Chicago Bears: 15 greatest linebackers of all time

A second-round pick of the Bears in 1951, Bill George was a native of Western Pennsylvania and attended Wake Forest University before entering the NFL. Originally, George was considered to be what is a current-day defensive tackle on the Bears defensive line before switching over to linebacker.

Upon his switch from being a defensive lineman to becoming a linebacker, George helped create one of the most common defensive alignments in the NFL today: The 3-4 defense. Upon switching to linebacker, George was able to make a bigger impact, considering he could intercept passes, while also breaking up various plays.

George, alongside teammate Joe Fortunato, was the face of the Bears defense that would go on to win the NFL Championship in 1963, but besides just helping establish the 3-4 defensive front, he had 18 interceptions and recovered 19 fumbles.

However, his most impressive and unknown career statistic came in 1954 where he scored a total of 25 points on 13 PAT attempts and four field goals.

After his playing days, George would be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974. What’s unique about his induction into Canton was the fact that George was the only linebacker that year to be enshrined into Canton.

Currently, George’s jersey, No. 61 is retired by the Bears and for a good reason, too. He’d make the Pro Bowl eight straight times from 1954 to 1961, was a First-team All-Pro eight times and was named to the NFL’s 1950 All-Decade Team, along with four other Bears players.