Chicago Herald-American

I know from experience that picking the 50 best of anything is a thankless task, because no matter which way you go, you can only be wrong. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed working on "The 50 Best Bears of All-Time" that ran in Friday's Sun-Times. 

We're also going to run "Best of All-Time" stories on the Sox, Cubs, Bulls and Blackhawks, but a Bears "Top 50" list is much more problematic than any of the rest. How do you measure the contribution of an offensive lineman vs. a running back? Or a player from the 1930s vs. a player from the 1980s? Or a player who benefited from playing on a great team vs. one who played on mostly bad teams?

I thought Walter Payton was a clear choice as the Bears' all-time best player, but it turned out not to be so clear-cut. Looking back on the Bears championship teams of the 1940s gave me a new appreciation for the impact of quarterback Sid Luckman. He was the Joe Montana of those teams and then some and would have been a legitimate choice for No. 1 because he played on four championship teams (and could have played on six if not for the absence of players who fought in World War II). 

Dick Butkus didn't play on any Bears playoff teams, let alone championship teams, but he also could have been No. 1. I've always felt his reputation as a mean, dirty player overshadowed the fact that he was an outstanding linebacker with a great instinct for the game and a knack for getting to the ball carrier. Hub Arkush of Pro Football Weekly, who was a great help in putting this story together, told me Butkus was chosen as the best player of all-time by some Hall of Fame group a while ago. Another esteemed group chose Butkus as the player they would start a team with. 

And it only gets tougher after that. Should guys who had a big impact in a short career, like Harlon Hill and Wally Chambers, be on the list ahead of players who were very good over a longer period of time, like Doug Buffone and Jim Osborne? What about Jim McMahon, who was great when he played but was always hurt. 

My goal was to get 40 players who absolutely had to be in the Top 50 somewhere and I feel I got 44 or 45. The last five are always the toughest, because there are 20-25 players who have every right to be there. It just comes down to personal preference, I guess. 

Given that, I regret that I couldn't find room for several players: Mike Brown, Fred Williams (a four-time Pro Bowl tackle from the 1950s), J.C. Caroline, Dave Duerson, Robbie Gould, Ray Bray (a guard from the 30s and 40s), Devin Hester, Dick Gordon, Bennie McRae, Keith Van Horne, Hugh Gallarneau, Beattie Feathers, Bobby Joe Green, Bill Osmanski, Jim Dooley, Dave Whitsell, Allan Ellis, Paddy Driscoll, Doug Plank, Donnell Woolford, and Erik Kramer among them. 

But overall, I think it's a good list, if I say so myself. And I couldn't have done it without great help from some longtime Bears observers who helped put things into perspective: Chicago radio legend Chet Coppock, Hub Arkush, who was on the Bears' radio broadcast team for several years, my longtime friend Jack Rosenberg, the former WGN sports editor who covered the Bears home and away with Jack Brickhouse and Irv Kupcinet, and Don Pierson, who covered the Bears either as the beat writer or NFL columnist going back to the 1960s. 

Thanks for writing?

The reason we do features like "The 50 Best Bears of All-Time" is to provoke debate and response and sure enough this one did. Here's a sample of some of the responses I received from this story: 

 Mark, why try and rate the 50 best Bears players?  You do guys always
make everything into a competition? A list like this is too subjective.
  If you're going to do it, atleast acknowledge some of the current
players and what they have done for the Bears organization. Olin Kreutz
at # 32? Horrible!      - TH

 

Did you just move to Chicago a week ago? Was this list compiled by idiot Packer fans? C'mon, Mike Singletary 11th!!!! I love Hampton and Dent, but no way in the world is Samurai Mike behind them on the all-time list. Should be tied with Butkus at number three. Hopefully, some true Chicago sports buffs are working on the Bulls' Top 25. I don't want to see Pippen ranked behind Horace Grant and John Paxson.

Mark, great job compiling this list, you and your staff did a great job. I was sad to see Brian Piccolo left off the list. Was he even considered? Many players might have had better numbers but I think he had the heart and determination that a true Bears player must possess.

 

Ever hear of BillOsmanski ?  NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. I939-47 Bears ; missed 44 & 45 seasons due to WW2 in USMC(Guam,Guadalcanal,Okinawa) . Magnificent fullback blasted through line for 68 yard TD run for Bears first TD  in 73-0 route of Washington in 1940 NFL Championship game (now known as "Super Bowl") . Played offense as well as defense.

How do Hampton, Dent, & Ditka rank above Singletary?

Do these guys/their PR hacks-- buy you lunch?

Dear Mr. Potash,  I found your ranking in today's paper often disappointing and, in a few cases, quite shocking in the misjudgment exhibited.  Ranking the beloved W. Payton, of recent memory, above B.Nagurski can't be justified.  Mike Royko and others asked  the opihios of old timers who saw both play.  They responded that while Payton was a little quicker with the ball, Nagurski was a lot harder to bring down.   All the guys of that age with whom I spoke agreed.   Consider that Nagurski played  offense masterfully, while not having come off the field after his role as an excellent defensive lineman;and that he often passed, kicked and played on special teams (as it is now called).  Ranking Red Grange as 40th is  bizarrely low.  Putting Kreutz in the top 50 is so strange, especially after not including , for example, Bill Osmanski. Please return to the drawing board.

R U off your rocker? You write bout top 50 Bears and U omit Bobby Douglass??  All the things he was asked to do and with aweful receivers?? BDouglass would be going to the Hall in today's game with guys who could CATCH.  You blew this article! Olin Kreutz will be forgotten in 15 months!! Bobby Douglass was a stud in a time "before his time"! Whatd U play?