OT: RIP, Gale Sayers

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

Gale Sayers passed away today. I've been a lifelong Bears fan, and Gale was always my favorite player (with Walter Payton and Dick Butkus being close seconds). While Gale's star burned short, it burned brightly. He was hands down the most exciting running back I ever saw play. A torn ACL was basically the end of his career after only 4 seasons. Back then they simply didn't have the surgical techniques that allowed players to recover fully from ACL tears.

I saw a tribute to Gale that described his running style as poetry in motion. That is a pretty fitting description. He combined a sprinter's speed with elusiveness and uncanny open field running ability. I know a lot of guys here love Barry Sanders, and he was a great one too, but Sayers IMO was more elusive. Barry was more about jump cuts and quick changes of direction. Sayers could also change directions quickly, but he was more fluid than Barry. When Gale got the ball you held your breath, because there was a good chance he was going to take it to the house. The older guys on this board who had the chance to see him play will know what I am talking about. Despite playing only 7 seasons in the NFL (he was a shell of his former self the last 2), he was elected to the NFL HOF at the age of 34. Youngest player ever elected to the HOF. That tells you what his peer thought about him. He was a great ambassador to the game off the field until dementia set in a few years ago.

Hard to believe the Bears got Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus in the same draft. Now the Bears' GM and other dimwits in the front office handling the draft thought Mitch Trubisky was a better pick than DeShaun Watson and Patrick Mahommes.

RIP, Gale.

 

[savvyandsassier]

Gale Sayers, in addition to his many other accomplishments with the Bears, also dispensed the advice to CW jr, that he ought to at least play one year of organized football before officially entering the coaching ranks.

I'm guessing that's how Weis Sr. got the job at KU, somehow on account of his relationship with Gale Sayers.

 

[burmafrd1943]

Gale Sayers, in addition to his many other accomplishments with the Bears, also dispensed the advice to CW jr, that he ought to at least play one year of organized football before officially entering the coaching ranks.

I'm guessing that's how Weis Sr. got the job at KU, somehow on account of his relationship with Gale Sayers.

Hard to believe someone could be so caught up on something so petty as you and CW, sr and family.

You are such a small person in so many ways. To use a thread about Gale Sayers DEATH to further your idiotic vendetta.

 

[burmafrd1943]

Gale Sayers passed away today. I've been a lifelong Bears fan, and Gale was always my favorite player (with Walter Payton and Dick Butkus being close seconds). While Gale's star burned short, it burned brightly. He was hands down the most exciting running back I ever saw play. A torn ACL was basically the end of his career after only 4 seasons. Back then they simply didn't have the surgical techniques that allowed players to recover fully from ACL tears.

I saw a tribute to Gale that described his running style as poetry in motion. That is a pretty fitting description. He combined a sprinter's speed with elusiveness and uncanny open field running ability. I know a lot of guys here love Barry Sanders, and he was a great one too, but Sayers IMO was more elusive. Barry was more about jump cuts and quick changes of direction. Sayers could also change directions quickly, but he was more fluid than Barry. When Gale got the ball you held your breath, because there was a good chance he was going to take it to the house. The older guys on this board who had the chance to see him play will know what I am talking about. Despite playing only 7 seasons in the NFL (he was a shell of his former self the last 2), he was elected to the NFL HOF at the age of 34. Youngest player ever elected to the HOF. That tells you what his peer thought about him. He was a great ambassador to the game off the field until dementia set in a few years ago.

Hard to believe the Bears got Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus in the same draft. Now the Bears' GM and other dimwits in the front office handling the draft thought Mitch Trubisky was a better pick than DeShaun Watson and Patrick Mahommes.

RIP, Gale.

You look at game film of him in the open field and its like everyone is in slo mo except Sayers.
I have never seen the equal of him in the open field.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

You look at game film of him in the open field and its like everyone is in slo mo except Sayers.
I have never seen the equal of him in the open field.

