40 Days Until Chicago Bears 2017 Season Kicks Off: Gale Sayers Profile

The Bear Goggles On Countdown to Kickoff series is now underway. With 40 days to go until the Bears season kicks off we will highlight the Bears player that wore number 40, Hall Of Fame Running Back, Gale Sayers.

Not many people on the planet get the privilege to play in the NFL. Even less, there are only 301 members of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. At the age of 34, most Hall Of Fame inductees are wrapping up an illustrious career and putting the finishing touches on their resume. At 34, Gale Sayers was walking up to the podium in Canton, OH. Though he only played for 7 seasons, and even though he only appeared in 2 games each of his last 2 seasons, Gale Sayers was an all-time great.

The Player

To give some context, allow me to simply name some of Sayers’ accomplishments. Sayers was a member of the coveted all-decade team for the 1960s. He led the NFL in rushing twice, even while splitting time with Brian Piccolo in some later years. After being selected 4th overall in the 1965 NFL draft, Sayers scored an NFL record 22 touchdowns as a rookie. As the games most feared return man, up until Tyreke Hill 2016, he was the last player to score a rushing, receiving, and return touchdown in the same game. He also had one of the greatest individual games in NFL history, with 6 touchdowns against the 49ers in 1965. 4 Pro Bowls and 5 All Pro teams later, Sayers was forced into early retirement before his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Watching highlights of players from the 60’s is not always the most enjoyable film, as the game was much different. This is not the case with Gale Sayers. Watching Sayers’ highlights immediately makes you feel like you’re watching Barry Sanders in his prime, or my personal favorite, Reggie Bush at USC. Although Sayers’ straight line speed was not “elite”, his ability to maintain his speed while making cuts was unparalleled. He was also much faster with the ball in his hands as opposed to being in track shorts. Don’t even take my word for it, check out the film for yourself.

The Legacy

Growing up as a Bears fan, learning about Gale Sayers was a given. As more and more years pass by, the greats of the game begin to fade. Rarely do you hear players quote Gale Sayers as somebody that they admire. Go back and read interviews from some of the greats of the 80’s and 90’s, and they will name the “Kansas Comet” as one of their favorite players. Sayers’ recovery from injury and friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo was the subject of the movie Brian’s Song, thus boosting the legacy of Sayers and revealing more about his high character.

The legacy of Sayers is one that will conjure up thoughts of another Chicago legend. An elite player who dominated when he was at his best but did not have the longevity of his contemporaries (sound familiar, Derrick Rose?). Throughout NFL history, you will be hard pressed to find a player with a more dominant 5-year stretch than Gale Sayers. Pick almost any game from 1965-1970 that Gale Sayers played in, and it is even harder to show me a player that popped more on film than number 40.