Bill Hewitt Days Until Chicago Bears Season Opener
By matthewford
Fifty-six days until kickoff, 56! That’s a mere eight weeks! That’s exciting! So today I find it fitting that we’re taking a look at, Bill Hewitt, a legend that embodied the excitement on the field that we at Bear Goggles On, have for our Chicago Bears off of it.
Ask almost any football fan who Bill Hewitt was and you’ll probably get one of two answers, “Who?” or “He was the last guy to play without a helmet.” But a quick glance at his resume shows that he was so much more than just that quirky stat.
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Entering the league in 1932 he wasted little time making his mark. Possessing a lightening quick first step allowed Hewitt to, time and time again, tackle the opposition for a loss. So much so, opposing fans accused him of being offside on nearly every play. Arguably though, it was a play on offense that made him a legend.
Down 21-16 in the fourth quarter of the 1933 Championship game the Bears were driving, or should I say Bronko Nagurski was driving the Bears. Shortly after crossing midfield, Nagurski had the ball again. Only this time right before barreling into the defense, he stopped short and threw a pass to Hewitt, who then tossed a lateral to Bill Karr, who ran it in for the score! The Bears would hold on to win 23-21.
This two-way star would go on and play another three years with the Chicago Bears, before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he spent three seasons. He would retire following the 1939 season, but later return in 1943 to play one season for the Steagles. His life was tragic cut short when he died in a car accident in Pennsylvania in January of 1947.
However, the mark he left on the Chicago Bears franchise and fan base will never be forgotten. While he is in elite company as a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, class of 1971. He is a member of an even more exclusive group, in which he is one of only 14 players to have his number retired by the Chicago Bears. Due to that, his legend will live forever.
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