Gale Sayers, An NFL Legend
NFL Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers has passed away at 77 years old. All I can say to today's young football fans not familiar with the name is..........Google It!
In a career shortened by injuries, Sayers became the measuring stick by which future great running backs with shifty moves would be judged. O.J. Simpson, Walter Payton, Marcus Allen, Barry Sanders, Adrian Peterson and all those greats not included here were preceded by the man who once scored six touchdowns in one game.
They said he ran like he had eyes in the back of his head. Just as a defender approached for a sure tackle from behind, Sayers would cut away to his left or right, leaving the hapless tackler grasping at air. In one interview he explained this uncanny ability of his as plain old instinct. Yes, an instinctive runner who was fast, shifty and downright untacklable, if there is such a word. That was the great Gale Sayers. A few with like skills have come after him, but none left their mark on the game of football with such permanence.
Gale Sayers made an impression on me as a young pop warner football player watching the movie "Brian's Song" in the early 1970's. It's the story about Sayers friendship with Chicago Bears teammate/ Brian Piccolo, who's diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was the first movie that made me cry and at the same time taught life lessons in friendship and teamwork (selflessness). I'm proud to say I never forgot those lessons learned from Gale and Brians' friendship.
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