Chuck Bednarik

Charles Philip Bednarik, Jr. (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football linebacker and center who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn Quakers, and was selected with the first overall pick of the 1949 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, where he played his entire 14-year NFL career from 1949 through 1962. Bednarik is ranked one of the hardest hitting tacklers in NFL history, and was one of the league's last two-way players.

On November 20, 1960, Bednarik knocked New York Giants star halfback Frank Gifford unconscious with a tackle that was called "professional football's most notorious concussion". Bednarik's career-altering tackle of the Giants' star is remembered in football lore as "The Hit".

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.

Early life and education

Bednarik was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on May 1, 1925, to Charles Albert Bednarik and Mary A. (Pivovarnicek) Bednarik. Five years earlier, his parents had emigrated from Široké, a village in eastern Slovakia near Prešov, and settled in Bethlehem, where his father worked for Bethlehem Steel. His father never learned to read or write English and so could not advance to foreman. He first attended school at SS. Cyril & Methodius, a Slovak parochial school in Bethlehem taught in Slovak.

He attended Bethlehem Catholic and later Liberty High School in Bethlehem, where he played football. In later life, Bednarik visited Slovakia three or four times. He went off to war before finishing high school, but was awarded a diploma and graduated in exchange for his service,

Military service

Bednarik entered the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a B-24 waist gunner with the Eighth Air Force. During World War II, Bednarik flew on 30 combat missions over Nazi Germany. He was awarded the Air Medal, four Oak Leaf Clusters, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and four Battle Stars for his military service. His first mission was over Berlin on August 27, 1944, and last was over Zwiesel on April 20, 1945. After one mission, his flak-riddled plane crashed during a landing, and after skidding off the runway he had to kick out a window and jump 20 feet to the ground. 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. and tailback Tony "Skip" Minisi (1985), and his coach, George Munger (1976), Bednarik was voted entry into the College Football Hall of Fame (1969). He was seventh-place for the Heisman in 1947 and second-team All-America in 1946.

The Chuck Bednarik Award is awarded annually by the Maxwell Football Club to the best defensive player in college football.

Bednarik played 58 minutes in the 1960 NFL Championship Game. Once the clock ran out, Bednarik said, "'You can get up now, Jim, this game is over....'" 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.

Quarrel with Noll

Bednarik had a famous quarrel with future hall of fame coach Chuck Noll, who as a Cleveland Browns player, had smashed him in the face during a fourth-down punting play. A few years later, Bednarik punched Noll in an on-field confrontation after a game, which was being televised. NFL commissioner Bert Bell was upset about hurting the family-friendly image he wanted for the league, the NFL 75th Anniversary All Time Two Way Team (center and linebacker), 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.

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. The show was based in Philadelphia at its debut, with Bednarik and "Big" Al Meltzer as the hosts.

In 2021, The Athletic ranked the top 100 NFL players of all time, with Bednarik at 54.

thumb|Bednarik in 2004

In 2010, Bednarik was ranked 35th on the NFL Network's "The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players". Ranked one spot ahead of Bednarik at #34 was Deion Sanders, a player for whom Bednarik had held open contempt in regards to being a two-way player. He also believed a true two-way player had to play every down.

Bednarik quarreled with current Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie in 1996. Lurie declined to buy 100 copies of Bednarik's new book for $15 each for the entire team, as that was against NFL rules, and that grudge carried over into the Eagles' Super Bowl appearance in 2005, when he openly rooted against his former team. He later resolved his differences with Lurie.

Later life and death

Bednarik was chairman of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. Although the Philadelphia Eagles released a statement saying he died after a "brief illness", Bednarik's eldest daughter, Charlene Thomas, disputed that claim, saying he had Alzheimer's disease and had been suffering from dementia for years and that football-related injuries played a role in his decline.

References

External links

Video of "The Hit" on NFL Films' on YouTube page