Here’s a look at all 28 members the Bears have in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

SHARE Here’s a look at all 28 members the Bears have in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
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New Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher poses with his bust after Saturday’s enshrinement ceremony. | AP photo

Brian Urlacher is the 28th member of the Bears’ organization in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — more than any other NFL team, including the Packers, who are second with 25. Here’s a capsule look at the Hall of Famers who’ve made the Bears one of the most storied franchises in NFL history:

George Halas

Position/Years: end (1920-29)

Hall of Fame: 1963

All-Pro: 1 time

NFL titles: 1 (1921)

Native Chicagoan who played at Crane and Illinois, Halas was one of the NFL’s founding fathers and won 324 games and six NFL titles in 40 seasons as a head coach. As a player, he was named to the NFL’s all-decade team for the 1920s. His 98-yard return of a Jim Thorpe fumble for a touchdown in 1923 was an NFL record that stood until 1972.

Red Grange

Position/Years: running back/defensive back (1925, 1929-34)

Hall of Fame: 1963

All-Pro: 3 times

NFL titles: 2 (1932, 1933)

A star at Wheaton and a phenomenon at Illinois, the “Galloping Ghost” helped legitimize pro football when he signed with the Bears in 1925. Slowed by a knee injury against the Bears in 1927, Grange rejoined the team in 1929 and became one of the top defensive backs in the league. He had a game-saving tackle in the 1933 title game.

Bronko Nagurski

Position/Years: fullback (1930-37, 1943)

Hall of Fame: 1963

All-Pro: 4 times

NFL titles: 3 (1932, 1933, 1943)

Devastating runner and blocker who also threw touchdown passes in the 1932 and 1933 NFL championship games and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the 1943 title game. Became the pro wrestling heavyweight world champion during his five-year hiatus from the Bears before returning as a left tackle in 1943.

George Trafton

Position/Years: center (1920-32)

Hall of Fame: 1964

All-Pro: 6 times

NFL titles: 2 (1921, 1932)

Feisty, scrappy Chicago native and original Decatur Staley was the premier center in the NFL’s infancy. Notre Dame product was the first center to snap the ball with one hand. Also one of the first defenders to drop into coverage on passing plays. In a three-year span (1919-21), he played for championship teams under Knute Rockne and George Halas.

Ed Healey

Position/Years: end (1922-27)

Hall of Fame: 1964

All-Pro: 4 times

George Halas’ purchase of Healey from Rock Island for $100 — the same price he paid to join the league — was the first player purchase in pro football history. And well worth it. With size and speed, the 6-1, 207-pound Healey was considered the best tackle in football in the early 1920s. Halas called him “the most versatile tackle of all time.”

Roy ‘Link’ Lyman

Position/Years: tackle (1926-28, 1930-31, 1933-34)

Hall of Fame: 1964

All-Pro: 5 times

NFL titles: 4 (1922 and 1923 with Canton, 1924 with Cleveland, 1933 with Bears)

A defensive star, Lyman is credited with pioneering the shifting pre-snap style of line play. In 1934, Lyman helped preserve an unbeaten regular season when his late fumble recovery led to Jack Manders’ last-minute field goal for a 10-9 victory against the Giants. The Bears went 13-0 but were upset by the Giants in the championship game.

Danny Fortmann

Position/Years: guard (1936-43)

Hall of Fame: 1965

All-Pro: 6 times

NFL titles: 3 (1940, 1941, 1943)

A ninth-round pick in the first NFL draft, Fortmann became the premier guard in football. The Bears were 72-19-2 in his eight seasons. Earned a medical degree from the University of Chicago while playing for the Bears. In 1943, he was a resident physician at a Pittsburgh hospital and commuted to Chicago the day before each game to start for the Bears and win his third NFL title.

Paddy Driscoll

Position/Years: running back (1926-29)

Hall of Fame: 1965

All-Pro: 6 times

NFL titles: 1 (1925 with the Chicago Cardinals)

George Halas called Driscoll — an Evanston native — “the greatest athlete I ever knew.” Driscoll was a runner, passer, returner, punter and a master of the drop kick — with 51 career field goals, including two then-record 50-yarders. He coached the Bears in 1956, when they won the Western Division (9-2-1).

Clyde ‘Bulldog’ Turner

Position/Years: center (1940-52)

Hall of Fame: 1966

All-Pro: 8 times

NFL titles: 4 (1940, 1941, 1943, 1946)

Heady, quick center/linebacker was a powerful blocker and great all-around player. Returned an interception for a touchdown in the 73-0 rout of the Redskins in the 1940 title game. Led the NFL with eight interceptions in 1942. His only rushing attempt went for a 48-yard touchdown.

