The Pro Football Hall of Fame has plenty of Chicago Bears busts gracing its rooms, but that doesn’t mean Canton hasn’t screwed up on not allowing others in who belong.
There are plenty of names hovering out there who criminally haven’t even gotten remote consideration. Richie Petitbon was a safety for the team for 10 years, reached four Pro Bowls, intercepted 37 passes (48 total) and won a championship with them in 1963. If that weren’t enough, the man went on to have a successful career as a coach. He was an assistant with the Washington Redskins from 1981 to 1992 and won three Super Bowl titles.
Or how about Rick Casares? Another member of that great 1963 championship team, he spent 12 years in the league (10 with the Bears) and went to five Pro Bowls. He ran for 1,126 yards and 12 touchdowns in 1956. That might not sound like much until one realizes that was a 12-game season back then. Casares retired with 5,657 yards rushing in his Chicago career. That’s more than Gale Sayers, who is in the Hall of Fame.
However, according to Chicagobears.com the greatest oversight of all by the voters didn’t come around until over a decade later.
"“You could certainly make a case for defensive end Ed Sprinkle, who terrorized opponents during 12 seasons with the Bears from 1944-55. But I’m going to go with center Jay Hilgenberg, who anchored one of the best offensive lines in NFL history for 11 seasons from 1981-91. Hilgenberg was a dominant player at his position, starting seven straight Pro Bowls from 1985-91 and helping the Bears win the Super Bowl in 1985 and lead the NFL in rushing for four straight years from 1983-86. There have been five true centers who played in the Super Bowl era inducted into the Hall of Fame and only Mike Webster was voted to more Pro Bowls than Hilgenberg with nine.”"
ILLINOIS! #BEARS Great JAY HILGENBERG signing autographs SAT,APR11! @JayHilgenberg @csacbiz http://t.co/KZ6L8RMyIN pic.twitter.com/WVrKtvMCU5
— Autograph Appearances (@cravetheauto) April 10, 2015
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People talk about how great left tackle Jimbo Covert was for those Chicago Bears teams of the 1980s, but there is no doubt that Hilgenberg was the lynch pin to the success of the entire line. Even after 1986, the team had a top 10 rushing attack four out of the next five seasons that he was their starter. That is just insane to think about and a testament to his impact. Yet because he played on a team with so many personalities from Walter Payton to Jim McMahon to Mike Singletary, William Perry, Dan Hampton and Steve McMichael it’s easy to understand why he was overlooked.
Of course that doesn’t offer a good enough excuse for Canton not doing the right thing. Jay Hilgenberg should’ve gotten in years ago. He’s met every requirement: ring, Pro Bowls, longevity and never got into any sort of trouble. What else must a guy do?