jjc@houxa.UUCP (J.CARBONARO) (01/30/86)
Please tell me why there is a player on the Bears wearing "51". God, is NOTHING sacred!?! And it isn't even Singletary - at least HE could do it some justice. This is a serious question, Chicagoans. Why DO they still use Butkus' number?
williams@vu-vlsi.UUCP (Thomas Williams) (02/02/86)
In article <924@houxa.UUCP>, jjc@houxa.UUCP (J.CARBONARO) writes: > > Please tell me why there is a player on the Bears wearing "51". God, > is NOTHING sacred!?! And it isn't even Singletary - at least HE could > do it some justice. This is a serious question, Chicagoans. Why DO > they still use Butkus' number? The reason the Bears still use Butkus' number is because of the NFL's numbering system. Centers and linebackers are required to wear the nbers 50 through 59. The Bears retired a few old-timers' numbers which happened to be in the fifties, including Hall of Famer Bill George. These guys played during the Bears early glory years, before there was such a thing as the Super Bowl Shuffle. Since every team carries about 7 or 8 centers and linebackers, and a few fifty numbers had already been retired, there was no room to retire Butkus' #51. So don't blame the Bears' organization, blame ROZELLE. Maybe someone can tell me why the numbering system was developed. BTW that's why you never see 0's or 00's any more. {prynj, psuvax1}!vu-vlsi!williams
mykes@3comvax.UUCP (Mike Schwartz) (02/03/86)
The reason that "51" was never retired is because (real fuzzy recollections here, so be gentle with the flames) he felt he was forced to retire by the Bears at a time he didn't want to (that was the fuzzy part) and ended up suing the Bears. You don't do that to George Halas and still get your number retired, even if you are Butkus. I seem to remember something about the knee injuries Butkus suffered as being part of the lawsuit...
rs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Robert E. Schleicher) (02/04/86)
> > Please tell me why there is a player on the Bears wearing "51". God, > is NOTHING sacred!?! And it isn't even Singletary - at least HE could > do it some justice. This is a serious question, Chicagoans. Why DO > they still use Butkus' number? The official reason was concern for running out of usable numbers if they started retiring recent players (the Bears have retired something like seven numbers so far, uncluding Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, Bulldog Turner (I think), Sid Luckman, Brian Piccolom (oops, Piccolo) and a few others. The real reason is probably that Butkus left under less than friendly terms, suing the Bears for contributing to his bad knees. I don't understand all of the issues, but Butkus' lawsuit is still pending, I believe. The player assigned to 51 is Jim Morrissey, I believe, who is pretty good on special teams (known as a wild-man on kickoff coverage). Bob Schleicher ihuxk!rs55611 *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
marc@bmcg.UUCP (Marc Lee) (02/04/86)
In article <225@vu-vlsi.UUCP> williams@vu-vlsi.UUCP (Thomas Williams) writes: > The reason the Bears still use Butkus' number is because of the >NFL's numbering system. ..... > > > {prynj, psuvax1}!vu-vlsi!williams I believe there's more to it than that -- there is also the fact that Butkus sued the Bears (and Dr. Ted Fox) because of his gimpy knees. Halas always hated ex-Bears that were anything but faithful when they left the organization; his attitude towards George Allen was a good example. Even Ditka was on Halas' list for awhile. A similar situation occured when Bobby Hull jumped to the WHA and the Black Hawks wouldn't retire number 9. They tried to get Dale Tallon to wear it but he (wisely) refused, choosing 19 instead. I think Morrisey has a lot of nerve wearing 51, although it would also take a lot of nerve to tell Ditka he didn't want to wear a certain number. You can bet the Bears didn't worry about running out of numbers in the 40's when they retired Sayers' and Piccolo's numbers! Marc Lee Burroughs DSG San Diego
bobn@bmcg.UUCP (Bob Nebert) (02/04/86)
> > Please tell me why there is a player on the Bears wearing "51". God, > is NOTHING sacred!?! And it isn't even Singletary - at least HE could > do it some justice. This is a serious question, Chicagoans. Why DO > they still use Butkus' number? Butkus and Papa Bear Halas were not, shall we say, drinking buddies.