A Run-In with Danimal
I was with my family on a cold Saturday afternoon in the winter of 2002. We were running a few errands before my brothers' basketball game they had later that day. My dad decided to make a stop at Lowe's, but I chose to wait in the car with my mom and one of my brothers while my dad and other brother went inside.
Not long after they went into the store, my mom's cell phone rang and my dad told my mom to have me to run inside the store right away. He said Dan Hampton was coming to do a free autograph signing (as part of his Hall Of Fame induction appearances) at this Lowe's in just a little while. Well I needed no further persuasion to get in the store as fast as I could.
When I got inside the store I saw this big long line of people waiting in front of an empty table. So I jumped in line with my mom while my brothers and my dad ran to another store to go buy some Bears hats for Danimal to sign for us.
We waited for about 45 minutes, and then in walked Dan Hampton. Instantly all of us fans who had faithfully been waiting for the Hall Of Fame inductee began to cheer and applaud.
Well my brothers and dad showed up with the Bears hats, and we waited for another half hour when I got my chance to meet the Bears great Defensive Lineman. It was a really cool feeling to get to talk to him. He signed my hat for me, talked to me for a little bit, shook my hand and took a picture with me. It was an incredible moment for a 13 year-old Bears fanatic to experience. My brothers and dad all received autographs as well, but me being the most avid Bears fan in the family, it was just that much more special to me.
My run-in with Danimal is a moment I will never forget.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Remember Ironhead?
Chances are if you're a long time Bears fan or just a long time football fan in general, you probably smiled when you saw the name 'Ironhead' in the title for this article.
I remember when I first found out who Ironhead was. I was an avid football card collector throughout much of my childhoood and through collecting football cards I came across a Craig Heyward, or as my dad quickly pointed out to me, 'Ironhead' card. While I read the bio on the back of the card I noticed that he was listed as a 290 pound running back. This instantly got my attention so I asked my dad who this guy was and that is when I found out who Ironhead was.
Well, years went by and the next news of Ironhead I heard was in 2006. Ironhead had passed away from a brain tumor he had been battling for some time. It was sad and shocking news hearing that the 39 year old grid iron legend had passed away, but once again Ironhead slipped out of mind for several more years until this January.
In January I was visiting my girlfriend's family and of course I ended up talking about football. My girlfriend's dad, Jim, and I get along really well. We both love football and have a lot of fun talking football. During one of our conversations Jim asked me if I had ever heard of Craig Heyward. Of course I said I had, and he then told me one of the coolest football stories I have ever heard.
Jim went to high school in New Jersey and played football for the Bergenfield High School Bears and Ironhead went to Passaic High School where he played for the Indians (also the high school of the great Jack Tatum). During Jim's senior year (Ironhead's freshman year) of high school he played Passaic in a preseason game. Jim was playing Defensive End, and of course Ironhead was playing running back.
Jim says he remembers Passaic having around 100 players on their team and all of them were chanting "Iron-head! Iron-head!" while Ironhead carried the ball. Then came what Jim calls his claim to fame.
As I mentioned earlier, Jim was playing Defensive End in this game. I myself played Defensive End for several years and know how frequently you come head to head with running backs. This is exactly what happened to Jim. Jim said he hit him straight in the thighs and the 260 pound Ironhead bulled right through but he didn't get too far because Jim was able to trip him up in the process and made the tackle!
I've tackled some stud running backs back in my playing days, but I never tackled anyone anywhere close to the caliber of Ironhead.
Ironhead went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL. During this span he played for the Saints, Bears, Falcons, Rams and Colts. Although Ironhead has passed away, his football talent has carried over to his son Cam Heyward, who played 4 years as a Defensive End for Ohio State. Cam is now hoping to be drafted in the 2011 NFL draft. If Ironhead was still alive he would be hoping so too.
So here's one more cheer for Ironhead. Iron-head! Iron-head!
I remember when I first found out who Ironhead was. I was an avid football card collector throughout much of my childhoood and through collecting football cards I came across a Craig Heyward, or as my dad quickly pointed out to me, 'Ironhead' card. While I read the bio on the back of the card I noticed that he was listed as a 290 pound running back. This instantly got my attention so I asked my dad who this guy was and that is when I found out who Ironhead was.
Well, years went by and the next news of Ironhead I heard was in 2006. Ironhead had passed away from a brain tumor he had been battling for some time. It was sad and shocking news hearing that the 39 year old grid iron legend had passed away, but once again Ironhead slipped out of mind for several more years until this January.
In January I was visiting my girlfriend's family and of course I ended up talking about football. My girlfriend's dad, Jim, and I get along really well. We both love football and have a lot of fun talking football. During one of our conversations Jim asked me if I had ever heard of Craig Heyward. Of course I said I had, and he then told me one of the coolest football stories I have ever heard.
Jim went to high school in New Jersey and played football for the Bergenfield High School Bears and Ironhead went to Passaic High School where he played for the Indians (also the high school of the great Jack Tatum). During Jim's senior year (Ironhead's freshman year) of high school he played Passaic in a preseason game. Jim was playing Defensive End, and of course Ironhead was playing running back.
Jim says he remembers Passaic having around 100 players on their team and all of them were chanting "Iron-head! Iron-head!" while Ironhead carried the ball. Then came what Jim calls his claim to fame.
As I mentioned earlier, Jim was playing Defensive End in this game. I myself played Defensive End for several years and know how frequently you come head to head with running backs. This is exactly what happened to Jim. Jim said he hit him straight in the thighs and the 260 pound Ironhead bulled right through but he didn't get too far because Jim was able to trip him up in the process and made the tackle!
I've tackled some stud running backs back in my playing days, but I never tackled anyone anywhere close to the caliber of Ironhead.
Ironhead went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL. During this span he played for the Saints, Bears, Falcons, Rams and Colts. Although Ironhead has passed away, his football talent has carried over to his son Cam Heyward, who played 4 years as a Defensive End for Ohio State. Cam is now hoping to be drafted in the 2011 NFL draft. If Ironhead was still alive he would be hoping so too.
So here's one more cheer for Ironhead. Iron-head! Iron-head!
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