement after the season.

But Coach Art Shell of the Raiders thinks Largent, 35, could play longer.

“It’s all attitude,” Shell said. “He has an attitude about getting the job done. He has an attitude believing he can get the job done if he just works at it. He’s a future Hall of Famer. There’s no doubt about that.

“You watch him on film. . . . He’s talking about retiring and I don’t know he should retire. His level of play is right there. Football may miss him, but we won’t miss him.”

Apprised of Shell’s comments, Largent said: “There’s no question that this is my swan song. This is my final year. Art must have forgotten what it feels like in your 14th season.”

Largent holds NFL records for receptions, 816; reception yardage, 13,035, and consecutive games with a reception, 175.

“It’s been a dream,” Largent said. “I pinch myself all the time to make sure it’s really taken place. The things that have taken place over my career have been unbelievable. I have a lot of great moments to cherish.”

Largent had another great moment when he caught his 100th touchdown pass in last week’s 24-17 victory at Cincinnati, breaking the record set by Don Hutson of the Green Bay Packers.

Although Hutson held the record for 45 years, Largent’s mark probably will not last nearly that long. Wide receiver Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers has 64 touchdown receptions since joining the NFL in 1985 and figures to break the record if he remains free of injuries.

The record-breaking catch was typical Largent. Quarterback Dave Krieg scrambled to give Largent time to find a seam in the Cincinnati Bengal zone. The pass was a little high, but Largent made a leaping catch, grabbing the ball with both hands as he fell over backward.

“It was a relief to get the record,” Largent said. “But it wasn’t as much of a relief as the final game I’ll play this season.”

Largent’s victory tour of the NFL was interrupted when he was injured in the season opener.

Largent caught a touchdown pass in that game at Philadelphia, but late in the first half he fell and suffered a broken bone in his right arm near the elbow. After having been sidelined for only four games in the previous 13 years, he was out for six games.

And by the time Largent returned, the Seahawk offense had collapsed.

But Largent has helped revive the Seahawks, who have won their last two games going into Sunday night’s game against the Raiders at the Kingdome.

“It’s been frustrating,” Largent said. “I haven’t done as well as I had hoped for and our team hasn’t, either, and so it’s not exactly been a Walt Disney storybook ending for me.”

LARGENT AND THE JUDGE

Largent lined up against Lester Hayes and took off as soon as the ball was snapped.

Largent juked Hayes, then made a leaping catch for a touchdown over the Raider defensive back.

“Steve Largent is God’s gift to wide receivers,” said Hayes, the retired all-pro cornerback. “He was a Caucasian Clydesdale. You look at him and he looks like a silver surfer on Venice Beach. If you asked IBM if Steve could function properly in the NFL, IBM would spit him out.

“But Steve’s success goes deeper than IBM. IBM can’t explain it. Flesh can’t explain it. He’s God’s gift, that’s the only logic I can gain from his accolades.”

Largent said: “Lester was the best public relations guy I ever had. But he was also a great competitor and a great cornerback. When I look back over my career, having an opportunity to compete against really good players like Lester Hayes are some of the highlights.”

Largent was a Raider tormentor, catching 73 passes for 1,207 yards and 10 touchdowns in 20 games against the Raiders.

Hayes recalled that Jack Tatum, the Raiders’ retired all-pro safety, once offered a bounty on Largent.

“It was $1,000 to knock him out,” Hayes said. “And since I was an intimidator on Jack Tatum’s par, I tried to intimidate Steve--and Steve only smiled.

“I put bull’s-eyes all over Steve’s anatomy and consistently I just missed him. I tried to hit him and spear him . . . and I could not touch him. He would move minutely and I would miss him. It’s all because he had a halo around him.”

SWEET DREAMS, STEVE

If Steve Largent had a protective halo, he lost it for a while last season.

He was knocked cold by defensive back Mike Harden in a game against the Denver Broncos. The impact of Harden’s hit bent the bars on Largent’s face mask and chipped two of his teeth. Largent sat out the rest of the game because of a concussion.

“I just got a perfect shot on him,” Harden said. “I read the play and reacted to the ball and just followed through on the play. It was an aggressive play.”

After reviewing the hit, however, the NFL fined Harden $500 for unnecessary roughness.

Harden considered the fine unjust. “I think (the NFL office) blew it out of proportion because of the way it looked on film,” said Harden, now a Raider. “It was just an aggressive hit.”

But Harden eventually got repaid in kind. Harden had intercepted a pass, Largent dropped him with a jarring, blind-side tackle.

Although the hit by Harden was the hardest Largent has taken, he also suffered another serious injury last season when he was accidentally poked in the eye by Charger cornerback Elvis Patterson. Largent’s left eye remains dilated.

Largent also missed another game because of injuries to a thumb and foot.

Because of the injuries, Largent had his least productive season as a pro in 1988, catching 39 passes for 645 yards and two touchdowns.

He considered retirement after receiving offers from two TV networks to become a commentator. But he returned, signing a $1.35-million contract for his final season.

Why did he return?

“I did it for my family,” Largent said.

THE FAMILY MAN

After suffering through a troubled childhood during which his father deserted the family, Largent vowed to be a good father.

And by all accounts he has been a model parent to his four children, Kyle, 9; Casie, 7; Kelly, 4, and Kramer, 3.

Kramer was born with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal cord is exposed.

Largent was devastated.

“Kramer was born before a home game and after the game, Steve blew all the reporters off and left,” said Clare Farnsworth, who covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “The next day there were stories that Steve Largent has reached superstar status because he’s too snobby to talk to the press.”

After seeing the stories, Largent met with reporters and explained the situation. Although he hadn’t planned to go public, he did so because he thought it might help other families in similar situations.

“We were not aware that we were going to have a kid with a birth defect,” Largent said. “It was a real surprise. We anticipated everything being normal, like our other three children.

“It was pretty devastating for the first week, trying to deal with all the questions that race through your mind. Your worst fears always come to the surface the quickest and that’s what happened with us.

“Over time, we got a lot of assurance and support from friends and family and well-wishers and people that had more experience with spina bifida than we did. All that served to lift us up and it’s worked out real well.”

Largent donated $10,000 to the Spina Bifida Foundation after breaking the record for receiving yardage last season.

And he has asked that other teams, instead of buying retirement gifts for him, send the money instead to the Spina Bifida Foundation.