5 Fascinating Facts About the Legendary Gale Sayers
Had he remained healthy, the beloved Chicago Bears running back would've been the G.O.A.T.
Before Walter Payton, before Barry Sanders, before Emmitt Smith, before Christian McCaffrey, there was Gale Sayers.
One of the NFL’s first true do-it-all running backs, Sayers put together four remarkable seasons during his seven years with the Chicago Bears, seasons that were so impressive that at age 34 — despite playing in only 68 games — he was voted into the Hall of Fame, making him the youngest ever inductee.
The Swiss Army knife RB retired well before I knew the difference between a cornerback and a safety, but, like the majority of Chicago Bears fans, I’ve seen the highlights and thus have a special place in my heart for a back who, had he not suffered a plethora of injuries and kept up his remarkable level of production, would’ve easily been the G.O.A.T.
Easily.
Even though we’re months away from the kickoff to the 2024 NFL season, there’s never a bad time to chop it up about one of the city’s most revered athletes.
Never.
1) GALE’S NICKNAME WAS STRAIGHT-UP AWESOME.
Born in Wichita, Sayers was dubbed “The Kansas Comet,” and considering the absurd numbers he posted at the University of Kansas, it was an apt moniker; during his three years as a Jayhawk, we’re talking 3,073 all-purpose yards and 19 total touchdowns. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry and 11.4 yards per reception, so it was little surprise that the Bears pounced on him with the fourth pick of the 1965 draft.
2) DUDE COULD SCORE. AND SCORE. AND SCORE.
In his rookie season, Sayers racked up a then-NFL-record 22 touchdowns, 14 of which came on the ground, with the other 8 through the air. On October 17, 1965 — in only his fifth career game — Sayers found the end zone via the run, the pass, and the return, making him one of only two players in NFL history to pull that trifecta. (The other: Miami’s contemporary comet, Tyreek Hill.) Later that season, he dropped a 6-TD game, the most ever for a running back.
3) NOBODY LIKED PLAYING AGAINST SAYERS.
Dick Butkus, Sayers’ teammate and one of the scariest linebackers in NFL history, hated being on the field with the shifty one. “He had this ability to go full speed,” Butkus said, “cut and then go full speed again right away. I saw it every day in practice. We played live, and you could never get a clean shot on Gale. Never.” If Sayers frustrated a beast like Butkus, imagine how freaked out his opponents were.
4) GALE’S KNEES WERE BAD, BUT NOT THAT BAD.
As hard as he competed on the gridiron, Sayers was more concerned about the life he led off the field. Knee injuries derailed his career, but he was less fazed than anybody, saying, “I don’t care to be remembered as the man who scored six touchdowns in a game. I want to be remembered as a winner in life.”
5) HE WAS PORTRAYED BRILLIANTLY IN THE GREATEST FOOTBALL MOVIE EVER.
Chances are if you know only one thing about Gale Sayers, that thing is his relationship with fellow Bears running back Brian Piccolo, a relationship that was documented in the 1971 made-for-television movie Brian’s Song. The award-winning tearjerker — which is based on Sayers’ 1970 autobiography I Am Third — tells the story of the unlikely friendship between the hobbled black star and the cancer-suffering white rookie. In an era of segregation, the fact that the two Bears roomed together on the road was, to many of their teammates, mind-boggling.
Despite of the fact that his own career was coming to a premature end, Sayers supported Piccolo throughout his treatment, one of the many reasons why Gale Sayers will always be remembered and always be beloved.