FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 15th, 2014
COMCAST SPORTSNET LOOKS BACK AT GALE SAYERS’ LEGENDARY SIX TOUCHDOWN GAME FROM 1965 ON THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF “BEARS CLASSICS”
‘Bears Classics’ presented by Honda, to debut Wednesday, January 22 at 9:00 PM CT — Exclusively on Comcast SportsNet
Narrated by television broadcasting legend Bill Kurtis
Chicago, IL (January 15, 2014) – Comcast SportsNet and the Chicago Bears will debut the third installment of its partnered Bears Classics presented by Honda documentary series when the network will once again go back in time – almost 50 years ago this time around – to showcase Bears legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer GALE SAYERS’ unforgettable six touchdown performance from 1965.
Premiering Wednesday, January 22 at 9:00 PM CT exclusively on Comcast SportsNet, Bears Classics will turn back the clock to December 12, 1965. In this game vs. San Francisco that took place at Wrigley Field, Sayers singlehandedly had one of the most dominating performances in the history of the NFL as he rushed for four touchdowns, caught an 80-yard pass for another, and returned a punt for yet another for a total of six TD’s in one game – a record he tied that still stands today.
This edition of Bears Classics, subtitled Gale Force, will also take a look back at Sayers’ entire 1965 season – his rookie season no less – in which he set an NFL rookie record with 22 scoring touchdowns, won the rookie of the year award, was named to the Pro Bowl, along with making the AP’s First Team All-Pro roster. Plus, this hour-long documentary will also recap Sayers’ brilliant seven-year career, which was cut short due to injuries, featuring reflections from a number of his Bears teammates who reflect on what it was like to play with one of the all-time greats.
As with the previous editions of this documentary series, local/national television broadcasting legend/multiple Peabody & Emmy Award winner Bill Kurtis narrates this installment of Bears Classics. This installment of Bears Classics was produced by Willie Parker, Chuck Garfien and David Kaplan.
In addition to the expert narration by Kurtis, among the numerous players/media/execs interviewed in this third episode of Bears Classics include candid and honest discussion from the following individuals:
GALE SAYERS
Running Back/Return Specialist (1965-71); Pro Football Hall of Fame (1977)
DICK BUTKUS
Bears Middle Linebacker (1965-73); Pro Football Hall of Fame (1979)
MIKE DITKA
Bears Tight End (1961-66); Pro Football Hall of Fame (1988)
JOHNNY MORRIS
Bears Wide Receiver/Halfback (1958-67)
ED O’BRADOVICH
Bears Defensive End (1962-71)
BOB WETOSKA
Bears Offensive Lineman (1960-69)
GEORGE H. McCASKEY
Bears Chairman of the Board
DAVE WILCOX
49ers Linebacker (1964-74); Pro Football Hall of Fame (2000)
RICHARD M. DALEY
Mayor of Chicago (1989-2011)
FRED MITCHELL
Chicago Tribune sportswriter; Co-Author, “Sayers: My Life and Times”
RICK TELANDER
Chicago Sun-Times sportswriter
HUB ARKUSH
NFL commentator and broadcaster
Please note the following quotes from Comcast SportsNet’s premiere airing of Bears Classics: Gale Force, debuting Wednesday, January 22 at 9:00 PM CT:
GALE SAYERS: “He (God) was on my side, and I knew that from the first play…he was on my side…(pause)…and I knew that, ‘hey,’ as I said ‘give me the damn football…and were gonna make something happen. I played four-and-a-half years, okay? That’s all I played, I played four-and-a-half years, if I could’ve played another three years…I probably could’ve had every record in the book.”
DICK BUTKUS: “He had a great ability to come at you and then…he’s gone. He was something to play with. I’m just glad he was on our team.”
MIKE DITKA: “Just great balance. He was a guy that kept his feet under him. His feet were always under him, kept his center of gravity where it had to be, he didn’t get out of whack, you know, where things were slipping out of him, he was an amazing runner.”
DAVE WILCOX: “A most incredible athlete. He was the greatest player that I played against in my career.”
JOHNNY MORRIS: “If I wanted a player for one play, or for one game, I’ll take Gale Sayers any day over anybody.”
GEORGE McCASKEY: “Sayers on offense, Butkus on defense. Butkus was a one-man wrecking crew…and both premiere stars of their day, and you could tell by watching them that they were destined for greatness.”
Comcast SportsNet will also re-air this episode of Bears Classics on Sat, Jan. 25 at 9pm – and again on Tue, Jan. 28 at 7pm. Comcast SportsNet is also scheduled to air one additional new Bears Classics documentary in the fall of 2014. Details will be announced later this summer.
In addition, fans can also get interactive prior and during every airing of Bears Classics with their thoughts, memories and comments by utilizing the Twitter hashtag #BearsClassics. Plus, CSNChicago.com will provide additional, online exclusive interviews and commentary write-ups from a variety of Comcast SportsNet on-air talent members and from CSNChicago.com’s Bears “Insider” John ‘Moon’ Mullin.
