Forget for a moment memories of Walter Payton, Dick Butkus and Dan Hampton, among many legendary Bears. Because as incredible as their individual game achievements were, they all stand in the shadow of what Gale Sayers accomplished 60 years ago on Dec. 12. It’s not only a fun recollection given the Bears’ surprising 2025 success; it’s also an important one, given Sayers’ contributions to the team and to the city.
1965 was a transitional year for the Bears. They won the NFL championship in 1963, only to suffer a disastrous 1964 season. By 1965, the roster was aging rapidly, and team pursued an influx of youth. And they struck gold, drafting future Hall of Famers Butkus and Sayers.
The team started slowly, with a crushing 52-24 defeat by the San Francisco 49ers, followed by two more losses. But with Butkus leading the defense and Sayers the offense, the team was in contention by the Dec. 12 Wrigley Field return match with the 49ers.
Chicago Bears owner and coach George Halas, right, with top draft picks Dick Butkus, left, and Gale Sayers, at Soldier Field before the players left for All-Star camp on July 9, 1965. (Phil Mascione/Chicago Tribune)
The day was typically cold and rainy — miserable for anything outdoors, including a football game. “A muddy field for everybody but Gale Sayers,” Bears tight end Mike Ditka noted. Indeed, it was a day when everything went right for the rookie running back. Sayers scored six touchdowns, tying an NFL record that has never been exceeded.
But it wasn’t that he tied the record, but rather the spectacular manner how he did it, that made for football legend. In the first quarter, he took a screen pass for an 80-yard score. Talk about yards after catch! The second quarter saw touchdown runs of 21 and 7 yards. In the third quarter, he had 50-yard and 1-yard scoring runs. He finished the day with a fourth quarter punt return of 85 yards. And current head coach Ben Johnson says he likes explosive plays! Future Hall of Famers Ditka and George Halas each referred to it as the greatest performance in NFL history.
Sayers had enormous self-confidence in his physical gifts but expressed it in a humble and team-oriented way. He truly believed that if he was given the ball, no one could catch him: “Give me 18 inches of daylight. That’s all I need.” And he was right. Bears announcer Jack Brickhouse described his elusive running style as “he cuts, weaves, stops and goes; he runs with power and precision.” Teammates and opponents alike compared him to magician Harry Houdini, an acrobat and a ballet dancer.
Gale Sayers plunges over the goal line from yard out for the fifth of his six touchdowns for the Bears against the 49ers at Wrigley Field on Dec. 12, 1965. Editor’s note: This historic print shows crop markings. (Chicago’s American)
Yet the “Kansas Comet,” as Sayers was known, streaked across the football sky for only a few years. He led the league in rushing yards in 1966, followed by another outstanding season in 1967. But he suffered a major knee injury in 1968 against, ironically, the 49ers. He underwent arduous rehabilitation (often assisted by teammate Brian Piccolo) and returned to lead the league in rushing again in 1969. But unable to overcome another knee injury in the 1970 season, he retired. In 1977, he became the youngest person to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
Sayers went on to a successful post-Bears career, working in a variety of sports leadership and business ownership positions. He supported the adoption charity The Cradle and founded the Gale Sayers Center in Austin. But the real Sayers was on display in the memorable film “Brian’s Song”, which told of his bond with Piccolo, who died in June 1970 at age 26. The centerpiece of the film was Sayers’ moving acceptance speech for the George S. Halas Award:
“You flatter me by giving me this award, but I tell you here and now that I accept it for Brian Piccolo. Brian Piccolo is the man of courage who should receive the George S. Halas Award. It is mine tonight, it is Brian Piccolo’s tomorrow. … I love Brian Piccolo, and I’d like all of you to love him too. And tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him.”
Piccolo died less than a month later. Watch the film again, 55 years later, and you’ll still cry.
NFL Films greats Steve Sabol and John “The Voice of God” Facenda provided the narration for a film about Sayers: “In a generation or a lifetime, the great runner arrives in pro football. He is one of the select few whose number is burned into the memory of every fan.”
Indeed, No. 40 was burned into the memory of every fan and player shivering in Wrigley Field on that muddy mid-December day in 1965. They knew what they had seen — the greatest performance ever. They’re unlikely to feel differently today. Eighteen inches of daylight, indeed.
Michael Peregrine is a Chicago lawyer. He watched the Dec. 12 game from Wrigley’s right field upper deck.
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