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The voting for Mt. Lunchpail is over!
Former hard hitting Chicago Bears safety Doug Plank is the final face to be chiseled into the side of the mountain. Plank joins wide receiver Tom Waddle, fullback Matt Suhey, and long snapper Patrick Mannelly.
For some more info on those last three, click here, here, and here, and for more info on Plank, read on.
Doug Plank is best known in Chicago as the "46" in Buddy Ryan's famed 46 Defense. Even though Plank left the Bears after the 1982 season, and wasn't involved with the legendary 1985 Super Bowl team, Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan started sowing the seeds of his scheme with Plank on the field. Ryan named the defense after Plank's jersey number, because Plank was the key cog in the early years of his scheme. Ryan would line Plank up near the line of scrimmage and teams didn't know if he was up to blitz, or if he would drop back.
The 46 Defense
Doug Plank came to the Bears in the same draft class as Walter Payton, but while Walter was the Bears top pick, Plank came aboard in the 12th round. He had to fight his way onto the Bears roster, and he kept up his temperamental attitude his entire career, then again he thought most most football players were temperamental, "That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental."
Here's a quick hitting highlight reel of some of Plank's greatest hits.
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Plank played the game aggressive and angry, and that endeared him to Bears fans. "Before games I would think nasty thoughts about the players I'd be going against," Plank said. "I was not a happy person before games." He had 14 fumble recoveries and 15 interceptions in his 101 game Bears career.
These days Plank is the head coach of the Orlando Predators in the Arena Football League. Here's an NFL Films video with more about Doug Plank.
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More From Windy City Gridiron:
WCG Exclusive Interview with Bears Legend, #46 Doug Plank
Doug Plank Says No Bounty System During His Career
What would you consider a successful 2013 season for the Chicago Bears?
Pro Football Talk gets the Chicago Bears' Mt. Rushmore wrong
And coming soon we'll have a WCG exclusive OSS Mt. Lunchpail from our own David Taylor!