Agreed. His ability to change direction in the open field while running at full speed was uncanny. Sometimes it seemed as if he had eyes in the back of his head, the way he could make a would-be tackler come up missing everything. It was like trying to tackle the wind. Jim Brown was the best all-around running back of his day (and arguably the best all-around RB ever), but Sayers in the open field was like watching a ballet star at work. He was just remarkable. And off the field he couldn't have been nicer. I'm not sure I've ever watched Brian's Song and not had a tear in my eye at the end.

 

[savvyandsassier]

Hard to believe someone could be so caught up on something so petty as you and CW, sr and family.

You are such a small person in so many ways. To use a thread about Gale Sayers DEATH to further your idiotic vendetta.

God damn, you are seriously one diseased MAGA turd. I made a passing comment in this thread, on account of the interest I took in the fascinating rise of Charlie Weis Jr., and this is where you want to make a run at me? Of all subjects?

And you invent some vendetta I have against the Weis clan, when I've done nothing but defend and extol them, both father and junior, for the last week. I declared Weis jr to be a prodigy, I defended Weis Sr. as the original prodigy, who managed to get himself all the way to the NFL from nothing, and then train his son to do the same thing. Like, I expressed serious and considered admiration and almost wonder at how impressive both these dudes are in their admittedly peculiar way. And now you say I'm disrespecting them.

I can't say I'm surprised. Probably on account of your intense inner demons that you pick some random subject to take an opportunity to lash out at me, and you couldn't be more wrong. Whatever, par for the course.....

 

[burmafrd1943]

God damn, you are seriously one diseased MAGA turd. I made a passing comment in this thread, on account of the interest I took in the fascinating rise of Charlie Weis Jr., and this is where you want to make a run at me? Of all subjects?

And you invent some vendetta I have against the Weis clan, when I've done nothing but defend and extol them, both father and junior, for the last week. I declared Weis jr to be a prodigy, I defended Weis Sr. as the original prodigy, who managed to get himself all the way to the NFL from nothing, and then train his son to do the same thing. Like, I expressed serious and considered admiration and almost wonder at how impressive both these dudes are in their admittedly peculiar way. And now you say I'm disrespecting them.

I can't say I'm surprised. Probably on account of your intense inner demons that you pick some random subject to take an opportunity to lash out at me, and you couldn't be more wrong. Whatever, par for the course.....

Wow the delusions you have are immense. Really need professional help. This crazy notion that no one who never played can ever be a top coach is really beyond stupid.

 

[burmafrd1943]

Agreed. His ability to change direction in the open field while running at full speed was uncanny. Sometimes it seemed as if he had eyes in the back of his head, the way he could make a would-be tackler come up missing everything. It was like trying to tackle the wind. Jim Brown was the best all-around running back of his day (and arguably the best all-around RB ever), but Sayers in the open field was like watching a ballet star at work. He was just remarkable. And off the field he couldn't have been nicer. I'm not sure I've ever watched Brian's Song and not had a tear in my eye at the end.

Brian's Song was a little dramatized as they were not as close as it showed. Very good friends but not brothers.

Gale in the open field was something else. You can dig around and find some accounts by secondary players at that time and they all agreed that they feared Gale in the open field more than anyone else in the game.

I remember one quote about a DB who had played against Jim Brown and Sayers
"Jim Brown was cancer; he killed you slowly. Gale Sayers was a gun shot to the head."

 

[Bodizephax]

Brians song ! One of the top tv movies of all time !

 

[burmafrd1943]

Brians song ! One of the top tv movies of all time !

I was JUST old enough to see it the first time it was shown on TV. We lived not that far from Chicago at the time so it made even more of an impact.

 

[savvyandsassier]

Wow the delusions you have are immense. Really need professional help. This crazy notion that no one who never played can ever be a top coach is really beyond stupid.

I will give you credit, you are incorrigible. And you will keep coming back for more.

 

[Chest Brockwell]

Weren't there stories about Pete Carroll giving young Reggie Bush game film of Gale Sayers to study?

As much as I hated Reggie Bush, especially in 05, after I read that I looked up Gale Sayers highlights, and the fluidity of his running was uncanny.

I still need to watch Brian's Song. From what I hear I need to pick a good night for a cry. Tuesdays With Morrie, Remember the Titans, etc, make me want to save it for a night where I won't have to explain how I got something in my eye, and I'm not crying, you're crying.

