THE CLASS OF ’75: MORE THAN JUST WALTER PAYTON
Even with the great Walter Payton at the top, the Bears’ 1975 rookie class is often overshadowed. Payton was the only member to make even one Pro Bowl. The team finished 4-10. But it featured nine rookie starters and 14 first-year players who would form the nucleus of teams that would — albeit modestly — end the worst rut in franchise history.
The Bears’ 4-10 season in 1975 was their seventh consecutive losing season — an overall run of 28-69-1 — since finishing 7-7 in 1968. General manager Jim Finks’ first draft class turned the tide. He drafted Payton out of Jackson State fourth overall and followed with a run of future starters: defensive end Mike Hartenstine (second round), cornerback Virgil Livers (fourth), guard Revie Sorey (fifth), quarterback Bob Avellini (sixth), linebacker Tom Hicks (sixth), defensive tackle Roger Stillwell (ninth), safety Doug Plank (12th) and fullback Roland Harper (17th).
Finks later acquired five other NFL rookies who would help out. He signed tight end Greg Latta and center Dan Peiffer from Jack Pardee’s Florida Blazers of the World Football League. He signed running back Johnny Musso from the Canadian Football League. He acquired guard Noah Jackson in a trade with the Colts. And he signed kicker Bob Thomas on waivers from the Rams.
The foundation Finks and Pardee built with that rookie class paid dividends. In 1976, the Bears finished 7-7 — their first non-losing season since 1968. In 1977, with Payton rushing for 1,852 yards in his MVP season and 10 other members of the 1975 first-year class starting, the Bears finished 9-5 and made the playoffs for the first time since their 1963 NFL championship. It ended the longest playoff drought in franchise history.