The Kansas Comet left the world this morning as former Chicago Bears running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers passed away at the age of 77. Sayers was not only one of the best Bears’ running backs to lace them up but one of the best in the history of the NFL despite playing just seven seasons.
Knee injuries limited Sayers to just those seven seasons in the league but he made the most of them finishing his career with 4,956 yards and 39 touchdowns. He also was one of the best return men in the league in his era scoring six touchdowns and averaging more than 30 yards per kickoff return, with two touchdowns and 14.5 yards per punt return.
Sayers even had a then-record six touchdown game against the San Francisco 49ers back in 1965:
A look back at Gale Sayers 6 TD game vs. the 49ers in 1965: pic.twitter.com/xiBaA3rcRw
— Bear Report (@BearReport) September 23, 2020
The Bears released a statement on Sayers death Wednesday:
“Football fans know well Gale’s many accomplishments on the field: a rare combination of speed and power as the game’s most electrifying runner, a dangerous kick returner, his comeback from a serious knee injury to lead the league in rushing, and becoming the youngest player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey said. “People who weren’t even football fans came to know Gale through the TV movie “Brian’s Song,” about his friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo. Fifty years later, the movie’s message that brotherhood and love needn’t be defined by skin color, still resonates.
“Coach Halas said it best, when presenting Gale for induction at the Hall of Fame: ‘His like will never be seen again.’
“On behalf of the McCaskey family, we offer our sincerest condolences to Ardie and the entire Sayers family.”
Sayers was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977 at the age of 34, becoming the youngest player to be inducted.