Gale Sayers

Gale Oswald Sayers (born May 30, 1943 in Wichita, Kansas), also known as "The Kansas Comet", was a former professional football player in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears.

Related Topics:
May 30 - 1943 - Wichita, Kansas - Football - National Football League - Chicago Bears

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Sayers was an impressive 2-time All-American player at the University of Kansas and it showed in the NFL. He was NFL Rookie of the Year in 1965 and had the amazing feat of being the only rookie at the time to score six touchdowns in a game and he scored a record 22 touchdowns in his rookie year. In his second season, despite attempts of revamping defenses, Sayers led the league in rushing with 1,231 yards.

Related Topics:
University of Kansas - NFL - 1965 - Touchdown

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But in a game against the San Francisco 49ers in 1968, Sayers was chopped down after recieving a pitch and had torn ligaments in his right knee, ending the season for him. Soon he had surgery and rehabilition. His comback was successful though. In the 1969 season he led the league in rushing once again, but he lacked the speed he once had.

Related Topics:
San Francisco 49ers - 1968 - 1969

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Once again, in 1970, Sayers was injured. This time on his left knee, and so rehabilitation followed. Once again he tried for a comeback, but it was not as successful as the last. He was encouraged to retire, due to his loss of speed. His final game was in the preseason, where he was handed the ball three times, and fumbled twice.

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Sayers retired from football during the 1971 campaign, and began a career as a CEO for a computer company. In 1977 he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame and in 1994 he had his uniform number, 40, retired at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Related Topics:
1971 - CEO - 1977 - Pro Football Hall of Fame - 1994

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His friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo, and Piccolo's struggle with the cancer that would eventually kill him, became the subject of the legendary made-for-TV movie Brian's Song. The movie, in which Sayers was portrayed by Billy Dee Williams, was adapted from Sayers' telling of this story in his 1971 autobiography I Am Third.

Related Topics:
Brian Piccolo - Cancer - Brian's Song - Billy Dee Williams - Autobiography - I Am Third

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