Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmGale Sayers, the Hall of Fame tailback for the Chicago Bears, has died at age 77. For sports fans of a certain age, simply hearing the theme song for the 1971 ABC telepic Brian’s Song is enough to make one misty.
That film was based on Sayers’ memoir I Am Third, and it covered his friendship with Brian Piccolo. Arriving as rookies at the same time, they competed at the running back position and were the first Black and White players to share a room together.
Sayers was fast as lightning out of Kansas, and was considered a can’t miss prospect who was nicknamed The Kansas Comet. Piccolo came from Wake Forest, an overachiever who rushed for more yards than any other college back, but whose diminutive.
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