A little change of pace in today’s writing. If you don’t know, I am a huge Chicago Bears fan and I am old enough to have seen a Bears game when they were playing at Wrigley Field on the north side of Chicago. I have lived and died with the Bears for over 60 years…mostly died.
I do recall much of my visit to Wrigley Field on December 12th, 1965 to see my beloved Bears but a few of the memories are hazy. What do I remember? It was a gray cold day. I went with a friend and his father who had tickets for the game. We found a parking space just two blocks from Wrigley and didn’t have to pay to park. The field was muddy as a result of it raining all night. It started snowing at the end of the game while we were walking across the field to exit through one of the ivy covered walls to leave Wrigley.
A funny memory from that day was the Bears scoring at will on the San Francisco 49ers and all the extra points and field goals that happened right in front of us. We were seated in the south end zone directly behind the goal posts. Every time the kicker would line up, my friend and I would leave our seats and run to one side or the other, depending on how the kicker lined up, to catch the kicked ball. In those days they did not have a net to prevent the ball from going into the stands. The football never came our way and one time we watched as the ball landed in our empty seats and bounced to another fan.
What I don’t remember is Gale Sayers having a day that went down in football history as one of the greatest individual performances by any player. The final score was 62-20 in favor of the Bears with Sayers scored 6 touchdowns in multiple ways. I was just so excited to be at a live NFL game–my first–and inside Wrigley Field. Many of the other details escape me. I did remember enough to do some research and realize years later, I was at a historic sporting event.
I just heard this morning that the great Gale Sayers passed away at the age of 77. I have an autograph #40 Gale Sayers Bears jersey hanging on my wall. I see it every day when I enter my den and it always brings a smile to my face. Unfortunately, today I didn’t smile.
Sayers career was cut short by horrible knee injuries. Sayers did not have the benefit of the modern surgical techniques they use today that gets players with the same injury back on the field and better than ever in a matter of months. He was still amazing when he came back but he was never like he was on that cold December day in 1965. Even though his career was only 7 years, he became the youngest NFL player inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
What Sayers might be best known for was a movie called Brian’s Song. It was a TV movie that was made in 1971 telling the story about his relationship with fellow Bear running back, Brian Piccolo. Piccolo filled in for Sayers while helping him get through his knee injury rehab. Brian died in 1970 of cancer. Piccolo and Sayers became close friends and the movie tells that story. Billy Dee Williams played Sayers in the movie, opposite James Caan as Piccolo.
Another sad fact about his career is that he never got the chance to play in the playoffs or win a championship with the Bears. An affliction that cursed so many players who were stuck in Chicago during their careers, no matter what sport (see Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Dick Butkus, etc.).
Sayers was drafted out of Kansas in the same draft as another NFL and Bear legend, Dick Butkus, (Greatest defensive player ever. I’m not listening to anybody who says otherwise). The Bears came close to a championship in Sayers first year but just fell short. Besides Sayer’s record setting game against the 49ers, he had the greatest season ever for a rookie and was named as Rookie of the Year over Butkus. His first season also ranks as one of the greatest seasons for any player in the history of the NFL
Gale Sayers nickname was the Kansas Comet. Like a comet, his time with us was short but, boy, was it spectacular to watch.
I’m still suffering with my Bears but on a sad day it was nice to journey back to my teenage years to remember a special day and the guy who made that day so special.
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