The Chicago Bears could add to their list of players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
Jay Hilgenberg and Wilber Marshall are among the 183 players who have been nominated for consideration to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025 via the Seniors category. If reading about the Seniors path rings a bell, it might be because it was that ballot in which Steve “Mongo” McMichael finally got his Hall of Fame due. Bears matriarch Virginia Halas McCaskey was also on the ballot in the early stages of the 2024 process.
Reading names on the Seniors ballot is like a trip down memory lane. Let’s name some names that might make you feel like you’ve traveled in a time machine: Phil Simms, Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, Sterling Sharpe, Randy Cross, Nate Newton, Mark Gastineau, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds, Merton Hanks, Jack Tatum, Sean Landeta, Steve Tasker, and I could go on but I feel as if this is enough. You can read about everyone on the ballot here via the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s official website.
Senior Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees with Chicago Bears ties
Here is the list of notable players who spent time with the Chicago Bears who are up for Hall of Fame consideration:
- Offensive lineman Jay Hilgenberg – Made the Pro Bowl seven times and had two first-team All-Pro nods during his 163-game Bears tenure that spanned from 1981-91. Centers are criminally underrepresented in the Hall of Fame. Maybe Hilgenberg can help turn that around.
- Linebacker Wilber Marshall – A Pro Bowl linebacker in 1986 and 1987, Marshall played just four seasons (59 games) with the Bears. But he made the most of those years by being an integral part of one of the most ferocious defenses in NFL history.
- Running back Willie Galimore – Made the list of 100 Greatest Bears of All-Time and has his number retired. Gallimore, a member of the Bears’ 1963 NFL Championship team, was a Pro Bowler (and second-team All-Pro member) in 1958. NIce career.
- Wide receiver Ken Kavanaugh – It is quite the rรฉsumรฉ for Kavanaugh, who was a two-time Pro Bowler, three-time NFL champion, and member of the Hall of Fame’s All-1940s Team. Kavanaugh led the NFL in receiving touchdowns twice โ in 1947 (13) and 1949 (9). Oh, for a Bears receiver to lead the league in receiving touchdowns twice in a three-year span.
- Linebacker Joe Fortunato – Another Bears linebacker with a laundry list of accolades. Fortunato was a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro. What a player!
- Defensive back Dave Whitsell – After getting just one interception in three seasons with the Lions, Whitsell joined the Bears in 1961 and snagged six interceptions in 14 games. It kick-started a run in Chicago in which he intercepted 26 passes in 84 games from 1961-66. In modern times, we’d call Whitsell a ballhawk.
- Quarterback Dave Krieg – A three-time Pro Bowl quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks, Krieg’s time with the Chicago Bears was brief. But he went 6-6 in 12 starts with the 1996 Bears and threw more touchdowns (14) than interceptions (12). Technically, he wasn’t terrible during his Chicago cameo.
- Defensive back Roosevelt Taylor – Led the league with nine interceptions in 1963. Taylor, a member of the Grambling State University Hall of Fame, was a two-time Pro Bowler who had All-Pro recognition twice in his career.