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[Page S5934]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING GALE SAYERS
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, when Chicago Bears football great Gale
Sayers was on the field, you knew something extraordinary would happen.
The press labeled him the ``Kansas Comet.'' His teammates called him
``Magic.'' He did things in the NFL that had not been seen before, and
few have come close to matching decades later.
Gale famously said that all he needed was 18 inches of daylight
before he would change a game's dynamic. He was an unmatched running
back, a star receiver, and his kick returning records remain to this
day. But with everything with Gale, there was never enough time. His
legendary career was cut short by injury.
He passed away recently, and today, we pay our respect to an
extraordinary life.
Gale Eugene Sayers was born in Wichita, KS, in 1943. His father was a
mechanic and a car polisher, and his mother was a homemaker. His family
moved to Omaha, NE, in the early fifties, and Gale had his chance to
play sports for the first time there. At the age of 13, he was playing
kids who were 19 and 20 years old. Gale learned early on that he didn't
want to be tackled by larger people, so he made sure he wasn't. In high
school, he was not only a star running back, but he was also a track
star. His record in long jump stood for 44 years.
Dozens of colleges offered Gale scholarships, but he chose Kansas
University because he liked the coach and that it was relatively close
to home. There, he was dubbed the Kansas Comet. He was the first player
in NCAA Division 1A history to record a 99-yard run when he broke loose
against the University of Nebraska in 1963. His two-time All-American
honors led to the Bears picking him as the No. 4 overall pick in the
1965 NFL Draft.
Gale Sayers' NFL career began like lightning. He returned a punt 77
yards in his first preseason game, returned a kickoff 93 yards, and
threw a touchdown pass with his nondominant hand. For the season, he
led the league in all-purpose yards and set the league record at the
time of 22 touchdowns, earning the rookie of the year award.
Wrigley Field is famously the home of the Chicago Cubs, but the
greatest performance on that field was by Gale Sayers. The Chicago
Bears played there from 1921 to 1970. In December 1965, Wrigley Field's
playing surface was terrible. Players of both the Chicago Bears and San
Francisco 49ers were struggling to keep their footing in the rain, but
Gale wasn't one of them. He scored six touchdowns that day. He might
have scored seven or eight, but with a lopsided score, Bears Coach
George Halas sat him down. The 49ers went on to form a special defense
just for Gale Sayers.
Sayers had many brilliant games, but one of the revolutionary moments
his life was off the field when he was roommates with fullback Brian
Piccolo.
Sayers and Piccolo were the NFL's first interracial roommate duo.
When many lines were drawn between Black and White players, Sayers and
Piccolo set a new path for the league. They became best friends.
On November 10, 1968, the Bears faced the 49ers again, and Sayers
took a toss run play like he had done so many times. The 49ers
defensive player put his shoulder into Sayers' knee, and it bent
sideways. Sayers needed to be carted off the field. His knee would
never be the same. The rehabilitation program was difficult, but with
Piccolo's encouragement, Sayers was able to return the following year.
Gale returned to playing in 1969, earning the NFL Comeback Player of
the Year, but Piccolo became ill. Piccolo was coughing for weeks, and
he was diagnosed with embryonic cell carcinoma.
He underwent surgery, but the disease had spread to other organs. In
May, Gale earned the George S. Halas Award, an award recognizing the
league's most courageous player. In his speech for the award, Gale
dedicated it to Brian Piccolo. Piccolo died on June 16, 1970, at the
age of 26. Gale was a pallbearer at the funeral. The chapter on their
friendship in Gale's autobiography, ``I Am Third,'' is the basis of the
1971 movie ``Brian's Song,'' the most-watched TV movie in history at
the time.
In 1971, Gale suffered another knee injury, and it was never right
again. He retired in 1972 at the age of 29. It is a testament to the
extraordinary talent of Gale Sayers, only playing 68 games, that in
1977, he was Ge youngest player ever to be voted into the NFL Hall of
Fame at the age of 34. His statistics still remain competitive and as
records decades later.
After his NFL career, Gale returned to the University of Kansas as an
assistant athletic director and student. He completed his bachelor's
degree in physical education in 1975 and received a master's degree in
educational administration in 1977. He was the athletic director at
Southern Illinois University until 1981. Gale also supported the
Cradle, a Chicago-area adoption agency that launched the Ardythe and
Gale Sayers Center for African American Adoption in 1999. In 2007, Gale
testified in Congress along with several other players that the NFL
needed to improve its disability benefits system for retired players.
Sayers is survived by his wife Ardythe Elaine Bullard, his brothers
Roger and Ron, his sons Timothy and Scott, his daughter Gale Lynne, and
his stepsons Guy, Gaylon, and Gary.
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