Chuck Bednarik

Lore & Background

Bednarik was a member of two Eagles' NFL Championship teams, in 1949 (a 14–0 win over the Los Angeles Rams) and again in 1960 (a 17–13 win over the Green Bay Packers). At 35 years old, in his twelfth season, he had been playing center, and had not been at middle linebacker for two years. During the Eagles fifth game, left linebacker Bob Pellegrini suffered a broken leg and coach Buck Shaw asked Bednarik if he would step in at linebacker too, and Bednarik enthusiastically agreed; becoming a two-way player again.

Bednarik played 58 minutes in the 1960 NFL Championship Game. In the final play of that game, Bednarik was the last Eagles defensive player between the Green Bay Packers' Jim Taylor and the end zone. Bednarik tackled Taylor at the Eagles' eight-yard line, and remained atop Taylor as the final seconds ticked off the clock, ensuring the Packers could not run another play and preserving a 17–13 Eagles victory and the 1960 NFL championship. Once the clock ran out, Bednarik said, "'You can get up now, Jim, this game is over....'"

The controversy surrounding this play led to the NFL putting in a rule penalizing defensive players for not allowing an offensive player to get up off the field. On November 20, 1960, in a game between the Eagles and New York Giants at the original Yankee Stadium, Bednarik knocked Giants running back Frank Gifford out of football for over 18 months in one of the most famed tackles in NFL history, often referred to simply as The Hit. Bednarik's clothesline tackle of Gifford dropped Gifford immediately to the ground, and Gifford immediately went unconscious.

Gifford was transported from the field on a stretcher and then to a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with a deep concussion. Bednarik was criticized after the game by Giants players and fans for apparently celebrating Gifford's injury. A Sports Illustrated photo of Bednarik standing over an unconscious Gifford became iconic, showing Bednarik in mid-celebration, right above Gifford as he lay unconscious on the field. Bednarik defended himself by saying that he was celebrating the fumble caused by the hit, which the Eagles recovered and clinched the victory for the Eagles, sending the team to 1960 NFL Championship Game.

Reader's Guide

Bednarik was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, his first year of eligibility, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969. He was named to the NFL 50th Anniversary All Time Team, the NFL 75th Anniversary All Time Two Way Team, and the NFL 100th Anniversary All Time Team. He was named to the NFL All Decade Team for the 1950s as a center. He was selected All NFL nine times (as a center in 1950, and a linebacker in 1951–1957 and 1960), and played in eight Pro Bowls.

The Eagles retired his number 60 in 1987. They named him to their 75th Anniversary Team in 2007, where they honored Bednarik as the best center and middle linebacker in team history, Bednarik later saying, "'On that day ... I felt like Benjamin Franklin.'" In 2021, The Athletic named him the 54th greatest player ever.

He was MVP of the 1954 Pro Bowl, taking back an interception for a touchdown, recovering three fumbles, and even punting when the punter got injured. He proved extremely durable, playing in 169 of 172 games in his 14 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, and two of his only three games missed were at the beginning of his rookie year. He spoke with coach Earle "Greasy" Neale after those games and asked to be traded if he was not going to play. He became a starter, playing linebacker and center, after that.

Did You Know?

• Bednarik flew on 30 combat missions over Nazi Germany as a B-24 waist gunner during World War II.
• He had the word MOTHER coming out of a blossoming flower tattooed on his forearm, so he could be identified if his plane was shot down.
• The Chuck Bednarik Award is awarded annually by the Maxwell Football Club to the best defensive player in college football.
• Bednarik placed third in Heisman Trophy voting in 1948 and won the Maxwell Award that year.