Jimbo Covert finally will get his due.
Long considered overlooked among the best of the best in the NFL because of a career shortened by injuries, the former Bears left tackle achieved football immortality when he was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
Covert, who retired in 1992 because of a back injury after eight seasons with the Bears from 1983-1990, was one of 10 “seniors” — players whose career ended more than 25 years ago — selected as part of the Centennial Slate in celebration of the NFL’s 100th season.
Former Bears defensive end Ed Sprinkle also was named to the Centennial Class. Sprinkle was a fierce pass rusher — called “the meanest man in football” by Collier’s magazine in 1950 — who played his entire 12-year career with the Bears from 1944-55. He played on the 1946 NFL championship team and was named to the all-decade team for the 1940s. He died in 2014 at 90.
Covert and Sprinkle are the 29th and 30th members of the Bears organization to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Covert is the fifth player from the 1985 Super Bowl championship team coached by Mike Ditka — following Walter Payton (1993), Mike Singletary (1998), Dan Hampton (2002) and Richard Dent (2011).
The 15-person Centennial Slate class — 10 players, two coaches and three contributors — will be enshrined in a special ceremony on Sept. 17-18 at the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Covert was at the head of the Bears’ renowned 1983 draft class that produced seven starters on the 1985 Super Bowl championship team — taken sixth overall from Pitt. He was a Week 1 starter as a rookie and quickly established himself as one of the best tackles in the game.
He missed only one game in his first four seasons and made the All-Pro team in 1985 and 1986. But after playing through a hyperextended left elbow in 1986, injuries began to take a toll. Covert had surgery on his knees three times, his shoulders twice, his elbow and his back twice. Through all that, he still played in 53-of-65 games in 1987-90 and was always there when it counted — Covert started in all 11 playoff games the Bears played from 1984-90.
But despite the injuries, Covert’s play was almost always at an elite level. In what would be his final season after all those injuries, Covert started 15 games in 1990 and never was called for holding as the Bears finished second in the NFL in rushing. In fact, the Bears, who were 18th in rushing the year before Covert arrived, ranked in the top three in rushing in every non-strike season Covert played. They not only led the league in rushing in 1983-86, but also were third (1988), second (1989) and second (1990) after Payton retired.
Covert’s excellence was recognized by coaches, teammates, personnel executives and opponents. He was chosen the the NFL’s “Team of the ‘80s” by the Hall of Fame committee. Bill Tobin, then the Bears’ vice-president of player personnel, called Covert the best left tackle he had seen in 27 years of scouting, when Covert retired in 1992. A toast from offensive line coach Dick Stanfel at Covert’s retirement press conference was typical:
“I have been coaching 29 years, and I was a player eight years, and if I ever had to pick an all-star team, my left tackle would be Jim Covert,” Stanfel said.
Said Ditka that day: “I don’t think the Bears ever had anyone play left tackle as good as Jim has.”
In 1991, Covert suffered a ruptured disk in his back early in training camp and missed the entire season after another surgery. After an attempt at rehab, doctors made it clear his career was over. “I would never have passed a physical,” Covert said. “I really didn’t have a choice.
When he officially retired on March 23, 1992, the Bears held a press conference at Soldier Field that included a video tribute befitting an all-time great player in Bears history. Finally, Covert officialy will go down as an all-time great in NFL history as well.
The other members of the Centennial class are:
COACHES
- Bill Cowher – 1992-2006 Pittsburgh Steelers
- Jimmy Johnson – 1989-1993 Dallas Cowboys, 1996-99 Miami Dolphins
CONTRIBUTORS
- Steve Sabol, Administrator/President – 1964-2012 NFL Films
- Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner – 1989-2006 National Football League
- George Young, Contributor/General Manager – 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts, 1975-78 Miami Dolphins, 1979-1997 New York Giants, 1998-2001 National Football League
SENIORS
- Harold Carmichael, WR – 1971-1983 Philadelphia Eagles, 1984 Dallas Cowboys
- Bobby Dillon, S – 1952-59 Green Bay Packers
- Cliff Harris, S – 1970-79 Dallas Cowboys
- Winston Hill, T – 1963-1976 New York Jets, 1977 Los Angeles Rams
- Alex Karras, DT – 1958-1962, 1964-1970 Detroit Lions
- Donnie Shell, S – 1974-1987 Pittsburgh Steelers
- Duke Slater, T – 1922 Milwaukee Badgers, 1922-25 Rock Island Independents, 1926-1931 Chicago Cardinals
- Mac Speedie, E – 1946-1952 Cleveland Browns [AAFC/NFL]
