Chicago Bears Countdown to Kickoff: 17 Days with Richie Petitbon

Richie Petitbon shines in decade-long career with Chicago Bears

As a rookie, Petitbon started in all 12 games at strong safety, finishing the season with three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting and the defense had the second-best defense in points allowed across the league, helping the team reach an 8-4 record, second-best in the division.

Over the next three seasons, the team would struggle to match that level of success and never finished better than third out of seven teams in the division. However, Petitbon began to develop into a dominant player on the backend of the defense, highlighted by a stellar 1962 season that saw the safety record six interceptions, one of which was returned for a lead-league 101-yard touchdown. Following the season, the Tulane star was named an All-Pro and was selected to the Pro Bowl.

The next year, the Chicago Bears exploded out of their recent drought and compiled an 11-1-2 record, strong enough for a first-place division finish. Petitbon had another terrific season, finishing with a career-high eight interceptions en route to being named a First-Team All-Pro safety. Petitbon and free safety Rosey Taylor, who also finished the season with eight interceptions, had quickly combined to create one of the most feared safety duos in NFL history and helped the defense finish the regular season with the fewest points allowed.

Petitbon started in the ensuing 1963 NFL Championship game and helped the defense keep the New York Giants to just two scores, leading the team to win 14-10. Petitbon recorded a crucial interception during the contest.

Following the team's championship run, Petitbon was able to start every game over the next two seasons, although his production slipped a bit. Over that span, he produced five total turnovers, but the team also struggled as a whole, finishing with a cumulative 14-14 record.

However, this slump would not last long as Petitbon was named to the Pro Bowl in both 1966 and 1967, recording 10 total turnovers combined between the seasons. By the ensuing 1968 season, Petitbon was entering his 10th season with the Chicago Bears, serving as a starting safety in every season. Petitbon missed only two of his 138 possible regular-season outings with the team, a testament to his dependability on the back end of some of the era's premier defensive units.