Candidate #11: Gale Sayers
Halfback >>> 6-0, 198
(Kansas)
1965-1971 Chicago Bears
Gale Eugene Sayers. . .Kansas All-America. . .Exceptional break-away runner. . .Scored rookie record 22 TDs, 132 points, 1965. . .Led NFL rushers, 1966, 1969. . .Named all-time NFL halfback, 1969. . . All-NFL five straight years. . .Player of Game in three Pro Bowls. . .Career totals: 9,435 combined net yards, 4,956 yards rushing, 336 points. . . NFL lifetime kickoff return leader. . .Born May 30, 1943, in Wichita, Kansas.
Gale Sayers burst upon the pro football scene in 1965 with the kind of an impact that the sport had not felt in many years. It is difficult to imagine a more dynamic debut than the one he enjoyed as a rookie. In his first heavy pre-season action, he raced 77 yards on a punt return, 93 yards on a kickoff return, and then startled everyone with a 25-yard scoring pass against the Los Angeles Rams.
In regular season, he scored four touchdowns, including a 96-yard game breaking kickoff return, against the Minnesota Vikings. And, in the next-to-last game, playing on a muddy field that would have stalled most runners, Gale scored a record-tying six touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers. Included in his sensational spree were an 80-yard pass-run play, a 50-yard rush and a 65-yard punt return. For the entire season, Gale scored 22 touchdowns and 132 points, both then-rookie records.
Quiet, unassuming, and always ready to compliment a teammate for a key block, Sayers continued to sizzle in 1967 and well into the 1968 season. Then, in the ninth game, Sayers suffered a knee injury that required immediate surgery.
After a tortuous rehabilitation program, Gale came back in 1969 in a most spectacular manner, winding up with his second 1,000-yard rushing season and universal Comeback of the Year honors. But injuries continued to take their toll and, just before the 1972 season, Gale finally had to call it quits.
In his relatively short career, he compiled a record that can never be forgotten. His totals show 9,435 combined net yards, 4,956 yards rushing, and 336 points scored. At the time of his retirement he was the NFL's all-time leader in kickoff returns. He won All-NFL honors five straight years and was named Offensive Player of the Game in three of the four Pro Bowls in which he played.
Code:
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1965 chi | 14 | 166 867 5.2 14 | 29 507 17.5 6 |
| 1966 chi | 14 | 229 1231 5.4 8 | 34 447 13.1 2 |
| 1967 chi | 13 | 186 880 4.7 7 | 16 126 7.9 1 |
| 1968 chi | 9 | 138 856 6.2 2 | 15 117 7.8 0 |
| 1969 chi | 14 | 236 1032 4.4 8 | 17 116 6.8 0 |
| 1970 chi | 2 | 23 52 2.3 0 | 1 -6 -6.0 0 |
| 1971 chi | 2 | 13 38 2.9 0 | 0 0 0.0 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 68 | 991 4956 5.0 39 | 112 1307 11.7 9 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
Seasons among the league's top 10
Rushes: 1965-7, 1966-3, 1967-7, 1969-1
Rushing yards: 1965-2, 1966-1, 1967-3, 1968-5, 1969-1
Rushing TDs: 1965-2, 1966-2t, 1967-4, 1969-3t
Yards from scrimmage: 1965-3, 1966-1, 1969-4
Rush/Receive TDs: 1965-2, 1966-6t
Gale Sayers is not in the all-time top 50 in any major category.
Postseason data
None available.