“All I can say is that God works in mysterious ways,” Dean said yesterday at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park, where he was introduced as the 34th member of the Chargers Hall of Fame.

As Dean detailed it, his acceptance of a changed role in life occurred during the seven days in December 2003 when he was being treated in the emergency wing of a Louisiana hospital after his blood-sugar level had spiraled to more than 900.

“Close to terminal,” he said.

Although Dean said he was not aware of it when he was hospitalized, he was suffering from diabetes, which gave him a great thirst. In an attempt to quench it, he said he would partake of liquids of all sorts, and his blood-sugar level kept climbing.

Taking insulin is permitting Dean, 56, to control his condition.

“I'm the happiest individual in the world because the only other place I would want to go other than these halls of fame is the hall of fame 'up there,' ” Dean said.

Being tapped for the Chargers' hall completes a double for the former defensive end, who on Aug. 2 in Canton, Ohio, is to be formally received into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is the seventh individual associated with the Chargers to be so honored, joining Lance Alworth, Ron Mix, Dan Fouts, Sid Gillman, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow.

At a dinner here Monday when he was joined by two of his associates on the Chargers' defensive front of the mid-1970s and early '80s, Louie Kelcher and Gary Johnson, Dean said his time in San Diego came rushing back to him. He came to the Chargers in 1975, a second-round draft selection out of Louisiana Tech, where he had served as a linebacker. At 218 pounds, Dean wasn't supposed to be big enough to serve as a defensive end, but in one of the franchise's more insightful acts, it made Dean one.

In 1981, at a time when Dean was fretting because of his contractual differences with the Chargers, the San Diego club dealt him to San Francisco, where he would achieve his greatest acclaim as a situational pass rusher. But it was his period here that Dean said was on his mind during dinner on Monday.

“There was so much inside me that was begging to come out, and I didn't want to cry,” Dean said. “There's so much I look at now. It started with the Chargers.”

Dean's time here was troubled. Oh, never on the field. But he did not always manage his affairs as ably as he might have. When he would encounter difficulties, he would go to the late Tank Younger, then the club's assistant general manager, for a loan. Younger would grant him the loan. In return, the team would extend Dean's contract.

Dean said he has no rancor concerning the Chargers.

“Bad things are going to happen in life,” he said. “Bottom line, you have to learn and appreciate every one. I learned a great deal.”

The wonder of Dean being chosen for the Chargers' hall is that it took the club so long to recognize him.

“It does seem like it took a long time, but also it took me a long time to get into the Canton hall,” said Dean. “For me, the time is right. Me, I'm not one to complain about anything.”

As a player who served both the Chargers and the 49ers, Dean has a choice: He can enter the Canton hall as either a Charger or a 49er. He said he would like to divide his allegiance. He has selected former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo to introduce him.

Jerry Magee: (619) 293-1830; jerry.magee@uniontrib.com