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The Greatest Bears by Number (75-79)

This time we get a good mix of Bears talent; a couple defensive tackles, a couple of guards, two Hall of Famers and the last retired number for the Bears (which was also the first number to be retired for the team). This will be our last look at offensive linemen and the last look at defensive linemen until the 90s. Every guy mentioned in this post was part of a championship winning Bears team, that's a pretty good start!

75 - Fred Williams, DT (1952-63): Williams was a four-time Pro-Bowler who intercepted two passes and recovered nine fumbles. He was a member of the 1963 NFL Champion Bears. He appeared in 140 games.

76 - Steve "Mongo" McMichael, DT (1981-93): Now some members have said that no Bear should be on this list if he played for the Packers. Now McMichael played one season with the Pack, but we can forgive him, right? I mean, it's Mongo!! Nicknamed after the character from the popular film Blazing Saddles, Mongo was a starter the majority of his career as a Bear. He appeared in 191 games which was a team record until a certain Mr. Patrick Mannelly came along. He tallied 92.5 sacks, good for second all time in team history and was a four-time Pro-Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro.

77 - Harold "Red" Grange, RB (1925, '29-'34): Red Grange was an incredible player in his day. Stats are hard to come by but the guy put pro-football on the map. He was a big reason football became so popular because he sold out stadiums all over the country. He was twice a first-team All-Pro and he was as much a running threat as he was a threat in the kick return game. He was a charter member of the Hall of Fame. He was also nicknamed The Galloping Ghost (Sound familiar :)) and the Wheaton Ice Man.

78 - Stan Jones, DT/T/G (1954-65): Jones did it all, he was a Pro-Bowler at both guard and tackle during his Hall of Fame career. He was elected to seven Pro-Bowls and three time was a First-Team All-Pro. Jones was another member of the 1963 NFL Championship team. Honorable Mention: Keith Van Horne, RT (1981-93): Van Horne was another staple of the OL of the 1980s. I know I am too young to remember these guys but from what I understand, each one of them is deserving of their place on my list (which they have all made). Van Horne was never a Pro-Bowler but he played in 186 games with 169 starts. For more read his feature in Taking a Look in the Bears History Book.

79 - Kurt Becker, G (1982-88. '90): I don't know much about this guy but he played years with the Bears, he was a full-time starter in '83 and '84 but after that was a backup. In total he appeared in 92 games for the Bears with 35 starts.

The rest of the series:

Numbers 00-4           Numbers 25-29     Numbers 50-54

Numbers 5-9             Numbers 30-34     Numbers 55-59

Numbers 10-14        Numbers 35-39      Numbers 60-64

Numbers 15-19        Numbers 40-44      Numbers 65-69

Numbers 20-24        Numbers 45-49      Numbers 70-74