With yet another season slipping away, Bears fans probably could use a dose of Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers.
It is available in multiple forms. At 9 p.m. Friday, the NFL Network’s “A Football Life” series examines the two Hall of Famers whose careers became intertwined when the Bears selected them third and fourth overall in the first round of the 1965 draft.
Also, a new book, “Football: Great Writing about the National Sport,” edited by former Sun-Times columnist John Schulian, features classic, in-depth profiles of Butkus and Sayers from when they still were in the process of making their highlight reels.
The film and book underscore how enduring images of the greatness of Butkus and Sayers transcended their relatively short careers.
“With Sayers, it’s hard to capture in words his grace and elegance,” Schulian said. “Butkus was iconic. He was the classic middle linebacker who dreamed of tackling the quarterback and seeing his head roll down the field. It doesn’t get more classic than that.”
Indeed, David Swain and Dave Douglas, the documentary’s producers, said they had “an embarrassment of riches” when it came to selecting footage from their careers. Decades later, video of Sayers’ dazzling runs and the intimidating ferocity of Butkus are truly awe-inspiring whether seen for the first time or the 100th time.
Yet what comes out in both platforms are the human sides of the men. In the book, Arthur Kretchmer spent weeks hanging with Butkus for his 1971 piece that ran in Playboy. It included a passage about his mother.
“When you saw him play, you didn’t think he even had a mother,” Schulian said.
Douglas also wasn’t surprised to find Butkus to be a bit gruff during the initial stages of the interview for the film.
“He still was the linebacker, probing for my weaknesses, trying to find the best way to attack to you,” Douglas said.
However, Douglas said once Butkus trusted him, he became extremely engaging and even “playful,” a word not often associated with Butkus. The final scene shows perhaps the most terrifying player in NFL history cradling his young grandchild.
“It reveals a different side of Butkus,” Douglas said.
Meanwhile, Al Silverman’s Sport magazine profile of Sayers in 1969 details perhaps for the first time the running back’s bond with Brian Piccolo. Back then, black and white players weren’t expected to mix off the field.
Silverman wrote of the banter that included Piccolo, mocking the racist views of others, saying in front of Sayers, “We’re OK, as long as he doesn’t use the bathroom.”
“It was a prelude to (the movie ‘Brian’s Song’),” Schulian said. “They were two guys in love with the game, and they loved each other in a brotherly sense.”
The Sport story occurred while Piccolo was trying to help Sayers recover from the devastating knee injury that forever altered the arc of his career in 1968. Less than a year later, Piccolo would die of cancer.
In the NFL Network film, Sayers, with his lips quivering, becomes extremely emotional in discussing two of the major defining moments in his life.
“I’ve been at NFL Films for 28 years, and the interview with Gale was the single most powerful one I have ever done,” Swain said. “His sense of humanity and his passion after all this time was striking. I was in awe of what he did on the field. I came away in awe of who he is as a person after that interview.”
Ultimately, both Hall of Famers were linked in another way.
“Both were betrayed by their knees,” Schulian said.
Indeed, the bitterness can be felt when Sayers says, “People think I played 10 years. I only played 68 games.”
Butkus barely could move during the latter stages of his nine-year career. Yet the former Bears greats still managed to leave indelible marks on the game. In the film, their former teammate, Mike Ditka, notes the unprecedented fortune of the Bears using consecutive picks to land the best-ever pure runner and the best-ever linebacker in 1965.
No arguments from anyone in Chicago.
“Sayers still is the yardstick for elusiveness,” Douglas said. “Butkus still is the yardstick for toughness.”
Remote patrol: Besides Sayers and Butkus, the Bears are well-represented in Schulian’s book. Included is a write-up of the Bears’ 73-0 victory over Washington in the 1940 NFL championship game. Shirley Povich of the Washington Post wrote: “If you’re wanting to know what happened to the Redskins yesterday, maybe this will explain it: The Bears happened to ’em.” … NFL Network also will air “A Football Life” film on Roger Staubach at 8 p.m. Friday. … NFL Network will have what seems to be a cast of thousands on hand for its coverage of the Bears-Dallas game Thursday. Rich Eisen and James Brown will host the network’s pregame show from Soldier Field at 5 p.m. … Thursday’s game also will air on 5CBS-2.
Special contributor Ed Sherman writes about sports media at shermanreport.com. Follow him @Sherman_Report.
