Pro Football Hall of Famer, two-way player Chuck Bednarik dies at 89

PHILADELPHIA – Chuck Bednarik, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the last great two-way NFL players, died early Saturday. He was 89.

Known as “Concrete Charlie,” Bednarik epitomized the tough-guy linebacker and also was an outstanding center for the Eagles from 1949 to 1962. He is best remembered for a game-saving tackle at the 9-yard line on the final play of the 1960 title game, and it was typical Bednarik. He threw Green Bay running back Jim Taylor to the ground and refused to let him up while the final seconds ticked off as the Eagles held on for a 17-13 win.

He died at an assisted living facility in Richland, Pennsylvania, following a brief illness, the Eagles said in a statement.

Two of his daughters said Bednarik had dementia, an affliction common in former professional football players.

“He died from dementia from football-related head injuries,” Charlene Thomas told The Express-Times of Easton “It was not brief.”

Pamela McWilliams, who also believes football injuries played a role in his decline, said her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

“I certainly think it played a big role in it – he took a lot of blows and they certainly didn’t have the safety equipment they have now back then,” McWilliams told The Express-Times.

Bednarik, who frequently criticized modern athletes, said he played on all but two kickoffs against the Packers and could have kept playing if he needed to, unlike today’s players who “suck air after five plays.” He missed only three games in his 14-year career.

The tackle on Taylor actually was the second hit that season that drew headlines. Earlier in 1960, he knocked out New York Giants running back Frank Gifford with a blow so hard that Gifford suffered a concussion and didn’t play again until 1962.

An iconic photograph captured Bednarik pumping his fist over Gifford’s prone body, though the linebacker insisted he wasn’t gloating. He said he didn’t notice what happened to Gifford after the hit and only saw that he had fumbled and another Eagle recovered the ball.

Bednarik was the last NFL starter to play regularly on both offense and defense until Deion Sanders did so for Dallas in 1996.