 |
| Jim Finks was an excellent General Manager. He was the General Manager that hired Bud Grant and took Minnesota to the Super Bowl four times. He became the General Manager of the Chicago Bears when Mugsy Halas was running the team. Jim Finks built the team that won the Super Bowl in 1985. He believed you build a team with a great running back and a great left tackle. He drafted Walter Payton and Jimbo Culvert. Jim Finks became the President of the Chicago Cubs before subcumming to illness. I remember when he first got to the Bears he had a radio show during a season when the Bears only won one game. He showed up every week and told us all about his team. Ed McCaskey asked Jim what his job was. Jim Finks told Ed, your job is to be the owner. |
 |
| Brian Bashnagel was a wide receiver from Ohio State. He had several good years, but the year the Bears went to the Super Bowl a spot for him wasn't made on the team. I felt bad about that. |
 |
| Roland Harper was a fullback and great friend of Walter Payton. He was the last player drafted by the Bears the year he was drafted and he made the team. I remember he had a gold front tooth. |
 |
| Vince Evans was a quarterback from USC. The Bears should have kept him as their signal caller. He was later released and had several good years with the Oakland Raiders. |
 |
| Mike Hartenstine was a very good defensive lineman. I remember how small his writing was when he signed his autograph. I still remember one of the great hits he put on Jaws (Ron Jaworski), the Philadelphia quarterback. It was a clean hit, but Mike was penalized. Philadelphia went to the Super Bowl that year. |
 |
| Richard Dent will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It shouldn't have taken this long. He should have been the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl. As a defensive end, Richard had exceptional quickness. |
 |
| Sweetness. Prayers for you and your family. Walter was once in a dance contest on Soul Train. He had great moves on the dance floor. His coach fixed him up with Connie, his future wife. |
 |
| Ted Albrecht was an excellent offensive lineman whose career was shortened by injury. Google Ted and learn about his career. I will always appreciate him. |
Bill-These are great photos. My Dad is in the first one and I was your age hanging around the Lake Forest Camp during this time as well. Thanks for doing this. Tom Finks
ReplyDeleteGreat photos! There's a photo on the Web of Jim Finks and Bud Grant planning their next smart move as the guys who made the Vikings great. I'd guess it's about a 1970 photo. Finks & Grant were an excellent team so far as I can gather - lots of shrewdness, lots of respect for one another. Finks left in a huff in about 1973 when Max Winter, team owner, wouldn't give Finks a little slice of equity in the organization. The Vikes were really never the same - they had enough talent to go to several more Super Bowls - Grant was obviously an excellent coach - but the really superb drafts and trades (like the one in early 1972 where they stole Tarkenton back from the Giants, engineered by Finks) didn't really happen after that. (On that photo I mentioned, there's a couple of packs of Kools near Jim. Those are the things that killed him.)
ReplyDelete