Chicago Bears: Who Is the Greatest Bear of All?

To start this off, when you hear the phrase “Chicago Bears” who do you think of immediately? 

Some people think about defense right away since the Bears are known for some of the most fearsome defenses in NFL history.  When you think of Chicago’s defense you may often think of linebacker Dick Butkus. 

We all remember the picture of Butkus sitting down with bloody knuckles, the bad knees he had and the fear that he put in opposing players.  He epitomized the fearsome defenses that the Bears had during his era and there are many people that would say that he was the best Chicago Bears player ever.

Even though his career with the Bears wasn’t as long as many would have liked to see, running back Gayle Sayers is another former Bears player that comes up when people talk about the greatest Bears players in history. 

Sayers was essentially a one-man wrecking crew when it came to running the ball or returning kickoffs as he was very hard to catch and tackle.  Could he have been the greatest Bear of all?

How about more recent players including those that have played in the past 25 or so years? 

There are some people that immediately think of some of the greats that played for the Bears back in 1985 including defensive end Richard Dent.  Dent, the MVP of Super Bowl XX is the Bear’s latest member of the Hall of Fame and he’s considered to be one of the best defenders in Chicago Bears history.

You can even throw defensive tackle Dan Hampton into that discussion.

If you ask younger Bears fans who they think of when they hear the phrase “Chicago Bears” they may say Brian Urlacher or Devin Hester.  It is a generational thing as well as each of the different generations of Bears fan has their favorite player(s).

But if you think hard about it and try to go back in Bears history and see which player is indeed the greatest Bear of all, it’s hard not to think of the player that gets mentioned the most in many conversations with Bears fans.

Running back Walter Payton came to the Bears as a first-round pick in the 1975 NFL Draft (drafted fourth overall).  Payton didn’t have a great start to his career but as he moved forward with the Bears and played more games things got better and soon he was rolling out the 1,000-yard plus seasons on a consistent basis.

Payton broke the NFL’s all-time rushing record (previously held by Jim Brown and now held by Emmitt Smith) in 1984.  In 1985, he helped lead the Bears to a Super Bowl championship and cemented himself as one of best running backs in the NFL.

Payton had that never-give-up and try hard attitude that symbolized the team and the hard working people in the city of Chicago. He is one of the most recognizable figures in Chicago sports and NFL history.

So you might say that Payton is the greatest Bear of all.

Agree?  Disagree?

Who is your favorite Bear?