Now that we’re in full offseason mode, I thought it would be fun to brush up on our Bears history. Thanks to the power of Hulu and NFL Films, I can bring you a highlight reel from the 1965 season.
The 1965 Bears were highlighted by a pair of rookies – Gale Sayers on offense and Dick Butkus. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? Talk about a draft class that today’s Bears won’t match any time soon!
The ’65 Bears finished 9-5 and just missed the Championship game. The highlight of the season had to be the 61-20 beatdown of the 49ers where Sayers scored 6 TD’s on a sloppy, wet Wrigley Field turf reminiscent of today’s Soldier Field. (Maybe that’s why we keep such a crappy field!)
A few takeaways after watching the highlights:
- Gale Sayers was ELECTRIC. He just seemed to glide past everyone with such ease. It’s like Devin Hester on kickoffs, but all the time. Really amazing!
- Butkus was a definitely a difference maker, but people weren’t falling down in front of him. He got beat his share of times too. For as much grief as we give Urlacher for missing tackles and even getting tackled by a quarterback after an INT, I saw some of that from Butkus.
- It’s cool to see Mike Ditka (#89 in your programs, #1 in your hearts) mixing it up. It’s easy to forget what a stud player he was. It wasn’t just pass catching that caught my eye. Did you see his blocking? Greg Olsen, please take note.
- While the 2011 Bears may have had a nice draft (and we won’t know for a few years), it’s amazing to see what impact players on both sides of the ball (Sayers and Butkus) can do to turn a team around from 5-9 in ’64 to 9-5 in ’65.
What did you take from this? Do you want to see more of these kinds of Flashback posts? Look forward to your comments!