 

[Irishjohn68]

I remember reading Brian's Song in grade school. Never saw the movie. Great book. RIP.

 

[burmafrd1943]

I will give you credit, you are incorrigible. And you will keep coming back for more.

You really do need professional help.

 

[mistygreen]

The Bears got Sayers and Butkus because of the success of Lombardi's Packers with Hornung and Taylor. Everyone wanted big backs and the first two players drafted were fullbacks.

 

[HDK]

Sayers, without a doubt, was the most exciting football player I've ever seen -- and I was a Packers fan. I remember when he suffered that terrible knee injury. My memory is hazy, but I think members of the 49ers helped to carry him off the field, which I took as a show of respect.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

The Bears got Sayers and Butkus because of the success of Lombardi's Packers with Hornung and Taylor. Everyone wanted big backs and the first two players drafted were fullbacks.

That is a very interesting point, @mistygreen. Tucker Frederickson (NYG) and Ken Willard (49ers) went 1 and 2 in the 1965 NFL draft. Interesting tidbit: Frederickson went to the same high school as Brian Piccolo, who would end up being Sayers' teammate and be the subject of "Brian's Song."

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

Sayers, without a doubt, was the most exciting football player I've ever seen -- and I was a Packers fan. I remember when he suffered that terrible knee injury. My memory is hazy, but I think members of the 49ers helped to carry him off the field, which I took as a show of respect.

It was a terrible injury and I remember my grandfather (who attended the game) telling me that the whole stadium went dead silent when they realized Sayers had been injured. I've seen film of Sayers getting carried off the field and then being taken to the locker room. They didn't have golf carts in those days to cart guys off, and Wrigley Field (where Bears home games were then played) was so small I'm not sure there would have been anywhere to park a golf cart anyway.

As a Packers fan you may remember that the week before the 49ers game (when Sayers was injured) he had probably his most productive game ever, and it came against the Packers. In that game Sayers ran for 205 yards, which was then a Bears record. (Years later Walter Payton ran the ball 40 times for 275 yards in a 10-7 game against the Vikings.) I remember watching that Bears/Packers game on TV, and thinking Sayers might score every time he got the ball.

It was ironic that Sayers' career probably ended in that 1969 game against the 49ers, being that Sayers will forever be remembered for the game against the 49ers in his 1965 rookie season when he scored 6 TDs against the 49ers on a wet, sloppy field. I was listening to the game on the radio and remember that late in the game the Bears were knocking on the 49ers goal line, and the Bears' HC, George Halas, took Sayers out of the game. The move was met by a chorus of boos from Bears' fans, who wanted to see Sayers score a 7th TD.

 

[TDIrish27]

He probably had a clause in his contract that he gets $ 500 if he scores 7 in a game and Coach Halas wasn't having any of that.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

He probably had a clause in his contract that he gets $ 500 if he scores 7 in a game and Coach Halas wasn't having any of that.

You are probably right. Mike Ditka, unhappy about his contract negotiations with the Bears, once famously said of Coach Halas (also the owner of the team): "He throws around nickels like manhole covers."

 

[HDK]

You are probably right. Mike Ditka, unhappy about his contract negotiations with the Bears, once famously said of Coach Halas (also the owner of the team): "He throws around nickels like manhole covers."

I remember both the manhole covers line and Sayers' performance against the Packers.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

Here is a nice piece that SI did on Gale Sayers about 10 years ago:

PART III: The Icon

The knee lasted nearly 37 years after its magic was gone. That's what Gale Sayers's teammates called him: Magic. Because of the things he did on a football

vault.si.com

I love the descriptions of Sayers' fluid open field running style, and how he frequently embarrassed tacklers trying to stop him. I was in high school then, and was really into NFL football. I was lucky enough to have listened to or watched every single game of Sayers' career. He was like nothing I've ever seen, before or since. I feel very fortunate to have seen him play in person about a half dozen times. The fans in Wrigley Field (where the Bears then played) just sort of held their collective breath every time Sayers got the ball, wondering if they were about to again see something magical, especially on punt or kick returns. His nickname among his Bears teammates--"Magic"--was truly apropos.

