Gale Sayers

About Gale Sayers

Gale Eugene Sayers (b. May 30, 1943, 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. He is the uncle of Chrystina Sayers who is a member of the American pop music group/quartet Girlicious. He currently resides in Wakarusa, Indiana.

Sayers, raised in Omaha, NE, graduated from Omaha Central High School and was a two-time All-American player at the University of Kansas. During his Jayhawk career, he rushed for 2,675 yards and gained 3,917 all-purpose yards. In 1963, he set an NCAA Division I record with a 99-yard run against his home team in Nebraska. In his senior year, he led the Jayhawks to a 15-14 upset victory over Oklahoma with a 96-yard kickoff return. Sayers is considered by many to have been the greatest open field runner in college football history.

Sayers was drafted by the Chicago Bears of the NFL, as well as the AFL' in 1965; the others were defensive end Steve DeLong (who signed with the AFL) and linebacker Dick Butkus. In Sayers' rookie year, he scored an NFL record 22 touchdowns (14 rushing, 6 receiving, and 1 each on punt and kickoff returns). He gained 1,374 yards from scrimmage and had 2,272 all-purpose yards (also a record, later broken by Tim Brown, who played two more games than Sayers). He tied Ernie Nevers' and Dub Jones' record for touchdowns in a single game, with 6 against the San Francisco 49ers on December 12. Sayers averaged an impressive 5.2 yards per rush and 17.5 yards per reception. His return averages were even more impressive, with 14.9 yards per punt return and 31.4 yards per kickoff return. Sayers' rookie season should be ranked among the greatest single seasons by any player in professional football history. He was the unanimous choice for NFL Rookie of the Year honors. Despite his heroics, the Bears finished in third place in the NFL Western Conference (behind the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts)