Hall of Fame RB Gale Sayers dies

Gale Sayers, the dazzling Chicago Bears running back and kick returner whose injury-shortened career made him the youngest player ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died Tuesday, the

Pro Football Hall of Fame said, after a years-long decline in health that included dementia. He was 77.

The “Kansas Comet,” was one of the most agile and elusive ball carriers ever.

“If you wish to see perfection as a running back, you had best get a hold of a film of Gale Sayers,” Bears founder George Halas said in 1977 when he presented Sayers for Hall of Fame enshrinement. “He was poetry in motion. His like will never be seen again.”

Sayers’ dynamic running ability helped him earn All-Pro recognition in each of his five full seasons. It also left teammates, coaches, fans and pundits to wonder what he might have accomplished in football had knee injuries not ended his career in 1971 after only seven seasons (68 games).

Sayers rushed for 4,956 yards and scored 56 touchdowns in his career.

Sayers amassed 9,435 all-purpose yards, which ranks fourth in Bears history behind Walter Payton, running back Matt Forte (12,718) and return specialist Devin Hester (10,196).

Gale Eugene Sayers was born May 30, 1943, in Wichita, Kansas. He was raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and starred in football and track at Omaha Central High School. He set the state long jump record of 24 feet, 11 3⁄4 inches. At Kansas he became a two-time AllAmerican in football.

The Bears drafted Sayers fourth overall in 1965. Remarkably, it was only one spot after the Bears picked future Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, all All-American out of Illinois.

Sayers set the Bears’ single-season touchdowns record with 22 as a rookie (14 rushing, six receiving and one each on kickoff and

punt returns). He went on to to be named NFL Rookie of the Year, and his touchdowns record stood until 1975 as the NFL mark for all players regardless of tenure

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