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Gale Eugene Sayers (born May 30, 1943 in Wichita, Kansas), also known as "The Kansas Comet", was a professional football player in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears.
College career and rookie NFL season
Sayers, raised in Omaha, Nebraska, 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 accomplished the amazing feat of being the only rookie at the time to score six touchdowns in a game (running flat-footed on an extremely muddy field in Chicago against the San Francisco 49ers) en route to scoring a record 22 touchdowns in his rookie year.
First and second injuries
In his second season, despite the attempts of defenses focused on him, Sayers led the league in rushing with 1,231 yards.
But in a game against the San Francisco 49ers in 1968, Sayers was chopped down by Kermit Alexander after receiving a pitch, and tore ligaments in his right knee, ending his season prematurely. He had surgery and rehabilition and made a successful comeback. In the 1969 season he led the league in rushing once again, but he lacked the lightning speed he once had.
Once again, in 1970, Sayers suffered a knee injury, this time to his left knee. During his off time, he took classes at the University of New York to become a stock broker and became the first black stock broker in his company's history. After another rehabilitation period, he tried for a comeback, but was not successful. He was encouraged to retire, due to his loss of speed. His final game was in the preseason; he was handed the ball three times and fumbled twice.
Sayers retired from football during the 1971 campaign, and began a career as CEO of a computer company. In 1977, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 1994, he had his uniform number, 40, retired at Soldier Field in Chicago. On the same evening, his contemporary Dick Butkus, a legendary Bears linebacker, was similarly honored.
Devoted friendship, Sayers/Piccolo
His friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo, and Piccolo's struggle with the cancer that would eventually result in his death, became the subject of the legendary made-for-TV movie Brian's Song, and is what Sayers is best known for. The movie, in which Sayers was portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in the 1971 original, and by Mekhi Phifer in the 2001 remake, was adapted from Sayers' own telling of this story in his 1971 autobiography I Am Third.
A notable aspect of Sayers' friendship with Piccolo, a white man, and the first film's depiction of their friendship, was its effect on race relations. The first film was made in the wake of racial riots and charges of discrimination across the nation. Sayers and Piccolo were devoted friends and deeply respectful of and affectionate with each other. Piccolo helped Sayers through rehabilitation after injury, and Sayers was by Piccolo's side throughout his illness.
The 1971 film is also a notorious tear-jerker and considered to be a very touching film.
Legacy
Sayers was famous for a quote captured by NFL Films, in which he stated: "Just give me eighteen inches of daylight... that's all I need." Though his career statistics may at first seem unremarkable, his greatness is obvious when one discovers how short his career actually was. Due to injuries Sayers averaged less than ten games per season over a seven year career.
Today, Sayers is a successful public speaker, businessman, and philanthropist, and is also active as a National Football League alumnus. He is still the NFL's all-time leader in kickoff return yardage.
External links
1943 births | Living people | People from Kansas | Wichitans | Omahans | Kappa Alpha Psi brothers | African American football players | American football running backs | Kansas Jayhawks football players | Chicago Bears players | Pro Football Hall of Fame | NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
"Gale Sayers"