George McAfee

Position/Years: running back (1940-41, 1945-50)

Hall of Fame: 1966

All-Pro: 3 times

NFL titles: 3 (1940, 1941, 1946)

Tremendously versatile big-play performer, McAfee had a 44-yard run with a fake punt, a 93-yard kickoff return and a nine-yard touchdown run and threw an eight-yard touchdown pass — in his first NFL game. His 12.8-yard career punt-return average is still an NFL record. Also had 25 interceptions, 17 forced fumbles and 13 fumble recoveries in a 75-game career.

Sid Luckman | Sun-Times

Sid Luckman | Sun-Times

Sid Luckman

Position/Years: quarterback (1939-50)

Hall of Fame: 1965

All-Pro: 5 times

NFL titles: 4 (1940, 1941, 1943, 1946)

Luckman’s mastery of the T-formation sparked the Bears to unprecedented dominance in the 1940s. He was the Most Valuable Player in 1943, when he set NFL records for touchdown passes (28, including seven in one game) and yards (2,194). Luckman was the Bears’ all-time leader in passing yards (14,686) and touchdown passes (137) until both marks were eclipsed by Jay Cutler.

Joe Stydahar

Position/Years: tackle (1936-42, 1945-46)

Hall of Fame: 1967

All-Pro: 6 times

NFL titles: 3 (1940, 1941, 1946)

The Bears’ first draft pick — sixth overall in 1936 out of West Virginia — was a star on offense and defense on the championship teams of 1940, 1941 and 1946. Stydahar was the top vote-getter for the 1937 All-NFL team. He was a gunnery officer in World War II before returning to the Bears in 1946.

Bill Hewitt

Position/Years: end (1932-36)

Hall of Fame: 1971

All-Pro: 4 times

NFL titles: 2 (1932, 1933)

Unheralded player from Michigan, the 5-11, 190-pounder was considered the NFL’s greatest end through the 1930s. The long-armed Hewitt had no equal as a pass rusher, tackler, receiver and blocker. Played without a helmet. Known for blocking punts and tackling the quarterback before sacks became a thing.

Bill George

Position/Years: linebacker (1952-65)

Hall of Fame: 1974

All-Pro: 8 times

Pro Bowl: 8 times

NFL titles: 1 (1963)

Popularized, if not invented, the middle-linebacker position by dropping off the line from his “middle guard” position in 1954 and became a perennial All-Pro. Had 18 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries. Also kicked four field goals and made 14 of 15 extra points. Called defensive signals from 1956 to 1962. Became a player-coach when he was hurt in 1965.

George Connor

Position/Years: linebacker (1948-55)

Hall of Fame: 1975

All-Pro: 5 times

Pro Bowl: 4 times

A star at De La Salle and Notre Dame, Connor “parlayed leadership and football intelligence into one of the great careers of our time,” George Halas said after Connor retired at 31 in 1955. Made his name as a hard-hitting, 6-3, 236-pound linebacker but also excelled on offense as a tackle.

George Blanda

Position/Years: quarterback/kicker (1949-58)

Hall of Fame: 1981

All-Pro: 1 time (with Houston)

NFL titles: 4 times (with Houston, Oakland)

A 12th-round draft pick (119th overall) in 1949, Blanda was the Bears’ starting quarterback in 1953 and ’54 with little success. He made his biggest mark in Chicago as a kicker — a franchise-record 541 point and an NFL-record 156 consecutive PATs. Retired in 1959 after the death of his father but returned to play 16 years as a quarterback/kicker for Houston and Oakland.

Gale Sayers

Position/Years: running back (1965-71)

Hall of Fame: 1977

All-Pro: 5 times

Pro Bowl: 5 times

The most exciting, elusive runner ever in the NFL when he entered the league in 1965 — scoring a rookie-record 22 touchdowns. Scored 48 touchdowns in his first 50 games. Had a record six touchdowns on kickoff returns. Even after a devastating knee injury in 1968, Sayers led the NFL in rushing (1,032 yards, 4.4 average, eight touchdowns) the next season.

George Musso

Position/Years: tackle/guard (1933-44)

Hall of Fame: 1982

All-Pro: 3 times

NFL titles: 4 (1933, 1940, 1941, 1943)

A Collinsville native and Millikin product, Musso was a jovial, popular teammate and the anchor of the offensive line of the Bears’ 1940, 1941 and 1943 championship teams. He was an All-NFL selection at tackle and guard. At 260-270 pounds, he was the heaviest Bear ever during his first six seasons with the team.

