Tom Waddle
| No. 87 | |
| Wide Receiver | |
| Personal information | |
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| Date of birth: February 20, 1967 | |
| Place of birth: Cincinnati, Ohio | |
| Career information | |
| College: Boston College | |
| Debuted in 1989 | |
| Last played in 1994 | |
| Career history | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Touchdowns | 9 |
| Receiving yards | 2,109 |
| Receptions | 173 |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
Gregory Thomas Waddle (born February 20, 1967 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL. Waddle is currently a co host of "Waddle and Silvy" on ESPN 1000, as well as co-hosting "The Final Word" on WFLD FOX Chicago. He also appears on Pro Football Weekly and NFL Network. He spent his entire six year career with the Chicago Bears. He attended Boston College.
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[edit] High school
Waddle went to high school at Archbishop Moeller High School in Sycamore Township, Ohio. He aspired to be a professional baseball player but with the likes of fellow Moeller schoolmates Ken Griffey Jr and Barry Larkin, Waddle turned to football.
[edit] College career
Waddle was an outstanding receiver for the Golden Eagles. Waddle is third all-time for career receptions with 139, and amassed 1,956 yards and 6 touchdowns when he graduated. Tom finished his collegiate career first on the school’s all-time list for receptions in a season with 70 in 1988, and is tied for first in all-time receptions in a single game with 13 against Notre Dame in 1988. Waddle's good speed and hands made him a lethal threat in both the receiving and punt return game, earning him the honor of first-team All-East selection in 1988 and played in the Japan Bowl. His accolades at BC resulted in his induction into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.[1]
[edit] Professional career
The Bears signed Waddle as an undrafted free agent from Boston College. During his first years with Bears, he struggled to make an impact as a wide receiver. Due to his size and speed, he fell to the lower ranks of the team’s depth chart. Waddle, however, possessed great ball handling abilities. In 1991, Waddle caught a game-winning touchdown by diving for the football. In one of his best games in 1991, Waddle caught 102 yards on eight receptions, establishing himself as one of the Bears’ most solid playmakers. Later in the season, he caught nine passes for 104 yards.[2]
In 1992, Waddle earned a starting position, and became a fan favorite. He had several productive performances with quarterback, Jim Harbaugh, including a performance against the Atlanta Falcons where he outran Deion Sanders for a touchdown. In 1993, he was Bears’ leading receiver in both receptions and yards amassed. His career with the Bears’ began to fallout in 1994, when Dave Wannstedt demoted Waddle to third string wide receiver. The following year, Waddle left the Bears after failing to negotiate a proper contract.[2] In 1995 he went to Bengals free agent mini-camp, but chose to retire after experiencing knee problems.
Fans remember Waddle from his rigorous work ethic and effort. Even after sustaining big hits and injuries from bigger players, Waddle was eager to bounce back and play during the following week. His contract and career transactions also tell an interesting story, as the Bears released and resigned him four times. Even after leaving the football scene, Waddle was still a well known and respected figure. [2]
[edit] Post-football career
WFLD-TV: Following his retirement, he began working at the Fox Chicago affiliate WFLD doing pre and post game analysis for Bears games. During this time, he also began to work as a weekend and fill-in sports anchor as well doing feature segments that were mostly comedic in nature. Later he began co-hosting shows such as Chicago Bears Gameday Live, Fox Kickoff Sunday and The Final Word on Sunday nights, all of which he is still involved with as of September 2010.
WGN-AM: In 1997, Tom began co-hosting Sports Central with David Kaplan weeknights from 7–9 discussing not just football, but all sports. This partnership ended in 2007 with his move to WMVP ESPN Radio 1000.
While at WGN he was also one of the trio of former Chicago Bears called "The Three Bears" with Glen Kozlowski and Dan Hampton.
WMVP-AM: Paired with Marc Silverman, his new show initially aired in the same 7–9 pm spot as Sports Central. After 2 months in this timeslot, they were moved to the weekday morning slot 9 am to 12 noon formerly occupied by Steve Rosenbloom and Sean Salisbury. The show was eventually expanded to four hours and to include twice weekly in-studio one hour segments with WLS-TV sports anchor Mark Giangreco. During football season, "Waddle and Silvy" broadcast live for one hour every Thursday from one of Mike Ditka's two Chicago-area restaurants with the retired coach as a co-host and analyst.
NFL Network: In 2007, he began working at the NFL network in Los Angeles as gameday analyst paired with retired offensive lineman Jamie Dukes. In the 2010 season, he contributeed as an analyst on NFL GameDay Scoreboard and NFL Total Access.
Other Media: In addition to his duties at WFLD, WMVP, and the NFL Network, Tom appears weekly during the football season on Pro Football Weekly. Also during the season he writes a weekly column for the Northwest Herald of McHenry County, IL.
He is also seen an analyst for Sprint Exclusive Entertainment, providing content on all sports for cell phones.
On several occasions in 2008 and 2009, he appeared as a fill-in host, alongside Mike Greenberg, on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio. He and radio partner Marc Silverman have also hosted The Scott Van Pelt Show.
He has also done color commentating during CSN Chicago broadcasts of NIU Huskies Football and for a limited number of Chicago Rush games aired on the NFL Network.
[edit] Personal life
Tom lives in Lake Forest with his wife, Cara and 4 daughters. Tom's wife Cara is the daughter of former Boston Patriots receiver and AFL Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti.
In 2010, Waddle competed in the Illinois Open at Hawthorn Woods Country Club in Hawthorn Woods. After one round, he was tied for 146th after shooting a 17-over 86. He was cut after the second round after shooting another 86, finishing in a tie for 148th.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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