NEWSLETTER
Two all-time greats in Chicago Bears history could be the latest to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Former Bears greats Covert and Sprinkle are under consideration for induction into the @ProFootballHOF as part of a special 20-member centennial Class of 2020 commemorating #NFL100.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 8, 2020
Offensive lineman Jimbo Covert and defensive end Ed Sprinkle are under consideration to be inducted as part of a Pro Football Hall of Fame superclass.
Covert was a key cog in the Bears’ offense during his pro career. Part of the Bears’ famed draft class of 1983, Covert was a two-time first-team All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler who was the best blocker during the team’s dominant run through the 1980s. Sprinkle played 12 years with the Bears from 1944-55. He went to four Pro Bowls and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1940s, which is no small accomplishment. In a league where pass-rushing has always been at a premium, Sprinkle – once described as “the meanest man in football” in the 1950s – was among the best of his era.
Each Hall of Fame class is special in its own way, but the one that will commemorate the NFL’s 100th season figures to be a doozy with as many as 20 potential inductees. A panel of 25 Hall of Famers, coaches, executives, active members of the selection committee, and league historians will vote 10 senior candidates into the Hall. These senior candidates are all individuals who last played 25 years ago. If this concept sounds similar to something you know elsewhere, it might be because you are familiar with the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee, which votes in players whose HOF eligibility has expired, but still merit consideration. The 10 senior candidates will be announced on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” program next Wednesday.
