And Mike Ditka is Mike Ditka — tough to keep off any Mount Rushmore, except maybe the actual one.But nearly a decade later, with the Bears celebrating their 100th season, Payton seems to be pulling away from the pack. Lee started 115 of 119 games he played with the Bears and missed exactly one game during his Bears career. At 33, he was still going strong in the 1963 championship game and made his eighth Pro Bowl at 35 in 1965. Whether he was best on offense or defense is a matter of debate: Bears writers Don Pierson and Fred Mitchell placed Connor on their various all-time Bears lists in 1985, 1994 and 2005 at tackle, while Pierson and Dan Pompei this summer named him a starting outside linebacker, a position he’s credited with inventing. 76-100. Kreutz was the only one not from the defense. His 98-yard return of a Jim Thorpe fumble for a TD against the Oorang Indians at Cubs Park in 1923 was an NFL record that stood until 1972. A car accident took his life at 29 years old in the summer of ‘64, and his #28 is retired by the Bears. He focused his offensive game not as a tailback or halfback but as a receiver, and was a dominant defensive back too. The venerable long snapper with uncanny precision and accuracy was arguably the best in the NFL throughout most of his 16-year run with the Bears. He teamed with Gary Fencik to form one of the hardest-hitting — and most feared — safety tandems in the NFL. McAfee averaged 4.9 yards rushing and 16.0 yards receiving.

“A defensive coordinator’s dream,” teammate Shaun Gayle said.He was one of the great two-way players of the 1920s. He was second on the team’s all-time sack list with 92.5 and played in 191 consecutive games — every game for 12 consecutive seasons. After signing in free agency in 2005, Garza started every game he played in after only starting seven games in his first season with Chicago. Gale Sayers still is in a class by himself as a runner — we haven’t seen anybody quite like him. A 1961 trade brought Wade to Chicago where he led a steadily improving Bears team, highlighted by a Pro Bowl honor and a championship in 1963. Bray memorably came off the bench to tackle a Rams player on an interception return in a 1951 game.

(He has not been passed.) He also completed 5 of 7 passes in his Bears’ career, for two touchdowns and a passer rating of 153.3. In 1956, his second year in the NFL, Casares led the league in carries (234), rushing yards (1,126) and TDs (12). His diagnosing abilities in coverage, his reliability in run support and his athleticism made George one of the best players to put on a Bears uniform. His 878 punts rank second all-time, which is good for a 41.9 yard average. Simply put, one of the best seasons ever. However, he’s still the franchise’s leader in touchdown catches, with 50. He made a game-saving tackle to clinch the 1933 NFL championship.A standout defender in the 1920s who was hired to block for Red Grange, Lyman is credited with pioneering the shifting pre-snap style of line play.A dominant pass rusher in his brief Bears career, Chambers was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1973. — Charles “Peanut” Tillman will forever be a favorite of mine till the end of time.

Anderson is all over the team’s all-time franchise leaderboard, ranking third in rushing yards, third in attempts, second in rushing TDs, second in total TDs, eighth in scoring, and eighth in receptions. But he made his mark as one of the first outside linebackers with size (6-3, 240) and speed.A fifth-round pick in 1953, Jones began as a tackle but switched to guard in 1954 and became a seven-time Pro Bowl player. “Automatic Jack” was the NFL’s premier placekicker in the early days of the held-placement kick. He’s still the Bears’ all-time leader in receiving touchdowns (50), yards per catch (22.4) and single-season yards per catch (25.6). The one. Halas also led the Bears during that time with three defensive touchdowns, including, it would seem, Though the NFL has shifted to a focus on having a strong passing attack, the league was primarily focused around the ground game for most of its existence. He missed only two games in his 12-year career. His career of 12 years was almost unheard of in days where injuries ended careers much faster than today’s game, and in those 12 seasons he started 100 out of a possible 149 games.
Hester had 19 total return touchdowns for the Bears, including the opening kickoff in Super Bowl XLI — one of the most exciting moments in Bears history.One of the greatest running backs of the NFL’s first 35 years, “One Play” McAfee made big plays on offense, defense and special teams. Sensing that Burnett would lateral to Hein, Grange tackled Burnett high, pinning the ball to his chest, taking him down and giving the Bears championship No.

Famiglietti helped the Bears win two championships as the bruiser of the backfield; following ‘42, he was one of only three players ever with 500 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in a season.
There wouldn’t be another 1,000 yard rusher for 13 years. In 1940 he set a franchise record with a 52-yard field goal, a record that stood 35 years. He was as good a teammate as he was a player. The rugged, colorful Texan was a consistently productive workhorse.