Gale Sayers

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Gale Sayers bigraphy, stories - All-American college football player, professional football player, running back, College Football Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Gale Sayers : biography

May 30, 1943 –

Gale Eugene Sayers (born May 30, 1943), also known as "The Kansas Comet", is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1960s and early 1970s. He played college football for the University of Kansas, and was twice recognized as an All-American. He was a first-round pick in the 1965 NFL Draft, and played his entire pro career for the NFL’s Chicago Bears.

Sayers is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. His friendship with fellow Chicago Bear Brian Piccolo was the basis for the 1971 movie Brian’s Song. He is a successful entrepreneur in the information technology field and an active philanthropist.

Early years and college career

Born in Wichita, Kansas and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Sayers graduated from Omaha Central High School. There he set a state long jump record of 24’11". He went on to play college football at the University of Kansas and was a two-time All-American. 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 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. While being interviewed by Len Kasper and Bob Brenly during a broadcast of a Chicago Cubs game on September 8th, 2010, Sayers said he had originally intended to go to the University of Iowa. Sayers said that he decided against going to Iowa after the Iowa head coach, Jerry Burns, did not have time to meet Sayers during his on campus visit.

Retirement

Sayers has had a successful career following his retirement from football. In 1976, Sayers was named Athletic Director at Southern Illinois University. Later, in 1984 he founded Crest Computer Supply Company in the Chicago-area. Under Gale’s leadership, this company experienced consistent growth and was renamed Sayers 40, Inc.

Currently, he is chairman of Sayers 40, Inc., a technology consulting and implementation firm serving Fortune 1000 companies nationally with offices in Vernon Hills, Illinois; Canton, Massachusetts; Clearwater, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia.

Sayers and his wife are also active philanthropists in Chicago. They support the Cradle Foundation—an adoption organization in Evanston, Illinois, and, most recently, they founded the Gale Sayers Center in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. The Gale Sayers Center is an after-school program for children ages 8–12 from Chicago’s west side and focuses on leadership development, tutoring, and mentoring.

In 2009, Sayers joined the University of Kansas Athletic Department staff as Director of Fundraising for Special Projects.

Brian’s Song

Gale Sayers’ friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo, and Piccolo’s struggle with cancer (embryonal cell carcinoma, an uncommon form of testicular cancer, which was diagnosed after it metastasized to a large tumor in his chest cavity), became the subject of the made-for-TV movie Brian’s Song. 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’ account 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, escalating racial tensions fueled by Martin Luther King’s assassination, 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.

Professional career