Doug Atkins

Position/Years: defensive end (1955-66)

Hall of Fame: 1982

All-Pro: 8 times

Pro Bowl: 8 times

NFL titles: 1 (1963)

At 6-8, 255 pounds, Atkins used his speed, quickness and leaping ability to become a dominant, often terrifying pass rusher. Improved with age, too — at 33, he was still going strong, a first-team All-Pro on a defense that carried the Bears to the 1963 NFL championship.

Dick Butkus

Position/Years: linebacker (1965-73)

Hall of Fame: 1979

All-Pro: 7 times

Pro Bowl: 8 times

Butkus’ well-earned reputation as one of the meanest, most brutal players in NFL history often overshadows the fact that he was an incredibly instinctive linebacker who was a textbook tackler and had a nose for the ball. The Chicago Vocational graduate recovered 25 fumbles (third in NFL history) and had 22 interceptions.

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Mike Ditka

Position/Years: tight end (1961-66)

Hall of Fame: 1988

All-Pro: 4 times

Pro Bowl: 6 times

NFL titles: 1 (1963)

An expert blocker, Ditka set new standards for tight ends by averaging 62 receptions, 918 yards, 14.8 yards per catch and 7.5 touchdowns in his first four seasons with the Bears. NFL Rookie of the Year in 1961. The first tight end in the Hall of Fame.

Walter Payton

Position/Years: running back (1975-87)

Hall of Fame: 1993

All-Pro: 5 times

Pro Bowl: 9 times

NFL titles: 1 (1985)

Considered by many to be the greatest all-around running back in football history, “Sweetness” was a physical, punishing yet durable runner — a superb blocker, receiver and teammate who always gave his offensive linemen the credit they deserved. Payton set 16 NFL records, including career marks for rushing yards (16,726) and rushing touchdowns (110). NFL MVP in 1977.

Stan Jones

Position/Years: guard/defensive tackle (1954-65)

Hall of Fame: 1991

All-Pro: 3 times

Pro Bowl: 7 times

NFL titles: 1 (1963)

A former offensive tackle, Jones became a seven-time Pro Bowl guard but switched to defense exclusively under line coach Joe Stydahar in 1963, when the Bears needed to toughen up their line play. Jones started at left tackle for the NFL champions. Missed only two games in his first 11 seasons.

Jim Finks

Title/Years: general manager (1974-83)

Hall of Fame: 1995

George Halas handed control of personnel outside the family for the first time, and it paid off. Finks drafted Walter Payton in 1975, Dan Hampton in 1979 and Jim McMahon in 1982, and oversaw the great 1983 draft that produced seven Super Bowl XX starters, including Jim Covert, Willie Gault and Richard Dent. By then, though, he had lost “run-the-show” authority to coach Mike Ditka, and he resigned in August 1983.

Mike Singletary

Position/Years: linebacker (1981-92)

Hall of Fame: 1998

All-Pro: 7 times

Pro Bowl: 10 times

NFL titles: 1 (1985)

Venerable captain of the great Bears defenses of the 1980s under Buddy Ryan and Vince Tobin. Two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1985, 1988). Played in 172 of 174 games in his career. Ten consecutive Pro Bowls. First or second in tackles from 1982 to 1992.

Dan Hampton

Position/Years: defensive lineman (1979-90)

Hall of Fame: 2002

All-Pro: 1 time

Pro Bowl: 4 times

Irrepressible pass rusher played through 10 knee operations to rank third on the Bears’ sack list with 82. Pro Bowl selection twice at end and twice at tackle. NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1982 by the Pro Football Writers of America. Blocked seven kicks. Had two sacks and a fumble recovery in Super Bowl XX.

Richard Dent

Position/Years: defensive end (1983-93, 95)

Hall of Fame: 2011

All-Pro: 4 times

Pro Bowl: 4 times

NFL titles: 1 (1985)

An eighth-round pick out of Tennessee State, Dent was No. 3 on the all-time sack list with 137½ when he retired in 1995. Dent had 10 or more sacks eight times in a 10-year period from 1984 to 1993 (and 8½ and nine the other two years). Had 17½ sacks in 1984, 17 in 1985. The MVP of Super Bowl XX.

Brian Urlacher

Position/Years: linebacker (2000-12)

Hall of Fame: 2018

All-Pro: 5 times

Pro Bowl: 8 times

With a rare combination of size, speed and instinct, Urlacher became a dominant tackler and playmaker. Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2000. Defensive Player of the Year in 2003. Had 22 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and 15 fumble recoveries. Scored four touchdowns, including a 90-yard fumble return and an 85-yard interception return.

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