Bill Hewitt Days Until Chicago Bears Season Opener

Dec 9, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago Bears helmet against the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome. The Vikings defeated the Bears 21-14. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

We had so much fun doing our Countdown to Kickoff series last season that we decided to do it again.  In case you’re new to the series, we’ll do a roster preview as we count down the days until the Chicago Bears September 7th season opener against the Buffalo Bills.

56 More days. Getting close. Gotta clean out the turkey fryer for wings. Gotta hang up the Bears stuff in the new house. Gotta polish my helmet. No, my Bears helmet, get your mind out of the gutter. Speaking of helmets………..

Bill Hewitt was the Bear’s most famous #56. This guy was such a bad-ass that he refused to wear a helmet. It took the NFL rules, and not common sense for him to wear one.

His lawyers would have probably had a hard time winning him any money from the NFL. Although he doesn’t seem very much like he would be a litigious guy.

He made a good point though. I think the helmet is the hardest thing on a football field. If nobody is wearing one, I think there would be less injuries.

We’ve all seen that they don’t prevent concussions. It’s the chicken or the egg. The helmet itself necessitates the wearing of one.

Bill Hewitt played the position of end. That means he played on offense and defense. He was very quick off the snap.

Another Bear I knew nothing about until this assignment.

He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and he died at the young age of 37 in a car crash.