Bill Bergey

Bill Bergey
Born	(1945-02-09) February 9, 1945 South Dayton, New York
Position(s)	Middle Linebacker
College	Arkansas State
AFL Draft	1969 / Round 2 / Pick 31
Jersey #(s)	66
Career highlights
AFL All-Star	1969
AFC-NFC Pro Bowl	1975, 1977, 1978, 1979
Honors	Eagles Honor Roll Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Statistics
Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Teams
1969 1970-1973 1974-1980	AFL Cincinnati Bengals NFL Cincinnati Bengals NFL Philadelphia Eagles

William Earl Bergey (born February 9, 1945) is a former American collegiate and Professional Football player. He played collegiately for Arkansas State University and for the American Football League's Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL Philadelphia Eagles.

College career

Bergey was born in South Dayton, New York in 1945 and graduated from Arkansas State in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. He was an All-American with the Arkansas State Indians and has been voted by fans the Top Player in Arkansas State history. He was a charter member of Delta Eta chapter of Kappa Alpha Order at ASU.

Bergey set ASU records for best tackling average in a season, most fumble recoveries in a season, most tackles in a game, most tackles in a season, and most career tackles. In 1968, Bergey averaged 19.6 tackles per game. He played in three post-season all-star games during his ASU career; he was selected to the All-Southland Conference team three times and to the Southland Conference All-First Decade Team. Bergey's jersey number 66 was retired by ASU.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Bergey was drafted by the American Football League's Cincinnati Bengals in the second round in 1969 and was an AFL All-Star in his first year. Bergey started for the Bengals for 5 years. After Bergey signed a "futures contract" with the World Football League, Bengals coach Paul Brown traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for two first-round and one second-round draft picks. When the WFL folded, his contract became voided. Bergey played a key role in the Eagles' subsequent rise, culminating in the trip to Super Bowl XV.

Philadelphia Eagles

With the Eagles, Bergey, a four-time All-Pro, set the NFL record for most interceptions by a linebacker and became the highest-paid defensive player in the league. He earned Eagles MVP status three times. Bergey recorded 233 tackles in a single season with the Eagles. He was a popular player who was the foundation of the "Gang Green" defense that brought the Eagles back to the playoffs in 1978, 1979, and to the Super Bowl in 1980. He retired from professional football in 1981. He was inducted into the Eagles Roll of Honor in 1988.

Personal

Bergey served as a color commentator on Eagles radio broadcasts in 1982-83, and now does pre- and post-game radio and television commentary for the team during the season. He currently lives in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, with his wife Micky. He is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.

His son, Jake Bergey, plays professional lacrosse for the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League.

See also

• Other American Football League players

Preceded by Jim Barniak

Philadelphia Eagles Radio Color Commentator 1982-1983

Succeeded by Stan Walters

Adapted from the article Bill Bergey, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.