RIP, Eagles Great, Bill Bergey

[Catch1lion]

He spoke at my HS football banquet back in 78. A gentleman off the field, and a menace on it.

Eagles legend Bill Bergey dies at 79 after three-year cancer battle

The hard-nosed Philadelphia Eagles linebacker who epitomized the NFL's gritty 1970s mystique, has passed away at age 79, according to his family

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

One of my dads all time favs rip 66

 

[LionJim]

Wow, that old? RIP. Great player, a throwback.

 

[Tgar]

Beast. RIP.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

 

[19333lion]

A serious knee injury diminished his athleticism, which was off the charts in his first few years. It didn't diminish his toughness one iota.

If I recall correctly, the Eagles traded two 1st round draft choices to get him.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

#66. The Birds were just atrocious in the early 70s. Bergey was part of the group, under Dick Vermeil, that really turned things around. He was a dominant LBer, and the fans really responded to his style of play.

About the only bad word I could say about him is that he wasn't exactly the most objective color analyst when he was on the radio PBP.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

A serious knee injury diminished his athleticism, which was off the charts in his first few years. It didn't diminish his toughness one iota.

If I recall correctly, the Eagles traded two 1st round draft choices to get him.

He ran into a contract issue with the Bengals. While still a Bengal, he signs a personal service contract with the owner of what would be the Virginia Ambassadors in the World Football League. That was signed in 1974, but his Bengals' contract ran through the 1975 season. The Bengals sued Bergey for breach of contract, the WFL, and its franchises. The Bengals lost that case.

However, Bergey never joined the WFL, as in July of '74, he was traded by the Bengals to the Eagles, and signed a 5-year contract with the Eagles. The Eagles, who had a history in the early and mid-70s of trading away high draft choices, sent the Bengals their 1977 1st round pick, and their 1978 1st round and 2nd round picks, for Bergey.

 

[Nitt1300]

Being an Eagles fan in the late 60s and early 70s was not for the faint of heart.

 

[razpsu]

Wasn’t he good friends with mark wahlberg

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Being an Eagles fan in the late 60s and early 70s was not for the faint of heart.

In 1960 the Birds won the NFL Championship. In 1961, they were 10-4. They had losing records from that year until 1966, when they went 9-5. They were then under .500 until 1974, when they went 7-7, and their ineptitude continued until 1978, when they went 9-7. It's a credit to the fans that they stuck with them through those times. It also made the success in '78, '79, '80, and '81, where they went to the playoffs each year, and made it to the Super Bowl at the end of the '80 season, that much more enjoyable.

 

[throw2oj]

 

[Ivan Putski]

Back in the 70s he was one of if not the best defensive players in the NFC. Right up there with Jack Lambert.
On CBS which had the NFC back then they always featured him.
Some have told me and I agree if the Eagles were a good team he would be in the hall of fame.

He was Dick Butkis after Dick Butkis.

In our lifetimes he was the best defensive players here before Reggie White and Brian Dawkins.

One mean hombre.

 

[Ivan Putski]

A serious knee injury diminished his athleticism, which was off the charts in his first few years. It didn't diminish his toughness one iota.

If I recall correctly, the Eagles traded two 1st round draft choices to get him.

It happened in New England. They had just put in some new kind of artificial turf.

 

[Ivan Putski]

#66. The Birds were just atrocious in the early 70s. Bergey was part of the group, under Dick Vermeil, that really turned things around. He was a dominant LBer, and the fans really responded to his style of play.

About the only bad word I could say about him is that he wasn't exactly the most objective color analyst when he was on the radio PBP.

My Uncle worked in Sales at WIP at the time and handled most Eagles broadcast advertising.
He had told me that because of it things weren't working out with the sponsors.

 

[MtNittany]

RIP. Seemed like a nice man and a great player. Why do I remember him doing more than just Eagles games as a broadcaster (NBC?) He seemed to always be well spoken and thoughtful w/ his analysis.

 

[PSJimbo]

Friends from college used to rent his beach house in Avalon in the late seventies. I would visit and stay at it as well. Really nice beach house. When we would hang out on the deck people walking by on the boardwalk who knew it was Bergey's place would yell out to us, thinking he was with us. We never minded playing the game so we just let them think whatever they wanted and waved and yelled back to them. To this day my wife still refers back to that as the time we stayed in "some football player's beach house."!