The descriptions in the story of the carnage done to both of Sayers' knees, and the inability of medical science in those days to really fix it, is pretty chilling. It is a stark contrast to what orthopedic surgeons can do today with serious knee injuries.

What a player.

 

[burmafrd1943]

Here is a nice piece that SI did on Gale Sayers about 10 years ago:

PART III: The Icon

The knee lasted nearly 37 years after its magic was gone. That's what Gale Sayers's teammates called him: Magic. Because of the things he did on a football

vault.si.com

I love the descriptions of Sayers' fluid open field running style, and how he frequently embarrassed tacklers trying to stop him. I was in high school then, and was really into NFL football. I was lucky enough to have listened to or watched every single game of Sayers' career. He was like nothing I've ever seen, before or since. I feel very fortunate to have seen him play in person about a half dozen times. The fans in Wrigley Field (where the Bears then played) just sort of held their collective breath every time Sayers got the ball, wondering if they were about to again see something magical, especially on punt or kick returns. His nickname among his Bears teammates--"Magic"--was truly apropos.

The descriptions in the story of the carnage done to both of Sayers' knees, and the inability of medical science in those days to really fix it, is pretty chilling. It is a stark contrast to what orthopedic surgeons can do today with serious knee injuries.

What a player.

It is truly amazing how far knee surgery has come in 50 years. Of course all surgeries but every year now a number of players come back virtually 100% from injuries that were career enders in the 60's.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

It is truly amazing how far knee surgery has come in 50 years. Of course all surgeries but every year now a number of players come back virtually 100% from injuries that were career enders in the 60's.

Yes, the advances made in orthopedic surgery are indeed amazing. In reading the SI story on Sayers, I was shocked at just how primitive surgical techniques for the knee were back in 1968, when Sayers had his first major knee injury. According to Dr. James Andrews (one of the country's preeminent sports surgeons), they couldn't actually repair an ACL tear in those days, so they just tried to strengthen the peripheral tendons in the knee. In Sayers' case, he tore his ACL and likely the other ligaments on the inside of his knee (I assume his MCL?). I think that probably explains why Sayers was never really the same after 1968. Doctors simply weren't capable of putting his knee back together. Plus, in those days team doctors weren't necessarily always looking out for the best interests of the player. With the money that is in the NFL game now, players are able to look out after themselves if they don't trust what the team doctor is telling them.

Nowadays ACL surgery and reconstruction is pretty common place. An ACL tear isn't a career ender anymore.

 

[HDK]

The biggest single advance, in my mind, is arthroscopic surgery, which greatly reduces the exterior damage. I remember when I was a kid, my father tore cartilage in his knee when he was in his early 50s. The scare was huge because they basically cut open his knee and sewed the cartilage back together. It took him months to recover, and I don't think it was considered a really bad tear.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

The biggest single advance, in my mind, is arthroscopic surgery, which greatly reduces the exterior damage. I remember when I was a kid, my father tore cartilage in his knee when he was in his early 50s. The scare was huge because they basically cut open his knee and sewed the cartilage back together. It took him months to recover, and I don't think it was considered a really bad tear.

Yes, there is no question but that arthroscopy was a game changer for orthopedic injuries. Back in the mid-1960s one of my high school buddies suffered a meniscus tear, like your dad, and he had the same kind of surgery performed, leaving a long scar (probably 6-8") on the inside of his knee. I remember him being in the hospital for a few days and, like your dad, taking months to recover. Arthroscopic surgery changed all of that. I find it interesting that a Japanese surgeon performed the first arthroscopic knee surgery all the way back in 1962; arthroscopic surgery wasn't performed in the US until 1974.

 

[burmafrd1943]

Imagine a Joe Namath today when his knees could be repaired....

 

[fromtheburchs]

You look at game film of him in the open field and its like everyone is in slo mo except Sayers.
I have never seen the equal of him in the open field.

Everybody was in slo-mo except Sayers back then. Defenses were built way differently. That’s why you never see runs like he had anymore.