NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Michael Barkann remembers Philadelphia Eagles legend Bill Bergey who died on Christmas after a remarkable career that included a trip to the Super Bowl with the Birds.
Legendary Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey has died after a long battle with cancer, his son announced on social media.
Jake Bergey, a former pro lacrosse player, posted the news Wednesday morning on X, the former Twitter:
“After a long hard 3 year battle, Dad lost his fight with Cancer. The best father, friend, grand father, football player and out right great person in this world. I will truly miss him. Love you dad.”
In an interview last year with the Eagles’ web site, Bergey spoke of how Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelley, a contemporary of Bergey’s, became a trusted confidant after he was diagnosed with jaw cancer in 2021.
“He has kind of been my inspiration,” Bergey said. “He keeps me on the up and up. ‘Just remember,’ he would say, ‘You’re a football player, you’re tough, and you can beat this. You can handle this.’
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“He didn’t give me a Knute Rockne rah-rah-type of a talk. He just said, ‘Bill, one thing. Are you eating?’ And I said, ‘No, I’m not really eating much at all.’ And he was this blunt, ‘You either eat or you die.’ And I said, ‘OK, I think I’m going to start eating then.’
“He talks about his five brothers, that he didn’t want to get out of his room one day, and the five brothers said, ‘Well, you’re getting out of here whether you want to or not.’ And the five brothers just took him right down the hall and gave him a nice long walk. And he appreciated that.
“And I will tell you one thing. My kids have stepped up to the plate like I’ve never seen anybody step up to the plate. My three boys drove me all over the place, gave my wife (Micky Kay) a break. I don’t know if I could have made it without them.”
Bergey was originally a 2nd-round pick of the Bengals out of Arkansas State in 1969. After five years and one Pro Bowl in Cincinnati, he was traded to the Eagles in 1974 and immediately became a difference maker.
He made Pro Bowls in four of his first five seasons with the Eagles – 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978 – and was a 1st-team all-pro after the 1974 and 1975 seasons and a 2nd-team All-Pro in 1976, 1977 and 1978.
His final season was 1980 and his final game was Super Bowl XV against the Raiders in New Orleans.
Bergey and Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik are the only Eagles linebackers ever to make 1st-team All-Pro in consecutive years. Bednarik and Maxie Baughan, a Hall of Fame finalist this year, are the only linebackers in Eagles history to reach more Pro Bowls than Bergey.
Bergey was one of 60 nominees that the Pro Football Hall of Fame seniors committee considered this fall but didn’t advance to the next round.
Even today, nearly half a century after he retired, Bergey’s 27 interceptions are 10th-most in NFL history by a linebacker, and five of the nine ahead of him are enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Canton. Eighteen of those came as an Eagle, and he’s tied with Bednarik and William Thomas for most in franchise history.
Although sacks didn’t become an official stat until 1982, research into sacks before 1982 shows Bergey with 18 ½ sacks in his career, 14 of them with the Eagles. He also had 21 fumble recoveries – including an NFL-high six in 1975.
Bergey was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2009.
After he retired, Bergey did color on Eagles radio broadcasts and spent several years on Eagles pregame and postgame shows. Bergey lived in Chadds Ford in Delaware County after his football career ended.
He was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2021 but continued to visit Eagles training camp every summer.
