Byrd Cleared to Land in Pro Bowl : NFL: He will join Junior Seau and Marion Butts on the AFC team in the post-season game.

Ronnie Harmon got the cold shoulder from Buffalo. Junior Seau flopped around as a rookie inside linebacker. Marion Butts was a seventh-round draft pick who was selected to play special teams.

And Gill Byrd had more interceptions than any other player in the NFL for the past four years, but until Wednesday, he had gotten no respect.

“Perseverance is the key,” said Byrd, after learning he will join Seau and Butts in Honolulu for the Feb. 2 Pro Bowl. “It’s something that’s taken me nine years to (achieve). I know a lot of guys are talented, they go every year and it may not be as big a deal to those guys, but I don’t take it lightly.”

Harmon, like Byrd, has felt the sting of being left out. Buffalo did not protect him in Plan B free agency last season, and then the Bills went on without him to play in the Super Bowl.

Harmon signed on with the Chargers, and after a sparkling 1990 campaign, he earned Most Valuable Player honors Wednesday for the 1991 season, based on the vote of his teammates.

“Everyone’s thankful about things that are given to them, especially by people they care about,” said Harmon, who leads the team with 56 catches for 527 yards. “There are a lot of other guys that deserve it probably better than I do.”

Harmon has rushed the ball 84 times for 497 yards and an average gain of 5.9 yards. He also pulls regular duty on the kickoff coverage team.

“I think that (MVP) honor was well-deserved,” Coach Dan Henning said. “Ronnie Harmon is a modest guy and I’m sure he appreciates the acknowledgment of his fellow players. It means something to him, but he’s not one to show it.”

Wide receiver Anthony Miller and linebacker Leslie O’Neal had their two-year Pro Bowl streaks snapped, but the Chargers were thrilled with Byrd’s election.

“The guy has deserved it for the last four years,” linebacker Gary Plummersaid. “It was just a situation where they couldn’t keep him out this year. This is the quintessential professional. He’s worked to become the best he can be at his position. It’s about time he got recognized.”

Byrd leads the Chargers with six interceptions this season and his 27 interceptions since 1988 are tops in the NFL during that span of time.

“I was surprised,” said Byrd, who was also selected the Chargers’ most inspirational player for the fourth consecutive year. “After having the numbers I’ve had the two or three previous years and not getting there . . . you never know what’s going to happen.

“I had asked one of the guys in the public relations department to give me a call (Tuesday night) and let me know what had transpired. So when he didn’t call, I said, ‘I guess nothing had transpired.’ ”

Offensive lineman Leo Goeas approached Byrd Wednesday morning and told him that he had made it to the Pro Bowl, but Byrd didn’t believe him.

“Gill and his family are coming to Hawaii for Christmas to spend the holidays with my family,” Goeas said. “Gill’s like one of my brothers, and I’ve been telling him for the past few weeks that he’s going to have to come back to Hawaii later to play in the Pro Bowl, but he wouldn’t believe it.”

Byrd finished second in the voting to Houston’s Cris Dishman and just ahead of Pittsburgh’s Rod Woodson.

“There are some corners in the league that have better physical capabilities and have been on winning teams,” Henning said. “Sometimes you don’t see the kind of individual he is and the kind of job he does.

“I think if you asked Gill he’s had better years than this one. But maybe the word just gets around--he lacks only one thing and that’s great speed. Only one thing. He has every other ingredient as a person and as a player.”

Byrd becomes the first defensive back for the Chargers to earn an invite to the Pro Bowl.

“The family’s going, the grandparents are going, and the money’s spent already that I’ll get for making the Pro Bowl,” Byrd said. “It’s not guaranteed to happen again. I want to enjoy it and cherish this time. I thank God for it.”

While Byrd has been kept waiting for nine years, it has taken Seau but two seasons to get the attention of his peers.

“I can’t think of another inside linebacker that’s played the way Junior has played and can do the things he can do,” linebacker Billy Ray Smith said. “If they would have listed him at the different positions he has played, he would have made it at each one of them.”

Smith said Seau has so much talent he can make plans to play in the Pro Bowl every year. “He might as well just buy a condo over there,” Smith said.

The Chargers selected Seau in the first round last year, but after messy contract negotiations, an unhappy Seau had difficulty adapting to the switch from outside to inside linebacker.

He finished the 1990 season strongly, however, and placed fifth in voting at inside linebacker. This year, he placed first.

“I have to keep it in perspective and not go overboard,” Seau said. “I received respect, and that’s how I’ll take it.

“I was second alternate last year and it was a fluke. Last year was really a waste. The performance I had last year wasn’t something where I could go look in the mirror and say, ‘Junior, you gave it your best.’ ”

Seau accepted his role as middle linebacker this season and then gained the coaching staff’s respect by also making himself a valuable contributor on third down. He leads the team presently with six sacks, and is tops on defense with 118 tackles.

“The guy is all over the field,” Plummer said. “He’s got the chance to be one of the best inside linebackers to ever play the game. It’s great, this is his second year and he’s got 10 or 12 years left in him. He should put together a string of at least 10 Pro Bowl appearances.”

Butts, who missed training camp while holding out for a raise that never came, will be making his second trip to the Pro Bowl. Rod Bernstine, however, is not going.

“Without the offensive line’s help this wouldn’t have been possible,” said Butts, who will receive extra money from the club for making it to the Pro Bowl. “I don’t think it’s that much (money). I’m in the hole anyway. I dug a hole before the season began.”

Butts has started the last seven games after replacing an injured Bernstine and he has rushed for 788 yards on 186 carries for an average gain of 4.2 yards with six touchdowns.

Bernstine, selected the AFC Player of the Week Wednesday, started the first eight games and has carried the ball 151 times for 749 yards for an average gain of five yards with seven touchdowns.

Bernstine finished seventh in Pro Bowl balloting; Butts finished fourth.

“He’s the starter, so he plays,” Bernstine said. “I wish I could have made it, but I didn’t, so I’ll just go on to next year.”

Wide receiver Nate Lewis finished as first alternate kickoff returner and center Courtney Hall was third alternate. Hall and tackle Harry Swayne were selected co-Linemen of the Year by their teammates, and defensive back Darren Carrington was named Special Teams Player of the Year.