This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/lunchboxthegoat on 2023-06-27 11:38:03+00:00.
Counting down to the beginning of the season - I'm going to attempt to post one player per day for the last 99 matching the days left to their jersey number. The players will be random. Use this thread to celebrate and Talk About Some GuysTM
Chuck "Concrete Charlie" Bednarik was born and raised in the Lehigh valley of Pennsylvania and enrolled at Penn from 1947-1949. He was a hero prior to ever stepping on the field at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a WWII veteran where he was a decorated aerial gunner with 30 combat missions in Germany under his belt.
Bednarik enrolled after the legalization of "free substitution" in football but he harkened back to the days of 60 minute men. He starred at center, linebacker and sometimes punter and almost never left the field. He was known for his toughness and being one of the hardest hitters.
Chuck was an All-American in 47, 48, and 49 the latter two being consensus. He was also the first ever offensive lineman to win the Maxwell in 1948. He finished 3rd in the Heisman balloting in 1948 as well.
After graduation at Penn he was drafted #1 overall in the NFL Draft by the hometown Philadelphia Eagles, where spent his entire career.
On November 20, 1960 Bednarik recorded a legendary moment in the NFL simply known as "the hit." This hit was so fierce he knocked Frank Gifford out of the sport for 18 months. Of the hit Gifford said it was "a clean shot" and "Chuck hit me exactly the way I would have hit him."
Chuck was a 2x NFL champion, 10x First-Team All-Pro, 8x Pro-Bowler, a member of the 1950s All-Decade team, named to the 50th, 75th, and 100th anniversary NFL All-Time Teams and his #60 was retired by the Eagles.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969 and in 1995 the Maxwell Football Club created the Chuck Bednarik award to recognize the best defensive player in college football.
Bednarik admiring his statue at UPenn in 2011, Bednarik at Penn
Previously: 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75, 74, 73, 72, 71, 70, 69, 68, 67, 66, 65, 64, 63, 62, 61